Vitamix, privately owned and operated by the Barnard family since 1921, manufactures blenders for consumers and for the restaurant and hospitality industry. Vitamix has been based in Olmsted Township, Ohio, since 1948. It employs nearly 1,000 people, most at its Northeast Ohio headquarters and manufacturing facilities. Although soap operas came earlier, Vitamix was the first company to produce and broadcast an infomercial for a specific manufactured product.
History
Vitamix is privately owned and operated by the Barnard family. The company was founded in 1921 when William Grover Barnard began traveling the country selling modern kitchen products. It was by helping a friend through his illness that Barnard began to recognize the importance and impact that whole-food nutrition had on one's health and well-being. At that point, Barnard changed the name of the company to The Natural Food Institute. In 1937 Barnard saw a blender at a trade show and introduced his own variations, creating a more durable and reliable series of blending machines. The name "Vita-Mix" emphasized "vita," meaning "life." In 1949, Bill Barnard, son of William, convinced his father to take his Vita-Mix demonstrations to local television advertising. The company pioneered the first infomercial. Bill Barnard inherited the business and in 1964 officially changed the name to Vita-Mix Corporation. The company's Vitamix 3600, the first blender that could make hot soup, blend ice cream, grind grain, and knead bread dough, was released in 1969. In 1985, John Barnard and his brother created the Mix'n Machine, a high-performance commercial blender. In February 2006, Blendtec sued Vitamix Corporation for infringing its patents on Blendtec's "Wild Side" jar design, which Vitamix had allegedly copied as its own MP and XP containers. The court concluded Vitamix had infringed Blendtec's patents, and awarded Blendtec total damages of approximately $24 million, the largest patent-related penalty in the history of Utah. In 2009, Dr. Jodi Berg became President of Vitamix, making her the fourth generation of the Barnard family to hold the title. She became CEO in 2011.
Patent Lawsuit
In February 2006, Blendtec sued Vitamix Corporation for infringing its patents on Blendtec’s “Wild Side” jar design, which Vitamix had allegedly copied as its own MP and XP containers. Vitamix lost the suit and was ordered to pay 23 million dollars in damages.
21st century
The Vitamix product line, described as having a $400 starting price,, has been covered by The New York Times.
Product recalls
Over 100,000 products sold in 2017 and 2018 were recalled because of danger; one magazine headlined "Vitamix recall: Your $500 blender might hurt you."
