Seventeen years later the association incorporated under the name California Packers Association or Calpak. It began marketing a line of canned goods under the Del Monte brand (the name of a luxurious hotel on Monterey, California) in 1916.
California Packers Association remained the firm’s name until 1967, when Calpal took the name of its brand and became Del Monte Foods.
From the beginning, the company expanded its operations and packed a vast array of products, including peaches, baked beans, olives berries, squash, sweet potatoes, peppers and cranberries as well as dried fruit, jams, and jellies.
During the 1920s, the company expanded its operations into an array of other canning business including tuna and coffee.
In 1917 Calpak enlisted the culinary expert Marion Harris Neil to write an advertising cookbooklet, Good Things to Eat, feature Del Monte products. The company has regularly published cookbooklets ever since.
Del Monte established operations in Hawaii shortly after its founding. When the United States entered World War II, the company sent 50 percent of its canned fruits and vegetables to the military. After World War II, Calpak increased its sales to foreign countries and by 1965 exports topped $96 million.
In 1979, Del Monte merged with RJ Reynolds Industries. During the following two decades there were several ownership changes. In 1999 Del Monte Foods became a publicly traded Company. Del Monte fresh produce was then spun off, although it still continues to display the Del Monte label, as do independent firms in Canada, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Del Monte Foods
