Planters
Encyclopedia
Planters is an American
snack food company, a division of Kraft Foods
, best known for its processed nut
s and for the Mr. Peanut
icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentile for a 1916 contest to design the company's brand icon. His design was perfected by a commercial artist and has changed over the years.
immigrant Amedeo Obici
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
. He started his career as a bellhop and fruit stand vendor in Scranton, Pennsylvania
. Obici later moved to Wilkes-Barre, opened his own fruit stand, and invested in a peanut roaster. Obici turned peddler within a few years, using a horse and wagon, and calling himself "The Peanut Specialist". In 1906, Obici entered a partnership with Mario Peruzzi. Peruzzi had developed his own method of blanching whole roasted peanuts, doing away with the troublesome hulls and skins; and so with six employees, two large roasters, and crude machinery, Planters was founded. Amedeo Obici believed that prices and first profits were as important as repeat business, focusing his operation on quality and brand name for continued success. Two years later, the firm was incorporated as Planters Nut and Chocolate Company. It was acquired by Standard Brands
in 1960. In 1981, Standard Brands merged with Nabisco Brands
, which was acquired by Kraft Foods
in 2000.
s have included:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
snack food company, a division of Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, best known for its processed nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
s and for the Mr. Peanut
Mr. Peanut
Mr. Peanut is the advertising logo and mascot of Planters, an American snack-food company and division of Kraft Foods. He consists of a drawing of an anthropomorphic peanut in its shell dressed in the formal clothing of an old-fashioned gentleman: a top hat, monocle, white gloves, spats, and a...
icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentile for a 1916 contest to design the company's brand icon. His design was perfected by a commercial artist and has changed over the years.
History
Planters was founded by ItalianItalian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
immigrant Amedeo Obici
Amedeo Obici
Amedeo Obici was an Italian-American businessman who founded the Planters Peanut Company.- Childhood, emigrating to the United States :...
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
. He started his career as a bellhop and fruit stand vendor in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
. Obici later moved to Wilkes-Barre, opened his own fruit stand, and invested in a peanut roaster. Obici turned peddler within a few years, using a horse and wagon, and calling himself "The Peanut Specialist". In 1906, Obici entered a partnership with Mario Peruzzi. Peruzzi had developed his own method of blanching whole roasted peanuts, doing away with the troublesome hulls and skins; and so with six employees, two large roasters, and crude machinery, Planters was founded. Amedeo Obici believed that prices and first profits were as important as repeat business, focusing his operation on quality and brand name for continued success. Two years later, the firm was incorporated as Planters Nut and Chocolate Company. It was acquired by Standard Brands
Standard Brands
Standard Brands was formed in 1929 by J.P. Morgan with the merger of:*Fleischmann Company*Royal Baking Powder Company*E. W. Gillett*Widlar Food Products Company*Chase & Sanborn Coffee Company...
in 1960. In 1981, Standard Brands merged with Nabisco Brands
Nabisco
Nabisco is an American brand of cookies and snacks. Headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey, the company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Kraft Foods. Nabisco's plant in Chicago, a production facility at 7300 S...
, which was acquired by Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
in 2000.
Slogans
Advertising taglineTagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
s have included:
- "The Nickel Lunch!" – peanuts/peanut bars (1930s–1940s)
- "Planters is the word for (good) Peanuts." (Various products – 1950s)
- "Peanut butter with a crunch." (P.B. Crisps – 1992)
- "Relax. Go Nuts." (Deluxe Mixed Nuts – 1997)
- "Put Out the Good Stuff." (Various Products – 2003)
- "Instinctively Good." (Various Products – 2007)
- "Naturally Remarkable." (Various Products - 2011)
Products
- CocktailCocktailA cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
Peanuts - Cooking OilCooking oilCooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature ....
- CornNutsCorn nutCorn nuts, also known as toasted corn or corn bits, is a snack food made of roasted or deep-fried corn kernels.- Preparation :Corn nuts are prepared by soaking whole corn kernels in water for three days, then deep-frying them in oil until they are hard and brittle.The kernels are soaked because...
(acquired in late 1990s) - Chocolate Covered Cashews
- Dry Roasted Peanuts
- Dry Roasted Sunflower kernelsSunflower seedThe sunflower seed is the fruit of the sunflower . The term "sunflower seed" is actually a misnomer when applied to the seed in its pericarp . Botanically speaking, it is more properly referred to as an achene. When dehulled, the edible remainder is called the sunflower kernel.There are three types...
- Honey Roasted Peanuts
- Hot Peanuts
- Mixed Nuts
- Salted Cashews
- Salted Peanuts
- TavernTavernA tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
Nuts (discontinued and reintroduced in 2009) - Smoked Almonds
- Peanut Butter
- Peanut Bar
Discontinued
- Cheez BallsCheese puffsCheese puffs, cheese curls, cheese balls, or corn curls are a puffed corn snack, coated with a mixture of cheese or cheese-flavored powders...
- Cheez puffs
- Jumbo Block Peanut Candy (presumably discontinued)
- Coconut Balls (discontinued on account of its suggestive name)
- Corn Chips
- P.B. Crackers
- P.B. Crisps (introduced in 1992)
- Peanut Butter candies
- Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies