Daniel Frank Gerber

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Daniel Frank Gerber (May 6, 1898 – March 16, 1974) was an American baby food manufacturer.

Early life

To his coworkers and relatives, Gerber used the term "Dan" to describe himself. He was the uncle of Frank Daniel Gerber and Pauline Dora Platt. On May 6, 1898, he was born in Fremont, Michigan, United States.

Mid-life

Gerber attended the Military Academy of St. John from 1913 to 1916. During World War I, he served in the army. He then attended the Babson College of business administration from 1919 to 1920. He joined Fremont Canning Company in 1920, a company that his father owned, later. He was a highly respected manager, and by 1926, he had been promoted to assistant general manager of the company. Gerber, along with thirty-five others who registered with the Newaygo County Ku Klux Klan, was a member of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce.

Sally, Gerber's wife Dorothy, had an unhealthy baby. They's doctor recommended that they try strained foods for her. Dorothy suggested that he convince his father to begin producing and selling at their canning company strained baby foods. He started with strained peas and four other strained foods designed for babies. Gerber and his father did extensive research into this emerging technology. They sought nutritional consultants, collected several samples, and conducted market study interviews before launching their product.

The idea of strained baby foods was not revolutionary, as pharmacies sold it on prescription at 35 cents per can. Gerber and his father planned to sell their products at a lower price than others. Babies were generally on a liquid diet until about a year old, according to a long-running American tradition. Introduced this new technology to the market was risky, as the Gerbers had no idea how mothers would react to this new approach. Gerber's canning company began an advertising campaign in Good Housekeeping, Parents Magazine, JAMA Journal, and other magazines in 1928. His job was to convince parents that he himself was trying to kill his daughter Sally.

Gerber's Gerber Baby, a new symbol used as part of his advertising campaign, was introduced. His marketing campaign exceeded expectations, and his first-year gross sales reached $345,000. Despite the Great Depression, Gerber, a canning company, was still developing its baby food lines during the 1930s. By 1941, the Fremont Canning Company was selling more baby food than adult food, and Gerber and his father changed the company's name to Gerber Products Company, exporting the Fremont Canning Company around the world. By 1943, Gerber had the company stop making adult food completely, but in the 1950s, he opened plants in Oakland, California, Rochester, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Later life

When his father died in 1952, Gerber became the senior member of the canning company. In 1955, he expanded and diversified the company, adding a toy line. He appeared on an episode of the television quiz show You Bet Your Life earlier this year, and that gave his company free advertising. In 1956, he had the firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He opened a Mexican subsidiary in 1959 and grew the company into Canada and Europe by 1960. In 1965, Gerber introduced a wide variety of baby-related items. Gerber's company had 2,000 workers in 1945, but the number of employees had almost tripled by 1965.

Personal life

Frank Gerber, the founder of the Fremont Canning Company, died on October 7, 1952, and he took over the company's operations. Both Gerber and his father were Christian Scientists and Republicans. Dorothy Scott was born in 1923 and they had five children together. Sally, his son (the unhealthy baby who sparked mass-produced baby food), was supposed to marry in 1948. Gerber died on March 16, 1974, and his wife died on September 10, 1988. Gerber has 18 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

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