What Are The Benefits Of Jarred Baby Foods

Prepackaged, jarred baby food is one of the most popular ways for a parent to feed their infant and Gerber is one of the top sellers. Gerber was founded in 1928 by Daniel Gerber in Freemont, Michigan. “At the core of Gerber’s line were the 165 varieties of jarred baby food that the company distributed worldwide” (Young,1994, pg. 1). In 1991, Gerber had made the decision to expand into the global market and they decided acquiring a plant in Europe would be the most beneficial option. Alima S.A., was one of the most successful food processing plants in Poland and they also had farms that supplied the company with produce which was an asset to Gerber. By December of 1991, Gerber was in the middle of negotiations with Poland for the Alima plant.

The location of Gerber’s plant in Freemont, Michigan was one of the most crucial elements for their baby food production. Freemont was a small farming town, that had farms within 100-mile radius of the Gerber plant. The farms provided Gerber with fresh fruits and vegetables that included: peas, carrots, apples, peaches, pears, squash, green beans, blueberries, cherries, plums and wheat. Since Gerber was founded, the company continued to grow and by 1991 had a 72 percent market share in the United States (Young, 1994). Although the company was doing well, 90 percent of their sales occurred in the United States which only made up 3 percent of the world’s babies (Young,

However, while in the process of negotiating the deal, political events took place in Poland that could drastically change the acquisition. Gerber is faced with many issues that have not been resolved yet such as: Poland’s political changes, no agreement on the sale of Borek Staly Facility (produces alcoholic beverages), property rights and taxation. Overall, the political and economical future of Poland is unclear which poses a threat as well as many uncertainities to