8 Fascinating Insights About Progresso's Italian Roots

While Progresso is widely recognized for its canned soups today, it originally began by offering canned Italian products to Italian American communities in New Orleans. Over time, the brand expanded its offerings to include chili, stock, beans, balsamic vinegar, breadcrumbs, and more. Here are eight intriguing facts about Progresso you might not be aware of.

1. Progresso's origins trace back to Italy in the 1800s.

In the 1890s, a young Giuseppe Uddo, just 9 years old, left school to sell cheese and olives to his Sicilian neighbors in Italy. Using a horse-drawn cart, he supported his family through this venture. This early experience proved invaluable when he immigrated to the U.S. in 1907. At 24, Uddo and his wife, Eleanora—whose family, the Taorminas, were also involved in the food industry—settled in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Uddos had established family connections in New Orleans. Vincent Taormina, a relative of Eleanora, had launched a business in 1905 importing Italian foods to the area. Later, Uddo and Taormina would collaborate to create the company that evolved into Progresso. However, Uddo initially ventured out independently.

2. A horse named Sal played a crucial role in the company's early success…

Settling in New Orleans' French Quarter, Giuseppe Uddo began his own import venture. In 1913, he purchased a horse named Sal and used him to travel through Italian neighborhoods in Louisiana, selling imported Italian goods like tomato sauce and olives.

3. … However, the business quickly expanded beyond Sal's capacity.

Uddo's Louisiana venture flourished to the point where he replaced Sal with delivery trucks and established a warehouse and grocery store in the French Quarter. Just before World War I, he took a bold step by buying a massive quantity of tomato paste cans in one go—a decision that proved profitable when the war disrupted imports from Italy, causing prices to soar.

Once the war concluded, Uddo set up a factory in Riverdale, California, to produce tomato paste cans locally, reducing his dependence on Italian imports. This move marked a historic milestone, as his facility became the first in the U.S. to produce canned Italian food.

4. The founding families of Progresso shared more than just a business partnership.

In 1925, Giuseppe Uddo and Vincent Taormina merged their New Orleans businesses to form the Uddo and Taormina Company. Taormina's son, Vincent Taormina, Jr., along with another relative, Frank G. Taormina, ventured into the import trade, establishing their own Italian food company in New York. They catered to the city's sizable Italian community by selling olives, tomatoes, sardines, cheese, and peppers.

By then, the California factory operated by Uddo and Taormina was producing more tomato-based products than they could sell in New Orleans, prompting them to seek new markets. In 1927, the New Orleans and New York branches merged to form the Progresso Italian Food Corporation in New York City. (The company was renamed Progresso Quality Foods in 1977.)

The bond between the Uddo and Taormina families extended beyond their business alliance. Eleanora was born a Taormina, and in 1933, Frank Taormina married Rose, the daughter of Giuseppe and Eleanora.

5. The Progresso label was inspired by a pastel artwork.

The name 'Progresso' originated from the Progressive Grocery Company, a store in New Orleans's French Quarter. Uddo and Taormina acquired the trademark for $25, naming their new venture the Progresso Italian Food Corporation. Beyond the optimistic implications of the word progress, Progresso also resonated with Il Progresso, a widely-read Italian newspaper in New York City from 1880 to the 1980s. The company's label was designed based on a pastel painting Uddo had obtained from Progressive Grocery years earlier.

6. World War II redirected Progresso's strategy from importing to domestic production.

During World War II, importing canned goods from Italy became impossible once again, prompting Progresso to enhance its local manufacturing capabilities by acquiring a factory in Vineland, New Jersey. From 1942 onward, the Vineland facility canned products like peppers, vegetables, beans, and more, primarily sourced from Italian farmers in southern New Jersey. In 1949, Progresso launched ready-to-eat canned soups, including minestrone, pasta e fagioli, and lentil, to generate revenue during the off-season when fresh vegetables were unavailable. Today, Progresso accounts for approximately 40 percent of the canned soup market in the U.S.

7. Progresso is currently owned by General Mills.

By the 1950s, Progresso's offerings were available in grocery stores nationwide, introducing American households to Italian staples such as canned tuna in olive oil, breadcrumbs, capers, and artichokes. However, the company didn't stay under the Uddo-Taormina families' control for long. After Giuseppe Uddo's death in 1957, disputes between the families led to the sale of Progresso to Imperial Tobacco, a Canadian firm, in 1969. Over the next few decades, Progresso underwent a series of ownership changes, eventually becoming part of the Pillsbury Company in 1995. When General Mills acquired Pillsbury in 2001, Progresso became a General Mills brand, where it remains today.

8. Uddo's grandson paid tribute to him by launching an Italian restaurant in New Orleans.

In 1990, Michael Uddo, the late chef and grandson of Giuseppe Uddo, established The G&E Courtyard Grill in New Orleans's French Quarter. Named after his grandparents, Giuseppe and Eleanora, the restaurant specialized in Italian cuisine until its closure in 1999.