Newell (formerly Jarden): The home canning giant.
Newll is a company that produces most of the mason jars and mason jar lids for North America. They do so under the following brand names: Ball, Bernardin, Golden Harvest, and Kerr.
- Ball jars are mostly sold in the eastern-half of the United States;
- Bernardin jars are in Canada;
- Golden Harvest are sold throughout North America;
- Kerr jars are mostly found on the west coast of the United States.
Newell also produces associated supplies for the home canning market, as well as the Ball and Bernardin canning recipe books which are regarded as reputable and authoritative.
Newell was known as “Jarden” from 2002 to 2016.
Newell around the world
Newell in Australia
https://www.freshpreserving.com.au/
Newell in Canada
https://www.bernardin.ca (English)
https://www.bernardin.ca/french_pages/accueil/1.php (French)
United States
Newell operates a combined web-site for Ball and Kerr at: https://www.freshpreserving.com/
There is no website for Golden Harvest.
Background information on Newell
Newell also owns many other well-known companies outside the home-preserving field, such as Coleman (the camping people), Brevil, Crock-Pot, Foodsaver, Mr Coffee, Oster, Rival, Rubbermaid, Sunbeam, etc.
Newell is the third name for the corporate conglomerate. The company was originally called Alltrista. Alltrista was created in April of 1993 as a spin off company from Ball Corporation to own and make Ball products under licence. Nine years later, in May 2002, the name was changed to the invented name of “Jarden.”
The Wikipedia entry for Jarden (as of 17 March 2015) explains the meaning of the corporation’s first two names, Alltrista and Jarden:
The company was renamed in May 2002. The company’s previous name, Alltrista, was created by dropping the “B” from Ball and the “Minne” from Minnetrista, the street on which the Ball family had grown up in Muncie, IN. Between 1993 and 2001, as a public company, Alltrista did not perform well and, after Martin E. Franklin and Ian G.H. Ashken joined the company in 2001, Mr. Franklin decided to change the name of the company to something that represented not only the company’s heritage, but also its future. The company did not hire any consultants to assist with the naming process. Martin Franklin conceived the Jarden name by combining the heritage of the Ball “Jar” with the concept of products being used in the home (the “den”). The coinage of “Jarden” also invoked the connotation of the French word for garden (jardin), since the company planned to expand its product range outside the home.”
In 1994, the company acquired Bernardin in Canada, and the Fruit-Fresh brand product line.
In 1996, the company acquired the Kerr company, closing production in Jackson, Tennessee and consolidating Kerr and Ball production in Muncie, Indiana.
In 1998, the Golden Harvest line of canning products was introduced.
In 2013, Jarden bought a company called Penley which amongst other things was selling some Mason jars (made in China for them), but Jarden shut down Penley’s Mason jar line. [1] “He said he said he was surprised to find the Penley lids, since the company had decided to get into making fruit jars and shipped in a supply made in China, but before they could be sold they were bought out by Jarden. The inventory sat in the warehouse for a while before the decision was made to destroy the inventory.” — Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club. Midwest Glass Chatter – October 2013. Accessed March 2015 at http://www.leaderjar.com/glasschatter/Glass%20Chatter%20October%202013.pdf
Jarden’s headquarters were first in Muncie, Indiana; then in Indianapolis, Indiana; [2] Company history of Alltrista Corporation, International Directory of Company Histories. Accessed March 2015 at https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/alltrista-corporation-history/ then in Rye, New York, and then as of 2014, in Boca Raton, Florida. [3] “After years of moving its employees south, Jarden Corp. has officially switched its headquarters to Boca Raton to give the city another major corporate player to boast about. Formerly based in Rye, N.Y., the company (NYSE: JAH) changed its headquarters address in public filings to 1800 North Military Trail several months ago, spokeswoman Rachel Wilson said. It still has offices in both cities, but its larger workforce is in Boca Raton, she said.” — Bandell, Brian. Company with $7B in sales now calls Boca Raton home. South Florida Business Journal. 13 March 2014. Accessed March 2015 at https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2014/03/13/company-with-7b-in-sales-now-calls-boca-raton-home.html?page=all
Tidbit for Canadians: Jarden had a contract to supply penny blanks to the Royal Canadian Mint until 2016. [4] Jarden Corporation Annual Report filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 31 December 2013. Commission File Number: 001-13665.
In 2016, Jarden was acquired by Newell Rubbermaid in a move that was branded a “merger.” The “merged” company renamed itself to “Newell Brands.”
Name history summary
- 1993 and prior: Ball, Kerr and Bernardin jars all made by their respective brands
- 1993: Ball spins off its home canning jar division, naming it “Alltrista”
- 1994: Bernardin bought and merged into Alltrista
- 1996: Kerr bought and merged into Alltrista
- 1998: Alltrista introduces fourth economy line of jars, “Golden Harvest”
- 2002: Alltrista becomes “Jarden”
- 2016: Jarden becomes “Newell Brands”
Further reading
Canning Around the Globe! Jarden Home Brands Presents First Ever International Can-It-Forward Day. Press release. 4 August 2014.
