THE HISTORY OF THE JEL SERT COMPANY

The Jel Sert Company was founded in 1926 and remains privately held to this day. Jel Sert's first product was a gelatin dessert mix called Jel Sert, a name derived from combining "jelly" and "dessert". The concept of powdered mixes was very popular in the 1920s, and led to the 1929 introduction of the Flavor Aid® line of powdered soft drink mixes. Jel Sert acquired the Wyler's® trademark from Lipton® in 1994, giving it the number two and three brand names in the category. Wyler's, introduced in 1946, is well known for its lemonade products.

The success of Flavor Aid in the 1950s led to the acquisition of the Pop-Ice® Company in 1963. Pop-Ice was a small company producing a unique freeze-at-home pop that offered the opportunity to enter an exciting new product category. The brand Fla-Vor-Ice® was introduced in 1969, to complement Flavor Aid, and quickly became the leading freezer pop in the United States. Otter Pops® was acquired in 1996, and is the strongest brand on the West Coast. Today, Jel Sert produces and sells more freezer pops than any other company in the world.

MONDO® Fruit Squeezers was designed from "the ground up" and introduced in 1991. Strong promotions and national advertising has helped it become a well-known brand in the juice drink category. With the advantages of convenience and recyclability, MONDO provides more fun to children than the traditional juice-box.

In December 2000, Jel Sert acquired the Royal®, My*T*Fine® brands from Nabisco Brands®, all of which have a strong and loyal following, especially in the Northeastern states. The Royal brand, which includes puddings, gelatins, flan, and no-bake cheesecakes, dates back to 1925. My*T*Fine, a premium cook-and-serve pudding brand, was introduced in 1918.

In 2007, Jel Sert introduced Sipahh Straws™ into their line of products.  Sipahh Straws ™ use the award-winning patented Unistraw® drinking system which delivers great flavor to milk through “unibeads” that dissolve during the course of drinking.  Sipahh straws are unlike other milk flavoring products because they are portable, easy to use, portion controlled, low in sugar, easy to store and FUN!

Kool Pops™ was acquired from Kraft® in 2007.  Acquiring the Kool Pops brand has continued Jel Serts growth in the freezer bar category.  This expands our consumer offerings with six new fruity flavors that are made with real fruit juice.  Kool Pops are Mom and kid friendly since they are quick, easy and fun – anytime! 

The factory in West Chicago, Illinois is Jel Serts primary production facility. Jel Sert has always taken great pride in its operation, and this can clearly be seen with the high quality products that they consistently market. The entire facility is inspected regularly by the American Institute of Baking and holds their highest rating. It also meets the incredibly high sanitary standards set by the pharmaceutical industry. Jel Sert utilizes their unique manufacturing capabilities and significant production capacities to help pharmaceutical and food companies expand their existing product lines and brands with new, novel formats. The manufacturing of pharmaceutical and nutritional items is a quickly expanding portion of the business.

For over eighty years, generations of families have enjoyed Jel Sert products. Quality, flavor, fun and value have always been and will always be the guiding principles at the Jel Sert Company.