William Underwood Company
| File:Underwood Meat Spreads logo.png Contemporary logo of William Underwood Company | |
| Industry | Food |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1822 |
| Founder | William Underwood |
| Defunct | 1982 |
| Fate | Acquired |
Area served | USA |
| Parent | B&G Foods |
| Website | underwoodspreads |
The William Underwood Company, established in 1822, was a prominent American food manufacturer renowned primarily for its signature product, the Underwood Deviled Ham canned meat spread. The company was instrumental in pioneering early time-temperature research in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) between 1895 and 1896, significantly influencing the evolution of food science and food technology as specialized fields.
Canned foods
William Underwood (1787–1864), the entrepreneur who founded the company, completed an apprenticeship in London before relocating to the United States in 1817. In 1822, he launched the William Underwood Company in Boston, initially focusing on condiment production using glass packaging methods. By 1836, responding to increasing demand, the firm transitioned to steel cans lined with tin and expanded its export markets to include South America, the West Indies, and Asia.
During the period of Manifest Destiny (1840–60), Underwood's canned goods were vital provisions for settlers and later supplied Union soldiers throughout the Civil War. The company's product line grew to encompass seafood items such as lobster, oyster, and mackerel. Following William Underwood’s passing in 1864, his son William James Underwood assumed control and implemented advancements like retort pressure-cooking technology. In 1880, the company inaugurated one of the largest sardine production facilities globally in Jonesport, Maine.
By 1896, exports of deviled ham reached Venezuela, eventually inspiring General Mills to introduce the 'Diablitos Underwood deviled ham' brand in 1960. In 1906, the Massachusetts Board of Health prohibited all deviled meats except those produced by Underwood, underscoring its market leadership. Nonetheless, regulatory obstacles emerged, such as a 1907 incident where Argentinian customs rejected shipments due to trace amounts of boric acid detected.
Research with MIT
The company encountered early challenges with can swelling and product spoilage. In 1895, William Lyman Underwood, grandson of the founder, sought advice from William Thompson Sedgwick, head of MIT’s biology department, concerning exploding clam cans. Sedgwick and his assistant Samuel Cate Prescott conducted investigations from 1895 to 1896 and identified heat-resistant bacterial spores present in clams that survived standard processing methods. They determined these spores could be eradicated by heating at 250 °F (121 °C) for ten minutes within a retort.
Their research extended to other canned products including lobster, sardines, peas, tomatoes, corn, and spinach. The results were published in 1897; although never patented, this work significantly benefited William Underwood Company and propelled advancements within food technology and canning industries.
In the mid-1950s, outgoing president W. Durant introduced George Seybolt as his successor to Prescott at MIT. In 1961, a laboratory was dedicated by the company honoring Prescott and William Lyman Underwood during the Institute of Food Technologists Northeast Section conference. Following Prescott’s death in 1962, the company established the Underwood Prescott Memorial Lectureship which ran until 1982. Later on, Seybolt contributed $600,000 to MIT to endow the Underwood Professorship in 1969 and subsequently an Underwood Prescott Professorship in 1972. Distinguished academics holding these positions have included Samuel A. Goldblith, Gerald N. Wogan, and since 1996 Steven R. Tannenbaum.
Growth during the 1960s
Throughout the 1960s, Underwood pursued growth by acquiring several companies, such as the Appert brand in 1964 and Burnham & Morrill (B&M) Company of Portland, Maine, in 1965. B&M, recognized for its Brick Oven Baked Beans since the 1920s, had longstanding connections with Underwood dating back to the late 1860s. In 1968, Underwood extended its reach into the Canadian market by purchasing Piermont Foods based in Montreal. The company's expansion continued with the acquisition of canned goods manufacturer Shippam's in 1974.
Acquisition by PET
Remaining under private ownership by the Underwood family until 1982, the firm was eventually sold to Pet, Inc., which included B&M Foods in the transaction. This acquisition resulted in the shutdown of Underwood’s headquarters located in Westwood, Massachusetts. Subsequently, Pet, Inc. was purchased by the Pillsbury Company in 1995, which undertook efforts to modernize warehousing and production facilities. In 1999, B&G Foods, headquartered in New York, acquired the Underwood brand portfolio encompassing canned meat spreads, sardines, B&M products, and the Ac'cent flavor enhancer.
Deviled ham and devil emblem
In 1868, Underwood launched its canned deviled ham product—minced ham flavored with spices such as pepper sauce and cayenne pepper—which later expanded to include other meats like turkey, chicken, tongue, and lobster. The company registered its devil emblem as a trademark in 1870, asserting it is the oldest active food trademark in the United States. The red devil character first appeared in 1895 and gradually transformed from a sinister figure into a more approachable brand icon.
The logo from the early 1900s depicted a devil with claws and a barbed tail shaped like a "W," alongside an "m" to represent "Wm." for William Underwood. Flames incorporated into the design highlighted the spicy nature of their products. In 2008, B&G Foods updated the logo by introducing color and shading to add dimension; subsequent revisions removed some yellow accents. The devil emblem is featured across Underwood’s product line—including sardines, liverwurst, corned beef, and chicken spreads—strengthening brand recognition beyond just deviled ham. An animated version of this emblem was produced for television commercials during the 1980s.
Around 1900, several competitors such as Armour and Company and Libby's also offered deviled ham products.
See also
External links
- Official website
- William Underwood Company Records, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Distinctive Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts: https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/2/resources/979
- Pages with broken file links
- American companies established in 1822
- Food and drink companies established in 1822
- Companies based in Boston
- Food manufacturers of the United States
- American companies disestablished in 1982
- 1822 establishments in Massachusetts
- 1982 disestablishments in Massachusetts
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment
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