Product type | Rice |
---|---|
Owner | Mars, Incorporated |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1943 |
Markets | Worldwide |
Website | bensoriginal |
Ben's Original is an American brand of parboiled rice and other related food products that was introduced by Converted Rice Inc., which is now owned by Mars, Inc. Its headquarters are in Denver Harbor, Houston, Texas. Uncle Ben's rice was first marketed in 1943 and was the top-selling rice in the United States from 1950 until the 1990s. [1] In 2020, Mars declared that the brand would be changed to "Ben's Original". [2] From "Uncle Ben's". The brand's products are sold worldwide under the original, "Uncle Ben's" brand.
In the 1910s, the German-British scientist and chemist Erich Huzenlaub (1888–1964) [3] and the British scientist and chemist Francis Heron Rogers invented a form of parboiling designed to retain more of the nutrients in rice, now known as the Huzenlaub Process. The process entailed vacuum drying the whole grain, then steaming, and finally vacuum drying and removal of the husk. [4] [5] Besides increasing rice's nutritional value, it also made it resistant to weevils and reduced cooking time. [4]
In 1932, Forrest Mars Sr., moved to the United Kingdom with a remit to expand the Mars food company internationally. [6] While in the United Kingdom, Mars learned of Erich Huzenlaub's work with rice. Huzenlaub's London-based company was Rice Conversion Ltd. [7] The two eventually formed Mars and Huzenlaub [8] in Houston, Texas, which gave Forrest Mars partial ownership of the Huzenlaub Process rice conversion patent. In 1942, through Mars's guidance and sponsorship, Huzenlaub created, together with Houston food broker Gordon L. Harwell, the company Converted Rice, Inc., which sold its entire output to the U.S. and British armed forces. The advantage of this product was that it could be air-dropped to troops in the field without risk of weevil infestation, and it could be cooked more quickly than other rice products. Additionally, the converted rice product would retain more nutritional value. [9] In 1944, with additional financing from the Defense Plant Corporation and an investment by Forrest Mars, it built a second large plant. [10] In 1959, Forrest Mars purchased Erich Huzenlaub's interest in the company and merged it into his Food Manufacturers, Inc. [11]
Uncle Ben's milling plant was on the Houston Ship Channel until 1999, when it moved to Greenville, Mississippi. [12] [13]
From 1946 to 2020, Uncle Ben's products carried the image of an elderly African-American man dressed in a bow tie, which is said to have been based on a Chicago maître d'hôtel named Frank Brown. [14] [15] According to Mars, Uncle Ben was an African-American rice grower known for the quality of his rice. Gordon L. Harwell, an entrepreneur who had supplied rice to the armed forces in World War II, chose the name Uncle Ben's as a means to expand his marketing efforts to the general public. [16] The name "Uncle Ben's" was criticized as racist as White southerners addressed Black men as "uncle" to avoid using "Mr." [17]
In March 2007, Uncle Ben's image was "promoted" to the "chairman of the board" by a new advertising campaign. [18]
In September 2017, Mars, Inc. started to certify the sustainability of basmati rice sold under the Uncle Ben's brand, in order to encourage the local farmers to opt for the best agricultural methods. [19]
Following the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, Mars, Inc. announced on June 17, 2020 that it would be "evolving" the brand's identity, including the brand's logo. The move followed just hours after Quaker/PepsiCo changed the name and logo of its Aunt Jemima brand amid accusations of racism. [20] [21] As advertised on September 23, 2020, Mars Inc. will replace the "Uncle Ben's" name with "Ben's Original". [22]
The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milkshakes, and many more that are produced globally. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. It was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a minority stake but retains a majority of the voting power within the company.
Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$33 billion in annual sales in 2015. It was ranked as the 6th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States, the company is entirely owned by the Mars family. Mars operates in five business segments around the world: Mars Wrigley Confectionery, Petcare, Food, Drinks, and Symbioscience, the company's life sciences division.
Mars, commonly known as Mars bar, is the name of two varieties of chocolate bar produced by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in 1932 in Slough, England by Forrest Mars, Sr. In its British version the bar consists of caramel and nougat coated with milk chocolate. An American version of the Mars bar was produced which had nougat and toasted almonds covered in milk chocolate; later, caramel was added to the recipe as well. The American version was discontinued in 2002, then revived in a slightly different form the following year under the name "Snickers Almond".
Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat semolina. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat kernels instead of ground corn. It was first manufactured in the United States in 1893 by wheat millers in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The product made its debut at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Before January 2007, Cream of Wheat was a Nabisco brand made by Kraft Foods. In January 2007, B&G Foods acquired the brand and all rights to market the cereal. "Cream of Wheat" is a registered trademark.
