In 1920, Kaiser Pickles was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio by Harry T. Kaiser. The company operated solely as a food distributor with an emphasis on pickles and sauerkraut. As a distributor, its products were sold right off its route trucks to grocery stores, restaurants, and butcher shops throughout Cincinnati.
In the fall of 1990, Kaiser Pickles purchased the Farm Pack Pickle Company in Medina, Ohio. With this purchase we became a fully integrated pickle/pepper manufacturer. We currently have two manufacturing facilities located in Cincinnati made up of approximately 250,000 square feet. Attached to these facilities are two pickle-salting yards consisting of 10 -12,000 gallon tanks capable of handling five million pounds of pickling cucumbers.
As a manufacturer selling mainly to the food service and industrial accounts, it became apparent early on that in order for us to grow outside of our current market into more regional and national markets we would need to receive the Orthodox Union seal of approval, the famed OU symbol. Rabbi Michoel Coleman worked with us over the years to make sure our products met the high quality standards represented by the OU. Just as our customers demanded from us that we should be kosher certified, using the best ingredients representing added quality assurance, so we demanded the same from our raw material suppliers.
Working closely with the Orthodox Union over the years has helped Kaiser Pickles expand its market not only nationally but also to the Caribbean Islands, Puerto Rico, and to countries in the Middle East. We supply products to national and regional restaurant chains under the Kaiser label as well as various private brand names.
Entering our fourth generation, Kaiser Foods and its subsidiaries Kaiser Pickles and Kaiser Transport strive for continued growth and expansion through new technologies as well as our dedication to providing our customers quality at a low cost.
Rabbi Michoel Coleman is Orthodox Union rabbinic coordinator for Kaiser Foods.