GEM BERRY PRODUCTS

Incorporated in 1993, Gem Berry was an outgrowth of an earlier effort by a group of North Idaho farmers to establish a raspberry industry. Partners Harry & Betty Menser and Jack & Elizabeth O'Brien formed the company when the raspberry industry fell through because of a lack of labor to pick the delicate fruit. Fortunately for them, the availability of wild mountain huckleberries and the opening of the Bonner Business Center in Sandpoint that housed a licensed kitchen offered Gem Berry the opportunity to manufacture their value-added products. Brothers, Doug and Edward Hawkins, owners of the Litehouse Salad Dressings, also located in Sandpoint, gave Gem Berry a tremendous boost too, by bringing home their huckleberry operation from Oregon and contracting with Gem Berry for its huckleberry production. Gem Berry managed Litehouse Specialty Foods huckleberry division until 2004 when they bought the huckleberry business from Litehouse.

Also known as: Gem Berry, Gem Berry Products Inc.