Specialty Foods from Coastal Georgia Enjoy Worldwide Appeal
Published Aug 21, 2008
Braswell's offers 450 lip-smakin' products.
Red pepper jelly. Pure pear preserves. Green tomato relish. Peach fruit syrup. Is your mouth watering yet?
Imagine the temptation if you’re one of the nearly 100 employees of Braswell’s, a gourmet foods company in Statesboro with about 450 lip-smackin’ products.
Founded by Albert Braswell Jr. in 1946, Braswell’s made its name preserving what Georgia farmers harvested. “We use as many local ingredients as we can. That’s how Mr. Albert got started,” says Stuart Saussy, vice president.
While a couple of Braswell family members are still with the company, none of them is an owner. Saussy and three other investors, all involved in operating the company, own it today.
“We like to think of it as family-run still,” Saussy says.
Braswell’s branded products are found in most major retail grocery stores, including Wal-Mart, Publix, Harris Teeter, Giant, Kroger, Albertsons and Safeway. About 60 percent of the business is private label, meaning Braswell’s makes the product for another retailer.
Walk into a Costco in Korea, and you’ll find Braswell’s products on the shelves. Other international export locations include Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, Saussy says.
Remember jelly glasses from Bama and Smucker’s? Braswell’s has taken the vintage idea and given it a new twist, packaging some of its high-end products in Mikasa drinkware under the Braswell’s Select label. “The eco-friendly packing has turned a lot of heads,” Saussy says. “We have sold to Williams-Sonoma, Saks, Harry & David and thousands of independent grocery chains, gift shops and gourmet markets.”
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
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