Aunt Jemima is a brand of pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast foods. The pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and advertised as the first ready-mix. The Aunt Jemima character is based on the enslaved "Mammy" archetype. The "Aunt Jemima Doctrine" in US trademark law originates in a 1915 case between the pancake mix company and an unrelated seller of pancake syrup. The brand has been owned by the Quaker Oats Company since 1926.
Iams is a popular brand name for dog food and cat food manufactured by Spectrum Brands in Europe and Mars, Incorporated worldwide. The company sells pet food for cats and dogs formulated for puppy/kitten, adult and mature. Its products are developed by nutritionists and veterinarians and can be found in three main formulas: ProActive Health, Healthy Naturals and Premium Protection. Veterinary formulas for pets with special dietary requirements are also available.
McCormick & Company is an American multinational food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses.
Forrest Edward Mars Sr. was an American businessman and the driving force of the Mars candy empire. He is best known for introducing Milky Way (1923) and Mars (1932) chocolate candy bars, and M&M's (1941) chocolate candy, as well as orchestrating the launch of Uncle Ben's Rice. He was the son of candy company Mars, Inc. founder Frank C. Mars and his first wife Ethel G. Mars.
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. is a Japanese food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, interlayer insulating materials for semiconductor packages for use in personal computers, cooking oils, frozen foods, beverage, sweeteners, amino acids, and pharmaceuticals. AJI-NO-MOTO is the trade name for the company's original monosodium glutamate (MSG) product. The corporation's head office is located in Chūō, Tokyo. As of 2019, Ajinomoto operates in 35 countries and employs an estimated 34,504 people. Its yearly revenue in 2019 is around US$10.1 billion.
Parboiled rice is rice that has been partially boiled in the husk. The three basic steps of parboiling are soaking, steaming and drying. These steps make the rice easier to process by hand, while also boosting its nutritional profile, changing its texture, and making it more resistant to weevils. The treatment is practiced in many parts of the world.
Chex is an American brand of breakfast cereal currently manufactured by General Mills. However Kellogg's has the branding rights to Chex in South Korea. It was introduced in 1937 and was originally produced and owned by Ralston Purina of St. Louis, Missouri. The name "Chex" reflects the "checkerboard square" logo of Ralston Purina. The Chex product line was part of the Ralston portion of Ralston Purina, which was spun into Ralcorp in 1994. The product line was sold to General Mills in 1997. For many years, advertisements for the cereal featured the characters from Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strip.
Darlie, originally known as Darkie, is a toothpaste brand of Hawley & Hazel Chemical Company. Hawley & Hazel was established in Shanghai in 1933 and later based in Taiwan (1949) and Hong Kong (1973). In 1985, Colgate-Palmolive acquired 50% of Hawley & Hazel.
The Nutro Company, Inc., a subsidiary company of Mars Incorporated, is the developer and manufacturer of the Max, Wholesome Essentials, Ultra, Wild Frontier, and Crave brands of dog and cat food, as well as Greenies dental treats. The company is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, USA.
Mars Canada Ltd is the Canadian division of Mars, Incorporated, a privately held multi-national company and a world leader in food, pet care products, and confectionery products.
Nancy Green was a former slave, nanny, cook, activist, and the first of many African-American models and performers hired to promote a corporate trademark as "Aunt Jemima". The Aunt Jemima recipe was not her recipe, but she became the advertising world's first living trademark.
Ebro Foods, S.A., formerly Ebro Puleva, is the leading company in the Spanish food processing sector. Ebro Foods is the world's largest traders/miller of rice and the second biggest producer of pasta. The company's head office is in Madrid.
The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001.
Post Holdings is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in the suburban St. Louis community of Brentwood, Missouri. It operates in the center-of-the-store, foodservice, food ingredient, refrigerated, active nutrition and private label categories. Its Post Consumer Brands business manufactures, markets and sells both branded and private label cereal products. Its Michael Foods Group business supplies value-added egg products and refrigerated potato products to the foodservice and food ingredient channels. Through its Post Refrigerated Retail business, Post offers potato, egg, sausage and cheese refrigerated side dishes products. Its active nutrition business markets and distributes protein beverages, bars and gels. Post participates in the private brand food category through its investment with Thomas H. Lee Partners in 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, a leading, private brand centric, consumer products holding company.
Erich Huzenlaub was a German-British chemist. He invented the Huzenlaub Process for parboiling rice.
The company’s headquarters, on Harvey Wilson Drive, stayed behind in Bayou City.