Sun Maid

It all started on a warm day in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley. The year was 1912 when an entrepreneurial group of raisin growers agreed over shared dreams and sturdy handshakes to sell raisins as one. They had no name and no sales plan. But with the guidance of a wise and well-respected farmer, named H.H. Welsh, The California Associated Raisin Company began its century-long journey of spreading sweet raisins around the world. Soon after, a local advertiser named, E.A. Berg coined one of the most iconic brand names in American history: Sun-Maid — a nod to the natural process of raisins being “made” in the California sun. To help spread the news, a train was sent across the county to Chicago with banners on the cars proclaiming, “Raisins Grown by 6,000 California Growers.” In 1915, a young woman, named Lorraine Collett was spotted drying her hair in a bright red bonnet by Sun-Maid director, L.R. Payne. He politely asked Miss Lorraine if she would pose for a painting that would become the Sun-Maid logo found on every little red box to this day.