The company was founded as Libby, McNeill & Libby in Chicago, Illinois, by Archibald McNeill and the brothers Arthur and Charles Libby. The business began with a canned meat product, beef in brine, or corned beef. The product became well-known when the company began to package the meat in a trapezoid-shaped can starting in 1875. By 1880, it had 1,500 employees in Chicago. Libby, McNeill & Libby was acquired by Nestlé in 1970. Nestlé introduced Juicy Juice in 1977 and it was branded under the Libby's name. In 2006, Nestlé began to market Juicy Juice. In 2014, the Juicy Juice brand and business was sold by Nestlé to Harvest Hill Beverage Company, a portfolio company of Brynwood Partners. In 1982, Libby's canned vegetable business was acquired by S.S. Pierce Company and its canned fruits business was acquired by California Canners and Growers. In 1984, Cal Can merged with Tri-Valley Growers. In 2000, Tri-Valley Growers went bankrupt and the bulk of its operations, including the rights to the Libby's canned fruit business, was acquired by Signature Fruit LLC in 2001. In 2006, Seneca Foods acquired Signature Fruit. Niagara Trading Company acquired a long-term license for the Libby's name for canned pineapple and juices in 1983. In 1998, Libby's canned meat business was sold by Nestlé to International Home Foods. In 2000, International Home Foods was acquired by ConAgra. In 2006, Nestlé sold the Libby's trademark to a Swiss entity that became known as Libby Brand Holding. In 2010, Walton & Post, Inc. acquired a long-term license under the Libby's name for several items, including nectars, creamers, and prepared meals.
Advertising
In the 1970s, Libby's had a successful television advertising campaign featuring their jingle, "When it says Libby's Libby's Libby's on the label, label, label, you will like it, like it, like it, on your table, table, table."
Operations
Before and after World War II, Libby's had canning operations outside the United States in Belgium and France, at Leer in northern Germany, and in the United Kingdom. In 2015 Peaty Mills plc. acquired the Libby’s brand rights for preserved foods in the UK, Ireland and Portugal with the exceptions of Corned Beef, Pumpkin and Fruit Juices. The brand rights for Fruit Juice in the UK are held by Refresco. Libby's trademark in Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal is licensed to Establecimientos Industriales Archipiélago S.A.
2009 canned pumpkin shortage
In November 2009, Libby's announced that because of poor weather on its Illinois pumpkin farms and a depleted back stock, a canned pumpkin shortage was likely as Thanksgiving approached. Libby's accounts for the vast majority of canned pumpkin production in the United States, and the shortfall prompted Libby's to establish farms in multiple states as a hedge against another mass shortage like the one that happened in 2009.
