Beverage Company Wins Texas Family Business of the Year
Category : Awards/Recognition
Son Beverage Company, a San Antonio family owned business, was
recognized as 2016 Texas Family Business of the Year in the Small Business Category by Baylor University’s Institute for Family Business (IFB).
The IFB awards program – now in its 27th year – recognizes outstanding firms whose families demonstrate a commitment to each other, to business continuity and to the needs of their employees, community and industry, and Son Beverage was among them this year.
Son Beverage Co. manufactures Jell-Craft products, which originated in San Antonio in 1945. Walter Oertling, a chemist major, developed a punch concentrate in his chemistry class, which started the line of Jell-Craft Products. This punch concentrate has been sold on retail shelves since 1947 under the name PicNic Punch.
Mary Son is the widow of the founder’s son, Robert Oertling. Son says, “Even though we are not the original family members working in the family business, we like to say that our company is family owned and operated for over 70 years, and we are just a different branch of the family. My daughter who currently handles our marketing is the 3rd generation of Oertlings to be at the company.”
Mary and Tim Son at the awards banquet with their son, John, and one of their employees.
“My son started working here shortly after his sister did and is in charge of operations. Now that both my son and daughter are here, I feel that with their partnership with our team, the Jell-Craft line will continue to grow and remain a family business for years to come. “
About Jell-Craft Products
The Jell-Craft brand was created by Walter Oertling, owner of Blue Bonnet Potato Chip Company in 1945. The
company produced potato chips under the label of Carmen’s Potato Chips until the 1970’s in addition to beverage bases and snow cone syrups. Tim and Mary Son purchased the company in 1997, renaming it Son Beverage Company since they no longer manufactured potato chips. Mary is the daughter-in-law of the founder and widow of Robert (Bobby) Oertling, president of Blue Bonnet Potato Chip Co. from 1978-1989.Tim and Mary Son have kept the Jell-Craft line of products and have also expanded the company to offer private labeling and co-packing services for many well-known restaurants and grocery chains throughout Texas.
