Van Camp's

Van Camp’s is a brand of canned beans currently owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. Their products typically consist of beans stewed in a flavored sauce. Van Camp's has for some time been the second-best selling brand of baked beans in the United States, competing with Bush's Baked Beans.

The brand traces its roots back to Indianapolis, where in 1861n Gilbert Van Camp and associates Calvin Fletcher and Martin Williams constructed what became the nation's first successful commercial cold storage warehouse. Primarily concerned with the preservation of fruits and vegetables, VanCamp quickly began experimenting with canning, and by 1862 he had started to can fruits and vegetables in the summertime for winter consumption. Shortly thereafter, VanCamp secured a lucrative contract to supply Union troops during the Civil War. Van Camp's pork and beans quickly became a wartime staple. Following the war, demand for canned food soared as returning veterans were eager to purchase the food that they had become familiar with. In 1882 Van Camp Packing Company was founded, selling catsup beginning in 1888. In 1894 his son Frank Van Camp is credited with the creation of the now-famous recipe for pork and beans in tomato sauce. By 1898 the Van Camp Packing Company had increased annual production to six million cans. By 1909 Indiana, bolstered by the Van Camp family's company had become the nation's leading producer of canned baked beans. Frank Van Camp went on to found Van Camp Seafood.