Robert Vlasic helped grow his family’s Vlasic Pickles business into one of the most popular brands in the United States.
- Died: Sunday, May 8, 2022. (Who else died on May 8?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 96 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
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Vlasic Pickles
Robert Vlasic was born in Detroit, Michigan, serving in the Navy during World War II, and then graduated from the University of Michigan. After college, he joined the family business, a large dairy distributor. The business expanded into fruits and vegetables and the company had the idea of putting pickles into jars to make them easier to transport and store. Robert helped grow the business into one of the most popular pickle brands. Vlasic Pickles became known for their humorous TV commercials which featured a cartoon stork with a voice that sounded like Groucho Marx with the tagline, “Now That’s The Best Tastin’ Pickle I Ever ‘Hoid!” Robert loved pickle jokes and collected them in a pamphlet titled, “Bob Vlasic’s 101 Pickle Jokes.” The company was sold to Campbell Foods in 1978.
Notable Quote
“We decided that pickles are a fun food.” “We decided we didn’t want to take ourselves or our business too seriously.” – He told the New York Times in 1974
