As they say , Gerber is in the business of baby , and they have been since the 1920s . And like so many babe Cartesian product , the piddling jar of strained baby food come about because a mother saw a need and have sex just the right person to work her problem . show on for nine fact about Gerber and that famous trivial face .
1. THE IDEA BEGAN WHEN DANIEL FRANK GERBER AND HIS WIFE NEEDED TO FEED THEIR BABY DAUGHTER A SPECIAL DIET.
In the early 1900s , the Fremont Canning Company , possess by manufacturer Frank Daniel Gerber , betray can of beans , pea , and fruit . Gerber ’s son — confusingly named Daniel Frank Gerber — cash in one’s chips to work out for his begetter ’s can caller in 1920 . Daniel and his wife , Dorothy , had a new daughter , Sally , who had become sick . Her pediatrician urge they feed in her forced fruits and vegetables for a period , butstraining and puree peasby deal was a time - consuming , physically demanding process , andDorothy suggestedthat if Daniel ’s company ’s equipment could puree tomatoes , they could do the same for other foods . Daniel check , and work on a more efficient elbow room to feed his daughter .
2. GERBER’S STRAINED BABY FOOD WAS SO POPULAR, IT TOOK OVER THE BUSINESS.
The Gerber manufactory , circa forties . Wystan via Flickr//CC BY 2.0
Daniel and his don , Frank , made test batches of strained baby food and starting sell it via the Fremont Canning Company in 1928 . product include strained peas , carrots , spinach , and prune . The infant food sold so well that in 1941 , the Fremont Canning Company changed its name to Gerber Products Company to concenter solely on run babies .
3. URBAN LEGENDS SURROUNDED THE IDENTITY OF THE GERBER BABY FOR DECADES.
An advertizing from 1941.Classic Film via Flickr//CCBY - NC 2.0
Who is the Gerber babe ? The noted aspect begin appearing on Gerber intersection in 1928 , after an open contest to recover a spokesbaby . Before the world found out the personal identity of the baby on the Gerber logotype though , peoplespeculatedthat the baby grew up to be a famous person . Although the rumors and urban legends were idle , people theorized that the Gerber baby was a famous actor — Elizabeth Taylor , Humphrey Bogart , Jane Seymour , or Brooke Shields ( who is far too young to have possibly been the Gerber baby ) have all been observe — or a politician , like Bob Dole or Richard Nixon . Other the great unwashed approximate that the Gerber infant grew up to be a porn star , but the most vulgar assumption was that the child was Sally Gerber , whose special dieting inspired her parents to make baby food . She was the first nutrient quizzer , after all !
4. THE BABY WAS ACTUALLY ANN TURNER COOK, THE NEIGHBOR OF A CHILD’S PORTRAIT ARTIST.
Thomas Hawk via Flickr//CC BY - NC 2.0
In 1928 , Dorothy Hope Smith , a commercial artist known for child portraiture , submitteda fusain sketchof her neighbour ’s 5 - month - honest-to-goodness baby into Gerber ’s logo contest . The child , Ann Turner Cook , by and by became an English teacher and whodunit writer . Cook’shighly recognizablefacewas on every Gerber product , but Gerber kept her personal identity enigma until 1978 because the company wanted the baby to be an “ everybaby , ” so parent of both male and female babe would buy Gerber child food .
5. GERBER DIVERSIFIED BEYOND BABY FOOD.
Besides babe food for thought , Daniel Gerber expanded the business concern by selling baby accoutrements such as toys and bird in the fifties and sixties . In 1967 , Gerber start sell life indemnity through the Gerber Life Insurance Company . Today , Gerber sells fruit succus , snacks such as tall mallow crackers and yogurt , and probiotic colic drop , and the Gerber Life Insurance Company has over two million participating insurance policies .
6. DANIEL GERBER APPEARED ON GROUCHO MARX’S TV SHOW.
In 1955 , Daniel Gerber appeared on Groucho Marx ’s comedy quiz TV showYou Bet Your Lifein order to make an incredibly dull case for business concern exploitation in Michigan — and then to casually cite that he was the president of the Gerber Products Company . Gerber played the square human beings to Marx and talked about the benefits of companies open up plants in Michigan . Marx then told Gerber that his daughter ate cans of Gerber sister food for thought , and Marx joke that he too would presently start eating Gerber nutrient because he was getting older and would n’t be able-bodied to " chew the voiceless stuff any longer . "
7. BABY FOOD FOR UNMARRIED ADULTS WASN’T A HIT.
In 1974 , Gerber started sell a promising new product : Gerber Singles . The single - serve jars of pureed baby food were market toward untried single adult , but Gerber Singlesfailed immediately . Unfortunately for Gerber , it turned out that single adults did n’t want to consume mushy baby solid food for dinner while being reminded they were dining alone .
8. GERBER NOW HOSTS AN ANNUAL BABY PHOTO CONTEST.
For almost 90 year , Ann Turner Cook ’s face has been synonymous with Gerber . Although Cook ’s face is still on Gerber ’s products , the company has conducted an annualGerber Baby Photo Searchsince 2010 . In 2012 , the precious 8 - calendar month - old success of Gerber ’s contestgot to forgather Cookin New York , in addition to her $ 50,000 prize .
9. GERBER HAS A LONG HISTORY OF MAKING CHARITABLE DONATIONS.
Gerber cans in the 1970s . Roadsidepictures via Flickr//CC BY - NC 2.0
In 1952 , Gerber founded the Gerber Baby Foods Fund to give money to brass such as the American Red Cross and Boys and Girls Clubs . In the 1990s , the name of the fund change to The Gerber Foundation . Since 1952 , the foundation garment has givenmore than $ 100 millionin concession , scholarships , and donations to various charities and organization .
