Elmer's Fine Foods facts for kids
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| Industry | Snack Foods Manufacturing |
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| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | 2404 Port Street, New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Key people
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Alan Elmer Sr., President |
| Products | Snack food |
Elmer's Fine Foods, often called just Elmer's, is a company that makes yummy snack foods. It's located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Elmer's began making snacks in 1946. They are famous for their CheeWees and special Mardi Gras cheese curls. You can find these snacks in many states in the southeastern USA.
Before they sold their chocolate business, Elmer's also made seasonal candies. These included Heavenly Hash and Gold Bricks, which were popular along the Gulf Coast. The company's main factory and offices are in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. This area was greatly affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Contents
The Story of Elmer's Snacks
How It All Started
The Elmer's story began way back in 1855. It started as the Miller Candy Company, created by Christopher Miller. Later, Miller gave the company to his son-in-law, Augustus Elmer. Augustus changed the name to Miller-Elmer Candy.
Augustus Elmer had five sons, and they all joined the family business. Around 1914, the company became known as the Elmer Candy Corporation.
The Birth of CheeWees
During the Great Depression, a tough time for many businesses, the Elmer brothers came up with a new idea. They created a cheesy snack made from cornmeal. This snack was a type of cheese curl.
In 1939, Morel M. Elmer Sr., who was the sales manager, held a contest in New Orleans. The goal was to find a name for their new cheese curls. The winning name was CheeWees! Then, in 1946, Elmer's Fine Foods was officially started. Its main job was to sell these new CheeWees.
Losing and Getting Back the Name
In 1963, the five sons of Augustus Elmer sold the Elmer Candy Corporation. When they did this, they also gave up the special trademark names of their products. This meant Elmer's Fine Foods could no longer use the name CheeWees.
For the next 30 years, the company sold their famous cheese curls under different names. They called them Chee-T and Chee-Z-Snax.
Modernizing the Company
In the 1980s, three brothers named Alan, Paul, and Stephen Elmer joined the business. They were the next generation of the Elmer family. They worked to make the company more modern, added new products, and helped sales grow.
Alan Elmer, who became the president of Elmer's Fine Foods, really wanted to use the original CheeWees name again. This was the name his grandfather had trademarked. So, in 1993, Elmer's Fine Foods bought back the rights to the CheeWees name from the Elmer Candy Corporation. After that, they could proudly sell CheeWees once more!
Overcoming Challenges
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused a lot of damage in New Orleans. Elmer's Fine Foods had to close for 14 months because its buildings and equipment needed to be rebuilt. The company worked hard to fix everything.
Elmer's Fine Foods proudly re-opened in January 2007. They also launched their company website, making it easier for people to find them online.
Today, Alan, Stephen, and Paul Elmer are the fifth generation of their family to be in the food business in New Orleans. CheeWees are very popular in Mississippi and Louisiana. The company has also grown, and their snacks are now sold in other parts of the country and even around the world!
Elmer's Delicious Products
Elmer's makes a variety of tasty snacks for everyone to enjoy.
- CheeWees: These famous cheese curls come in six different flavors. You can find original cheese, bar-b-que, hot-n-spicy, green onion, jalapeño, and pizza flavors.
- Elmer's Popcorn: This popcorn is ready to eat and comes in three flavors. There's sweet caramel, savory cheese, and Creole Crunch. Creole Crunch is a special mix of caramel and spicy popcorn.
- Elmer's Jumbo Peanuts: These are large peanuts that are dry roasted and sold still in their shells.
- Elmer's CheeWees T-shirts: You can even get a T-shirt to show your love for CheeWees!
See also
In Spanish: Elmer's Fine Foods para niños
- Cheese puffs – Elmer's Fine Foods played a part in creating these popular snacks.
