Gerber Products Company is a purveyor of baby food and baby products. The company was founded in 1927 in Fremont, Michigan by Daniel Frank Gerber, owner of the Fremont Canning Company producing canned fruits and vegetables. At the suggestion of a pediatrician, Gerber's wife (Dorothy Gerber) began making hand-strained food for their seven-month-old daughter, Sally. Seeing a business opportunity, Gerber began devoting resources at the cannery to baby food production. By 1928, Gerber had developed five products for the market: strained peas, prunes, carrots and spinach, and beef vegetable soup. Six months later, Gerber's baby foods were distributed nationwide.
The brand eventually became a major international player in the baby food industry, offering more than 190 products in 80 countries, with labeling in 16 languages. The company's main competitors are Beech-Nut and Del Monte Foods, although Gerber controls about 83 percent of the baby food market in the United States.
In 1994, Gerber merged with Sandoz Laboratories. In 1996, Sandoz merged with CIBA-Geigy to form Novartis, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Gerber is currently part of the Nestlé Company.
On April 12, 2007, Nestlé announced it was buying Gerber from Novartis for $5.5 billion. article.aspx?storyid=7375P" target="_blank">http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=7375P
Legal responsibility for Gerber was transferred from _Novartis to Nestlé on 1 September 2007.
