Few brands have enjoyed such a rich history as Mott’s. For more than a century, Mott’s has been an industry leader in manufacturing, in packaging and in new product development.

Samuel Rogers Mott (known as S.R.) was born on June 29, 1826. Fifty years later, Mott’s would explode onto the national scene at the Philadelphia Centennial of 1876, the first major world’s fair to be held in the United States. Amongst the innovations premiering that year, including Bell’s telephone, Edison’s telegraph and the typewriter, S.R. entered his apple cider and vinegar. So enthusiastically were his products received that he received a first prize for their quality.

The national debut of was a springboard for S.R., who had been manufacturing and growing apples in New York since 1866, using techniques he learned from his grandfather, Zebulon Mott. S.R. pioneered advanced pasteurization and filtration techniques at his mill in Bouckland, N.Y., and the popularity of his products began to grow.

By 1887, Mott's was importing apples from across the northeast, and exporting ciders, juices, vinegars and apple champagnes to the entire United States. After the death of one of his sons, S.R. retired from the apple business, selling the company to his remaining sons, John and Frederick, for $1. After John’s death, Frederick sold the company, renamed Genesee Fruit Company, to the W.B. Duffy Cider Company for substantially more.

In 1914, the two companies consolidated into the Duffy-Mott Company, Inc., a name that remained until it was shortened to simply “Mott’s Inc.” in 1986.

Cider and vinegar were almost the only products of Duffy-Mott since either company’s creation. This changed in 1930, when applesauce was added to the Mott line, a step that caused exponential growth for the company. By 1936, sales exceeded $500,000. In 1938, Mott’s Apple Juice first appears in grocery stores, making use of new processing techniques that allow the natural flavors of apples to be captured in a bottle. Sales reached $18 million by 1950.

In 1967, after a number of acquisitions, Duffy-Mott net sales reached $71 million. The company produced more than 58 different products, including applesauce, prune juice, canned vegetable and seafood, and a line of low-calorie products marketed as “figure control.” That same year, the company was acquired by the American Tobacco Company and made into a subsidiary of a newly formed conglomerate called American Brands, Inc.

Cadbury Schweppes plc acquired Duffy-Mott in 1982, no doubt drawn to the company’s $145 million in sales. The Cadbury Schweppes purchase ushered in a new age of innovation for the brand, and in 1985, Mott’s was the first applesauce to come in single-serve plastic cups. Six years later, Mott’s introduced fruit-flavored applesauces, which eventually grow into Fruitsations flavor line.

In 2001, Mott’s Healthy Harvest, an unsweetened applesauce blended with other fruits, entered the market. Mott’s Organics, a 100 percent organic, unsweetened applesauce, premiered two years later.

Mott’s most recent innovations are Mott’s Plus for Kid’s Health and Mott’s Plus Light, both introduced in April 2005. Mott’s Plus for Kids’ Health, available in Apple Grape and Apple Punch, is 100 percent juice, fortified with 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C, 10 percent Vitamin A and 10 percent calcium, with no added sugar. Mott’s Plus Light has half the calories and sugar of regular apple juice and is fortified with a full day’s supply of Vitamin C to support a healthy immune system. It is also sweetened with Splenda® Brand Sweetener.

The Mott’s brand continues under the ownership of Plano, Texas-based Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB), a subsidiary division of Cadbury Schweppes plc (NYSE:CSG). CSAB is one of the largest producers of soft drinks and premium beverages in the Americas.

What’s in a name? Named after its creator, Samuel Roger Mott, the Mott’s brand arose from a family with three generations of apple experience in America.