Bush Brothers and Company facts for kids

Bush Brothers and Company is a family-owned company famous for its Bush's Best brand of canned baked beans. The company makes about 80 percent of all the canned baked beans eaten in the United States. That's a lot of beans!

Each year, the company sells more than $400 million worth of products and uses over 55 million pounds of beans. Besides baked beans, the company also sells other types of canned beans, like black beans and pinto beans. They also make peas, hominy, and cut green beans.

The company's main office is in Knoxville, Tennessee. It has factories in Augusta, Wisconsin, and Chestnut Hill, Tennessee. You can find their canned foods in stores all across the United States and Canada.

History

The story of Bush's Beans began in 1904. A man named A.J. (Andrew Jackson) Bush started a tomato cannery in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee. A cannery is a factory where food is sealed in cans to keep it fresh. His business did so well that by 1908, he bought the whole company for himself. He then started a new business with his two oldest sons, Fred and Claude, and called it Bush Brothers & Company.

Becoming a Company and Growing Bigger

The Bush cannery in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee

In 1922, A.J. Bush officially made his business into a corporation. His oldest son, Fred, became the president. At first, canning was done by hand, which was hard work. Later, they used steam engines, and then powerful electric machines to get the job done faster.

During the 1920s, the company started canning more than just tomatoes. They opened another small factory in 1923 and began canning peaches. In 1928, they added corn and hominy to their products. By 1930, they even started canning blueberries.

The original factory in Chestnut Hill was getting too small. So, in 1929, the company built a new, larger building that would be their main factory for many years.

In 1933, Bush Brothers started selling pork and beans. They were a big hit! The company also began making a pet food called Tony Dog and Cat Food, which they sold for many years. By 1935, the company was canning ten million cans of vegetables a year.

Losing Land to a Dam

In 1942, a government group called the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built the Douglas Dam. This dam created a large lake by flooding the land along the French Broad River. Unfortunately, Bush Brothers owned a lot of farmland in that area.

After talking with the TVA, the company agreed to sell some of its best farmland and one of its canning factories to the government. To make up for the lost land, the company bought a canning company in Arkansas in 1944. It took a few years, but they eventually made the new factory successful.

New Foods and New Leaders

After A.J. Bush passed away in 1946, the company started selling its products under its own brand name: Bush's Best. With the rise of supermarkets and TV ads in the 1950s, the company grew even more. They became well-known for their canned green beans and other dry bean products.

In 1959, Claude Bush became the company's president after his older brother Fred died. Claude used the company's money to buy more canning factories in other states, like Wisconsin and Louisiana. In 1965, Claude became the chairman of the board, and his brother-in-law, C.J. Ethier, became the new president.

The Famous Baked Beans

The year 1969 was difficult for canning companies because there were too many products and prices were low. Condon Bush, Claude's son, had a great idea. He wanted to create a new baked bean product based on his mother Kathleen's secret family recipe.

The new baked beans were a huge success! The company sold ten thousand cases in 1969. The next year, they sold one hundred thousand cases. By 1971, they sold almost a million cases. The company decided to focus all its effort on selling Bush's Best Baked Beans, and it paid off. Sales grew and grew.

In 1978, Condon Bush became the new president of the company.

Changes in the 1980s and 90s

In 1979, Bush Brothers bought the Dubon brand of canned foods. This brand sells canned vegetables like carrots, peas, and beets, mostly in Louisiana.

During the 1980s, the family members who owned the company had different ideas about how to run it. After C.J. Ethier and Claude Bush passed away, the family decided to get advice from business experts. They reorganized the company and brought in leaders from outside the family to help make decisions.

In 1991, the company moved its main office from the small town of Chestnut Hill to the city of Knoxville, Tennessee. The next year, Jim Ethier (C.J.'s son) became president, while Condon Bush became the CEO and chairman of the board.

Jay Bush and His Talking Dog, Duke

The Bush's Visitor Center in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee

In 1993, Bush Brothers hired an advertising agency to create new commercials for their baked beans. The ads focused on the "secret family recipe" and featured Jay Bush (Condon's son) as the company's spokesperson.

In 1995, the commercials got even better. They introduced a talking golden retriever named Duke. The ads showed Jay trying to stop his mischievous dog from selling the secret family recipe. The commercials were a huge hit! The catchphrase "Roll that beautiful bean footage!" became very famous.

Thanks to the popular ads with Jay and Duke, sales of Bush's beans soared. The company went from having about half of the market for baked beans to having 80 percent of it. The commercials were so loved that the company even published a children's book in 2006 called Duke Finds a Home.

On June 27, 2018, a dog named Sam, who was one of the dogs that played Duke in the commercials, passed away after being diagnosed with cancer. The role of Duke had already been given to other dogs by that time.

Bush's Beans Today

Today, you can visit the Bush Visitor Center in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee. It's located in the same building as A.J. Bush's original general store. The center has a museum, a gift shop, and a café. It also has the "Bush's Secret Family Recipe" book on display, under guard!

Bush's also sponsors a NASCAR race car, the #47 Chevy Camaro driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr.. The company also sponsors a festival called Bean and Bacon Days in Augusta, Wisconsin, where one of their factories is located.

Brands

• Bush's
• Bush's Best
• Bush's Showboat Pork and Beans
• Blue Lake Cut Green Beans
• Tony Dog Food
• Tony Dog and Cat Food
• Dubon Premier

See also

• List of food companies
• Baked beans
• Beans
• Canning
• List of American advertising characters
• List of mascots
• National Canners Association