Domingo Ghirardelli immigrates to the United States from his homeland of Italy, he has dreams of striking it rich in the California Gold Rush. After trying his hand and failing at mining, he settles on opening a tent-store in nearby Stockton, CA, selling various supplies and confections to fellow miners. With his new business proving successful, Domingo decides to open a store and hotel in San Francisco. After a major fire in 1851 destroys his businesses, he begins to rebuild. In 1852, he forms a new confectionary company that is to become the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. Today, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company has built on its signature taste and time-honored manufacturing processes to become America’s premium chocolate company.

Aside from water, beer’s chief ingredient, barley is the primary raw material. The barley has to germinate for five days in the maltworks before being dried with hot air. This results in malt. The colour of the malt and consequently, of the beer as well, is determined by the temperature. In the brewing hall we mix the ground malt with the brewing water that is drawn from our own sources. We have four 60m-deep wells. This mixture of water and malt, the mash, is brought to various temperatures in a series of steps. The enzymes that are formed during germination further break down the starch in the malt into fermentable sugars. Through filtration, the solids (draff) are separated from the liquid sugar extract (wort). During the cooking process, we add various types of hops which give the beer its characteristic bitterness and pleasing aromas. For the hops our brewers select only the best aromatic varieties, Saaz-Saaz from the Czech Republic and Styrian Golding from Slovenia. After the hops are removed and the mixture is processed in the whirlpool, it is allowed to cool and the beer extract is pumped into the fermentation vessels.

Natural Selection Foods took root on a three-acre raspberry farm. Today it's a leading supplier of packaged organic salads to retailers and foodservice operators nationwide. Natural Selection Foods company's more than 100 different products, which also include organic fruits and vegetables, juice, cookies, and granola, are sold in 75% of US grocery stores under the Earthbound Farm brand name. Natural Selection's growers operate some 33,000 certified organic acres in the US (Arizona, California, Colorado, and Washington), Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand. In 2006 the California company recalled its fresh spinach and salad mixes containing spinach, which were the subject of an FDA nationwide recall due to an outbreak of E. coli.

The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC which dates back to 1915, became a grower-owned beet-sugar cooperative in 1997. The Amalgamated Sugar Company (also known as the Snake River Sugar Company) processes sugar beets for its member/farmers. The cooperative manufactures granulated, coarse, powdered, and brown consumer sugar products marketed under the brand name White Satin. It also provides private-label products for retail grocery chains. In addition, Amalgamated Sugar produces beet pulp, molasses, and other beet byproducts for use by food and animal-feed manufacturers.

As one of the few small public companies in the global beverage alcohol industry, our mission is to develop and grow our current portfolio of premium brands and to complement these brands through a combination of acquisitions, agency relationships and new product development. We position our brands in the high-end segments of leading internationally recognized product categories. Castle Brands Inc. engages in the development, import, marketing, and sale of spirit brands of vodka, rum, whiskey, liqueurs, and tequila in the United States and internationally. The company markets its products primarily under the Boru Vodka, Gosling's Rum, Pallini Limoncello, Raspicello and Peachcello, Knappogue Castle Whiskey, Clontarf Irish Whiskey, Jefferson's, Jefferson's Presidential Select and Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon, Betts & Scholl wines, Celtic Crossing liqueur, Brady's Irish Cream, and Tierras tequila brand names. Castle Brands Inc. offers its products through wholesale distributors and beverage alcohol control agencies in the United States; and directly to retail establishments, including liquor stores, chain stores, restaurants, and pubs internationally. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in New York, New York.

President Earl Tanner founded Florida Key West, Inc. in 1986. Florida Key West makes the key ingredient for key lime pies and Margaritas. Florida Key West company is a leading producer of fruit extracts specializing in key lime juice and lemon juice. Its products are sold mostly through retail grocery stores; its also distributes juice through food wholesalers. In addition to its brand-name products, Florida Key West offers private-label services for large-volume customers.

ORC Foods was started in August 1996 by Jeanette and Gregory Bukuras. At that time Jeanette was a full time stay at home mother of two and Greg was working for a large seafood distributor in the Boston area. Jeanette liked Crab Rangoons and Greg noticed that they could not buy them in the grocery stores. First they found a company that could make Crab Rangoons. Next they developed retail packaging. Finally while Greg was at work and the children went to preschool, Jeanette went out and called on a large list of supermarkets and club stores. Before long, Jeanette had built a nice customer base. Within a year, Greg left his job and went to work at ORC Foods full time.Since they have been in business, ORC Foods has become the largest supplier of Crab Rangoons as well as Scallops Wrapped in Bacon in the country. The company supplies most major supermarket chains as well as club stores nationally and military commissaries around the world. In August 2002, ORC Foods opened their own USDA inspected plant in Needham, MA. Jeanette and Greg are both proud that in the age of sending manufacturing jobs overseas, they have been able to grow their company in the USA.

Founded in 1951 by Mr Stanley P Morrison and Mr J Howat, Morrison Bowmore Distillers Limited is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Suntory Limited and is one of the major names in Scotch whisky.With three Malt Whisky Distilleries situated in the major production areas of Islay, the Highlands and the Lowlands and significant blending, bottling and warehousing facilities, the company has established a leading role in the export of Bulk blend, Vatted Malt and in particular `Bottled in Scotland’ Blends and Single Malts. The success of Morrison Bowmore Distillers Limited is based upon maintenance of traditional values and innovation in the marketplace.

Seafreeze company is a producer of bait products for the fishing industry, with freezing capacities both on water and land. Operating on the East Coast of the US, Seafreeze processes and packages such underused species as butterfish, Illex and Loligo squid, Atlantic mackerel, and Atlantic herring. Seafreeze operates two freezer trawlers (Persistence and Relentless) and an onshore freezing and cold-storage facility, from which it ships frozen seafood to both domestic and international customers. Part of the storage operation is available to the public for cold storage. Seafreeze's products are used as bait on longline ship fleets.

Van's International Foods company makes and markets specialty frozen waffles, including Belgian, mini, organic, and wheat-free varieties. It also makes frozen French toast sticks, pancakes, panini, and "breakfast in a pocket" wraps. Van's International sells its traditional, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free products nationally through natural foods retailers and grocery stores. Van's products are sold throughout the US at food retailers such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Costco. Van's International Foods company is owned by Connecticut-based investment firm, Catterton Partners.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.