History
Fred Mennen of LaPorte, Indiana is credited with developing the product in 1958. It was based on a similar product designed five years before by Benjamin Coleman of Berkley, Michigan, and marketed by the Taylor-Reed Corporation as E-Z PopPopped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America, by Andrew F. Smith, 1999.. Mennen began marketing Jiffy Pop in 1959, and within one year it had reached the national U.S. market, courtesy of American Home Productshttp://www.conagrafoods.com/consumer/brands/getBrand.do?page=jiffy_pop ConAgra Jiffy Pop: Fact Sheet
In the early 1960s, Taylor-Reed sued Mennen Food Products for patent infringement. The district court ruled for the plaintiff, finding Jiffy Pop and E-Z equivalent products, but the case was overturned on appeal.The TAYLOR-REED CORPORATION v.MENNEN FOOD PRODUCTS, INC., American Home Products Corporation, and Frederick C. Mennen
In the early 1970s, magician Harry Blackstone, Jr. appeared on several TV commercials for Jiffy Pop, emphasizing the corn's "magical" appearance from its aluminum foil lid after popping.
American Home Products spun off its food division, renamed International Home Foods, in 1996. In 2000, ConAgra purchased International Home Foods.
Further reading
- Andrew F. Smith (1999). Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-300-5.
- Adeena Sussman (2006). Just Heat It and Eat It!: Convenience Foods of the '40s-'60s. Collectors Press. ISBN 1-933112-19-0.
- Carolyn Wyman (2004). Better Than Homemade: Amazing Food That Changed the Way We Eat. Quirk Books. ISBN 1-931686-42-4.