Company history of Alltrista Corporation, International Directory of Company Histories.
References
| 1. | ↑ | “He said he said he was surprised to find the Penley lids, since the company had decided to get into making fruit jars and shipped in a supply made in China, but before they could be sold they were bought out by Jarden. The inventory sat in the warehouse for a while before the decision was made to destroy the inventory.” — Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club. Midwest Glass Chatter – October 2013. Accessed March 2015 at http://www.leaderjar.com/glasschatter/Glass%20Chatter%20October%202013.pdf |
| 2. | ↑ | Company history of Alltrista Corporation, International Directory of Company Histories. Accessed March 2015 at https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/alltrista-corporation-history/ |
| 3. | ↑ | “After years of moving its employees south, Jarden Corp. has officially switched its headquarters to Boca Raton to give the city another major corporate player to boast about. Formerly based in Rye, N.Y., the company (NYSE: JAH) changed its headquarters address in public filings to 1800 North Military Trail several months ago, spokeswoman Rachel Wilson said. It still has offices in both cities, but its larger workforce is in Boca Raton, she said.” — Bandell, Brian. Company with $7B in sales now calls Boca Raton home. South Florida Business Journal. 13 March 2014. Accessed March 2015 at https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2014/03/13/company-with-7b-in-sales-now-calls-boca-raton-home.html?page=all |
| 4. | ↑ | Jarden Corporation Annual Report filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 31 December 2013. Commission File Number: 001-13665. |
A Chinese company has started advertising as “Ball” such as “Ballofficial” and so on. I got scammed by their product…shipped from China, no branding on the lids which were white on the inside, thin…definitely not a Jarden/Newell brand. They have been adding new url’s daily. I sent an email direct with images and detail, yet didn’t even receive a “gee thanks for letting us know” letter. Having been using your products in my farm and prior for over 45 years…it would be nice to know that the same consideration for your customers was still in place today that there was back then. It seems since the pandemic, Newell (Rubbermaid, Jarden et al) has dropped the ball on answering customer inquiries and concerns. Please make us feel like you still care…
Since Newell owns ALL the jar making Companies in North America, why has there been such a shortage of product available for store shelves for the last two years? You wouldn’t be trying to introduce a false Market condition to support raising prices would you? I would prefer to think you would be doing everything possible to assist the homeowners to cut their expenses. Considering the amount of home gardens started this year due to the Pandemic, I would expect you will want to assist all of us by keeping our costs of preserving down. Have you seen Amazons jar prices? They will make you sick.
Curious as to why the extreme shortage in canning lids right now. Unable to find in MN or WI. I understand that we’re in a Pandemic but it still makes no sense. There’s not THAT many new gardeners…
There seem to be shortages of canning jars and lids in my area, Dayton PA. The Amish community relies on its canned foods for the winter. Is there a way to get more supplies here?
I have a gallon Ball jar I found at a yard sale, unfortunately he does not have a lid! Can I purchase one please? Any help would be appreciated!
Can you verify that all jars and lids are made in the United States now. Several lid failures has me concerned. Is quality control slipping or product quality? I can have lids from three years ago and new lids in the same canner I marked my older lids to check if they were good when they came out they sealed and the two of the three new lids failed.
When I inspected my lids from Golden Harvest, one seems irregular and not sure whether to use it or not. Please advise.
Hi Diane. If the lid seems irregular, and you don’t feel comfortable about it, then don’t use it for canning. You can use it for dry storage instead, rather than risking have a jar on the shelf lose its seal and the food in it go bad.
I am appalled that Ball lids are now manufactured in China with extremely poor quality. In fact, they don’t work at all! Ball’s reputation has always been about good quality. Grandma always said that Ball lids are the best. Not any more. And for this company to have a monopoly on the canning lid market! Sinful!
The new “sure tight” lids are not good. They fail daily. But yet the golden harvest and Jarden do not. Makes no sense if they are made by the same company. Then there is the mini jars. They are sold at Walmart and take different lids called mininlids but the lids are not sold at Walmart. This is just an observation of course.
I would like to buy canning jars of quality, not made in China they break in the pressure cooker. Do you have an outlet store in Quebec City. Do your jars withstand 10 degrees of pressure for 50 minutes. Quality please.
Hi Gay, all jars made and sold by Jarden — Ball, Bernardin, Golden Harvest, and Kerr — are made in America.
I’m going to direct you to Bernardin for your other questions. You can contact them here: https://www.bernardin.ca/en/contact-us.htm
I’m trying to find a quart jar wide mouth lid. I want it with a light kit on it. Thank you so much.
Not able to picture what you mean Ann…..
Trying to contact the CEO or President of the Jarden ball lid company for I am having a problem with the consumer affairs division for over two months and I am still not satisfied . Please help. Langley Joyner Concord,N.C. 28028 . 704-782-2385, Thanks
This page lists how to contact the board: https://www.jarden.com/for-investors/governance/contact-the-board. Here’s the list of people on the board: https://www.jarden.com/for-investors/governance/board-directors.
Hope that helps.