Made in New Jersey: From molasses to jelly, inside a New Jersey food manufacturing giant
At a B&G Foods facility in Roseland, workers produce popular brands including Polaner jams and jellies and Grandma’s Molasses.
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Many of the food products found on grocery store shelves across the country are made right here in New Jersey.
At a B&G Foods facility in Roseland, workers produce popular brands including Polaner jams and jellies and Grandma’s Molasses.
Plant Manager John Bennett has worked at the facility since 1977 and has watched it evolve from a mostly manual operation into a modern manufacturing plant.
“When I first started, we had very limited equipment. It was amazing how we made product. It was very, very manual,” Bennett said.
Today, the facility employs 71 people and produces some of the company’s best-known products.
One of those is Grandma’s Molasses, the top-selling molasses brand in the country.
The molasses is shipped to Roseland, heated to the proper consistency, packaged and prepared for distribution.
Officials say the plant can produce more than 100,000 jars in a single day.
Company leaders say B&G Foods traces its roots back to 1889, when immigrant families began selling pickles on the streets of Manhattan.
“The B&G brand started by the Block and Guggenheimer families who came to this country seeking the American dream,” said Senior Director of Brand Marketing Juv Marchisio.
Despite decades of growth, Bennett says the mission remains the same.
“I can continuously tell the people what an honor it is and how proud you should be. Remember that this jar is going to end up on somebody’s table at home,” Bennett said.
