Five Generations of GoodnessBy the late 1800s, the Mendel family had 15 meat packing plants across Europe. Robert Mendel developed the first international canned ham business, selling Europa Brand canned ham throughout Europe and the United States. So, when you taste Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods today, you’re tasting goodness that goes back generations. In 1936, Fred Mendel (son of Robert Mendel) established the first of a series of packing plants in Australia, and introduced the Mayfair brand. In 1940, at the age of 52, Fred Mendel abandoned his European operation due to the tension in his homeland. He came to Canada, bought a building in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and started the company that was to become Intercontinental Packers (now Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods). The business initially focused on canned hams for the US market. During this time, Fred Mendel shifted focus to respond to the market and to support the war effort. Instead of canned ham, he focused his operation to providing "Bacon for Britain". In 1944, the "Bacon for Britain" float was featured by Intercontinental Packers in an exhibition parade. Two years earlier, this float helped spur interest in supplying war-torn England with food. Intercontinental Packers prepared luncheon meats for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (UNRRA) whose job was to help post-war Europe and its subsequent refugees. Fred Mendel continued the tradition of his father before him --- providing
good, quality meat products backed by his name and guarantee. By 1950, the company
was ready for the first expansion. Prairie Packers in Regina was purchased.
Acquisition of the Vancouver plant occurred in 1964. During this time a young man was learning the ropes of the meat packing business from the ground up. It was 1969, and his name was Fred Mitchell, Fred Mendel’s grandson and the fifth generation of a long line of quality. In 1970, Mr. Mendel's daughter, Mrs. Johanna Mitchell, who had been a director of the company since its inception, became president of the company, and in 1976 chairman of the board. In 1976 Fred Mitchell became president of the family business. Fred Mitchell carried on the family tradition of quality, leadership and an unparalleled commitment to the people who worked for and with him. Intercontinental Packers grew to be the largest value-added pork processor under one roof in Canada. In 1986 Fred Mitchell successfully launched the Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods line of products. 1998 signalled a year of growth and sadness. Intercontinental Packers Ltd. became Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods, however, a short time later Fred Mitchell passed away and LuAn Mitchell took on the leadership of the company. In 1999, Schneider Corporation and Mitchell's Gourmet Foods announced an agreement to enter into a Strategic Alliance and to proceed jointly with the expansion at Mitchell's Saskatoon pork processing operation. "We needed a strong, compatible partner to move our business to the next level and to ensure our long-term success as we prepare to expand in the increasingly competitive North American marketplace," Mitchell's Gourmet Foods Chairperson, LuAn Mitchell, said.
The year 2001 marked an important milestone in the history of Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods, with the opening of the $44 million state-of-the-art processing plant. The newest of technologies and systems are instrumental in making Mitchell’s one-of-a-kind in many areas of pork processing. McLeod Plant November 12, 2002 brought another change in the company. LuAn Mitchell sold her interest in the company to Schneider Foods. On September 25, 2003 two of Canada's leading food companies, Maple Leaf and Schneider Foods announced they had reached an agreement to come together to create a world-class consumer foods company with a family of leading brands. April 6, 2004 the sale was finalized. Maple Leaf Mitchell's Gourmet Foods is an Independent Operating Company of Schneider Foods. The company continues to flourish in the tradition of quality that Fred Mendel created and protected from 1940 to the present day. |
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