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History

1908

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Gray & Company, The Cherry Idea Company

Founded in 1908, Gray & Company is the home of CherryMan, and began as a wagon distributor of bakery ingredients on the unpaved streets of Portland, Oregon. Over the years, the company moved into fruit processing and today Gray & Company is the world's largest maraschino cherry producer. We are the largest supplier of maraschino cherries to the U.S. grocery trade, and are a leading supplier of glacé (candied) fruit and cherries for ice cream and confection applications. From our manufacturing bases in Michigan and Oregon, we supply all of North America and markets around the globe.

Gray & Company logo

 

In 1981, Gray & Company was acquired by an ownership group led by James G. Reynolds.

In 1992, Gray & Company acquired the Queen Anne brand of cordial cherries from Hershey. Over the next fourteen years, Gray & Company increased Queen Anne sales by more than 400% and achieved greater than 70% U.S. market share. In January of 2006, Gray & Company sold Queen Anne to World's Finest Chocolate, returning the brand to its roots as a Chicago confection.

In 2015, Gray & Company was acquired by Seneca Foods, North America’s leading provider of packaged fruits and vegetables. For more information, please read the press release on the Seneca Foods website.

Today, more than 100 years since its birth, Gray & Company continues to provide customers with quality products that can be found all over the world. Manufacturing operations are led out of Hart, Michigan. Gray & Company is one of the largest employers in Oceana County, Michigan, and the largest buyer of sweet cherries in Michigan.