Robert J. Vlasic

Robert J. Vlasic (March 9, 1926 – May 8, 2022) was an American executive. He helped build Vlasic Pickles into one of the most popular pickle brands in the United States, controlling about a quarter of the market as of 1978.

Early life and education

Vlasic was born and raised in Detroit. His grandfather Franjo "Frank" Vlašić and his father Joseph Vlašić were Croatian immigrants who ran a dairy distribution business. Robert Vlasic served in the Navy during World War II, then attended the University of Michigan, earning a degree in industrial and mechanical engineering in 1949. In 1988 the university established the deanship of the school of engineering as an endowed position, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering.

Career

He joined the family business after graduation, and took over its management in 1963. During the 1940s the company had expanded into fruits and vegetables, including pickles in glass jars. Vlasic got the company to move beyond distribution into production, making and selling sauerkraut and a wide variety of pickles. He attracted public attention with light-hearted, whimsical commercials, saying that "pickles should be a fun food." One series focused on pregnant women ("Sweetie, it’s time for your 4 o’clock pickle"); another featured a stork named Jovny with a Groucho Marx accent smoking a pickle like a cigar. In 1974 Vlasic published a book, Bob Vlasic's 101 Pickle Jokes.

In 1978 he sold the business to the Campbell Soup Company and took a seat on Campbell's board of directors, serving as its chairman from 1989 to 1993. He also served on multiple nonprofit and charity boards, including the chairmanship of the board of Henry Ford Hospital. A devout Catholic, he served as a financial advisor to the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Personal life

In 1950 he married Nancy Reuter; they lived in Grosse Pointe Shores and later in Bloomfield Hills. The couple had five sons. She died in 2016.