Sabra (company) facts for kids
_logo.png){kind=logo} |
|
| Joint venture | |
| Industry | Food |
| Predecessor | Sabra-Blue & White Foods |
| Founded | 1986 (as Sabra-Blue & White Foods) |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters |
White Plains, New York, U.S.
|
|
Key people
|
|
| Products | Dips and spreads |
| Revenue | US$800 million (2016) |
| Owner | |
|
Number of employees
|
500 (2014) |
Sabra Dipping Company, LLC is a company in the U.S. that makes Middle Eastern-style foods. Their most famous products are hummus and guacamole. The company is owned by two big businesses: PepsiCo and the Strauss Group.
All Sabra products are certified kosher, meaning they follow Jewish dietary laws. They are also vegetarian, which means they do not contain meat. You can find Sabra products all over the U.S. and Canada. In 2016, Sabra sold more hummus than any other company in the United States. They were expected to sell over $1 billion worth of products in 2017.
Contents
How Sabra Grew
Sabra started in 1986 as Sabra-Blue & White Foods. It was founded by Zohar Norman and Yehuda Pearl. In 2005, an Israeli food company called Strauss bought Sabra.
In 2008, Strauss teamed up with Frito-Lay. Frito-Lay is part of a huge company called PepsiCo. This partnership was a joint venture, meaning Strauss and PepsiCo each owned half of Sabra.
Later in 2008, Sabra announced plans to build a new factory. This factory in Chesterfield County, Virginia cost $61 million. It was expected to create 260 jobs and open in 2010. Sabra grew a lot between 2008 and 2009.
By 2016, Sabra sold 60% of all hummus in the United States. Thanks to its partnership with PepsiCo, Sabra was close to making $1 billion in sales each year. Because more people wanted hummus, American farmers started growing more chickpeas. Chickpeas are the main ingredient in hummus. Farmers grew four times more chickpeas in 2015 than in 2009.
Sabra's Marketing Efforts
To get people excited about their products, Sabra did some fun things. Before the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Sabra hired an artist. He made sculptures of political candidates like John McCain and Barack Obama. These sculptures were made from 100 pounds of hummus!
In 2009, Sabra started its first national TV advertising campaign in the U.S. They also held special events in 11 major U.S. cities. At these events, they created "Mediterranean villages." This helped people imagine where hummus comes from.
By 2015, Sabra had become very popular in America and Canada. They marketed hummus as an old-world food with new, exciting tastes. They wanted people to feel like they were part of a "cultural movement" by enjoying hummus.
Boycott Campaigns Against Sabra
Before 2010, the Strauss Group mentioned on its website that it donated food to a military group in Israel. Because of these donations, some groups asked people not to buy Sabra products. These groups believed that the donations were wrong.
Student groups at several universities tried to get their schools to stop selling Sabra hummus. These universities included DePaul University, Princeton University, and the University of Ottawa. However, these efforts were not successful. In 2019, students at Dickinson College did pass a resolution to ban Sabra Hummus from their campus.
Hummus Recalls and Safety
Sometimes, food companies have to recall products. This means they ask stores and customers to return food because there might be a problem. Sabra has had to recall some of its hummus products to keep people safe.
On April 8, 2015, Sabra recalled 30,000 cases of its classic hummus. This happened after a container of hummus in Michigan tested positive for a type of bacteria called Listeria. This bacteria can make people sick. Inspectors found the possible contamination during a routine check.
On November 19, 2016, Sabra voluntarily recalled many types of hummus. This was because Listeria was found at one of their factories. Sabra said that the bacteria had not been found in any of their actual hummus products. They recalled the hummus as a safety measure.
In March 2021, Sabra recalled about 2,100 cases of its 10-ounce Classic Hummus. This recall was due to a possible contamination with salmonella. The FDA in the U.S. found this during a routine inspection. This recall affected sixteen different states in the U.S. Sabra takes these steps to make sure their food is safe to eat.
See also
- List of vegetarian and vegan companies
- Sabra (person)
