It’s Not Thanksgiving Without These Brands
Ah, Thanksgiving! Fall approaches, the weather is cool and crisp, and the nation gears up for an afternoon of food, football, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. For the most part, the companies that have become synonymous with the holiday have histories as rich the holiday itself. Brands like Butterball, Stove Top Stuffing, Pillsbury, and Ocean Spray have come to signify Thanksgiving, as cooks follow old traditions and stained, yellowing recipe cards with last year’s gravy on them. Even foodies, who may make stuffing out of homemade bread cubes with wild mushrooms and hand-picked sage, and who turn their noses up at the mere mention of a turkey with a button in it, are powerless to resist the forces that want yams with marshmallows. And really, would it be a holiday if the kids didn’t stick the olives on their fingers?
But there’s room for adventure and change, too – tofurkey, anyone? So while the traditional brands will find a place on most tables this season, you can be sure that companies are also watching the trends to see what they can offer next year.
This week Hoover's presents some of the brands that will be making an appearance along with the good china and silverware:
- Butterball, LLC - Butterball produces 1 billion pounds of turkey annually.
- Turtle Island Foods, Inc. - Makers of Tofurky and other meat substitutes
- Kraft Foods Inc. – Some diehards think Thanksgiving isn’t complete without Stove Top Stuffing.
- General Mills, Inc. - General Mills provides the green beans (Green Giant), and rolls and croissants (Pillsbury).
- Nestlé S.A. - The Swiss food giant owns brands such as Libby’s (canned pumpkin) and Carnation (evaporated and instant milk).
- Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. - Cranberry jelly in a can
- Macy’s, Inc. - One of the country’s oldest retailers and producer of the Thanksgiving Day Parade
Patrice Sarath is an Industry Editor at First Research and a regular contributor to Hoover's business blog, Bizmology.
