From humble beginnings, a business is born

Shearer’s legacy of fine foods started with a simple, family-run meat market in Canton, Ohio. In the early 1900’s, William Shearer opened Shearer's Market on the corner of 9th Street and Dartmouth Avenue. His sons, Nelson and Howard, joined him in the business. When William retired, he passed the store onto his boys. Nelson's son, Jack Shearer and his wife, Rosemary, operated the store from the 1950s until 1976. Hard work, honesty, integrity, and outstanding service earned customer loyalty and established the principles that Shearer's stands for today.

The start of Shearer perfection

In 1974, Jack and Rosemary bought a snack food distributorship.  A fourth generation of Shearers, sons Bob and Tom, joined the family food business, and expanded their route sales fleet.

In 1979, the Shearers wanted to offer their customers a more complete line of snacks. Unable to find products that met their high standards, the family began their own snack food manufacturing operation. Shearer Perfection was born!

The first bags

Their first “hand-cooked" kettle potato chips were manufactured in a small rented facility on Harrisburg Avenue in Canton.  The Shearers hand-cooked their potato chips, packaged them in one pound plastic bags, and sold them under the "Kettle-Cook'd" label. Customers were excited by the new product and quickly added it to their shelves.

Success brings growth and transition

In 1982, Shearer’s moved to Brewster, Ohio

As Shearer’s grew their brand name and reputation, it became clear that the small location had to make way for a larger facility.  The family purchased a 20,000 square foot building on ten acres in Brewster, Ohio in 1982.  Before long, six hand-kettles and a peanut roaster were in operation.  To honor Rosemary, the Grandma Shearer's logo was introduced in 1983.

In 1991, with market acceptance for Shearer’s snacks far surpassing their manufacturing capabilities, the company increased the plant’s size to 52,000 square feet.

In 1998, Shearer’s doubled the  plant size, and added production capacity for tortilla chips and cheese curls. 

Acquisitions Fuel Further Growth

September 1997 Groundbreaking in Brewster

In 2007, Shearer’s expanded its footprint beyond the state of Ohio by purchasing a snack food plant in Lubbock, Texas, for the production of kettle chips and extruded products.

2010 was a banner year for Shearer’s. The company acquired Snack Alliance, a manufacturer of branded and private label snacks.  This acquisition included manufacturing facilities in Bristol, Virginia and Hermiston, Oregon, and transformed Shearer’s into a national snack manufacturer and distributor.

In the same year, the company opened a new manufacturing facility in Massillon, Ohio.  The Millennium Manufacturing Facility is the world’s first snack food plant to be awarded LEED® Platinum status by the US Green Building Council for sustainable practices. Millennium was awarded Plant of the Year in 2011 by Food Engineering Magazine. 

In 2011, Shearer’s was named Snack Manufacturer of the Year for the second time by Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery magazine.

A Passion For Shearer Perfection

Throughout its 38 year history, Shearer’s has prided itself on honesty, integrity, and a passion for making great tasting snacks.  Just as it was in 1974, Shearer’s is committed to manufacturing snacks that provide Shearer Perfection In Every Bag™.  

 

Millennium—The world’s first LEED® Platinum snack food plant