Gerber Childrenswear LLC is a leading marketer of infant and toddler apparel and related products, which it offers under its flagship licensed brand, Gerber, Curity, and the Onesies® brand one-piece underwear. The company is the leading provider of these products to volume retailers, and also distributes to department stores and specialty retailers.
In November 2008, GC LLC was acquired by Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a leading private investment firm with offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as affiliates with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Shanghai and Shenzhen. For more information, connect with Sun Capital Partners on Facebook.
Gerber History
The Beginning
The Gerber story, by most accounts, began in 1928 on the production lines of the Fremont Canning Company. But according to Daniel Gerber, it all started in his kitchen the summer of 1927. Following the advice of a pediatrician, Dorothy Gerber had been hand-straining solid food for her seven-month-old daughter Sally. After many evenings of repeating this chore, Mrs. Gerber suggested that her husband try it. After watching him make several attempts, she pointed out that the work could be easily done at the Fremont Canning Company, where the Gerber family produced a line of canned fruits and vegetables. Daniel Gerber, covered in strained peas, thought his wife had a good point.
Experiments with strained baby foods began shortly thereafter, and Sally Gerber became the company's first baby food analyst. Soon workers in the plant requested samples for their babies. By late 1928, strained peas, prunes, carrots and spinach, not to mention beef vegetable soup, were ready for the national market.
At that time, national distribution was nearly unheard of, meaning that the foods would only be available in a few stores in every area of the country. To compensate, the Gerbers launched an advertising campaign featuring a coupon and the now-famous Gerber Baby. The ads appeared in publications from The Journal of the American Medical Association to Good Housekeeping. Grocers who had been skeptical were now placing orders by the dozen. Within six months, Gerber Baby Foods were on grocery store shelves across the nation.
Gerber has continued to grow throughout the years. Nearly 190 food products are now labeled in 16 languages and distributed to 80 countries. Always dedicated to the health of its young consumers, Gerber has maintained one of the world's largest private research facilities dedicated exclusively to infant nutrition. And the company's Consumer Relations Department, begun in 1938 with Mrs. Gerber personally answering every letter, now responds to questions from nearly 800,000 consumers a year.
In 1967, the Gerber Life Insurance Company was formed as a subsidiary of Gerber Products Company. It is one of the top direct-response marketing insurance companies and a leading producer of juvenile life insurance. As of today, Gerber Life Insurance Company has more than $9 billion of life insurance in force and insures more than 2 million people throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Innovation Continues Today at Gerber
The world's best-known baby food company doesn't stop with food. Gerber began its baby care line in 1960, and now markets more than 350 Gerber and NUK® branded products. Bottles, teethers, breastfeeding accessories and spill-proof cups are just a few of the products now being distributed to babies and parents around the world.
In 1997, Gerber introduced the Tender Harvest™ line, made with specially selected organic fruits, vegetables and grains. The 1999 introduction of the unique NatureLock® cooking process to Gerber fruits and vegetables helps to retain more of the fresh-picked taste nature intended.
In 1999, Gerber introduced a complete line of Gerber Skincare and Healthcare products. The Skincare products include a full line of washes, lotions and tear-free shampoos with the unique Gerber SkinNutrients blend of vitamins and natural ingredients. The Healthcare line-up includes LiquiLytes Oral Maintenance Solution, Tooth & Gum Cleansers, Diaper Rash Ointment, Gas Relief Drops and Vitamin Drops.
In 2003, Gerber made 2nd FOODS™ Fruits available in lightweight, easy-to-carry plastic 2-packs. Also in 2003, Gerber introduced a new line of Breast Therapy products, designed to make breastfeeding a more comfortable experience.
In 1994, Gerber merged with Sandoz Ltd. Gerber is a part of the Novartis group of companies, which formed in December 1996 by the merger of Ciba-Geigy Ltd. and Sandoz Ltd.
The Future
Much has changed since that summer night in Daniel and Dorothy Gerber's kitchen. But the Gerbers' commitment to excellence has remained a constant guiding force through the years. Gerber today is as dedicated to the well-being of babies all over the world, as it was when it began in 1928. And as it will be in the years to come.
The Gerber Baby
It seems that everybody knows the Gerber Baby. That happy, healthy face is recognized all over the world.
The name behind the face, however, has long been something of a mystery. People polled throughout the United States have guessed that the Gerber Baby grew up to be Humphrey Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor and even Bob Dole. But Ann Turner Cook, mystery novelist and retired English teacher, knows the real answer. She was the subject of a simple charcoal sketch by Dorothy Hope Smith, an artist who specialized in drawing children.
In 1928, Gerber was seeking a baby face for the ad campaign introducing its newly developed baby food. Smith submitted her drawing amid elaborate oil paintings and said that she could finish the sketch if it was accepted. The Gerber execs were so taken with it that they claimed it as it was, and the Gerber Baby made her debut. The illustration soon became so popular that Gerber adopted it as its official trademark in 1931. Since then, the Gerber Baby has appeared on all Gerber packaging and in every Gerber advertisement, making her the world's best-known baby.
In December 1996, Ann Turner Cook herself was present at the unveiling of Gerber's first new label in more than 40 years. And while Gerber Baby Foods are sporting a new look, Mrs. Cook's young face is still a part of the Gerber image, a fact she finds "especially gratifying." But not surprising. After all, that face has come to represent Gerber's commitment to happy, healthy babies all over the world.
Equal Opportunity Employer - M/F/D/V