You've had it for breakfast - and probably for lunch and dinner too. Indeed, if you've ever sunk your teeth into Skippy peanut butter, Thomas' English muffins, Pot Noodle snacks, or Hellmann's Mayonnaise, you've sampled a product of Bestfoods. The company, which has annual sales of approximately $8.4 billion, is one of the world's most expansive food enterprises. It handles operations in more than 60 countries (in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa) and sells its wares in 110. A truly global enterprise, Bestfoods makes the majority of its sales outside the U.S.

In the beginning ... there was starch

In 1842, an American inventor developed a way to separate starch from corn, launching the corn refining business. For the next 60 years, the business fluctuated between industry cartels and vicious competition. The eventual result was the 1906 merger of two companies into the Corn Products Refining Company. This firm dominated the industry for years, despite decades of antitrust action by the government. CPRC remained primarily a refinery until 1958, when it merged with Best Foods, maker of Hellmann's, and with C.H. Knorr, the soup manufacturer. The company changed its name to CPC International in 1969 to reflect its worldwide expansion. In the 1980s and 1990s it bolstered its growth with the purchase of over 50 food companies. Unfortunately, the company suffered a setback in 1996, when it settled a corn syrup price fixing lawsuit for $7 million. The next year, the company announced its plans to spin off its refining operations.

Name-switching

Formerly CPC International, Bestfoods chose its new name in January 1998. The name change occurred in connection with the spin-off of CPC's 1997 $1.5 billion corn refining business. The new - and arguably improved - Bestfoods operates more than 115 plants around the world and employs almost 50,000 people. Its more popular (and unabashedly ethnic-sounding) brands include Knorr soups and related products, Mazola corn and canola oils, Boboli Italian pizza crusts, Arnold and Freihofer's breads, Alsa desserts, and Pfanni potato products.

After changing its name, the company enjoyed success. Worldwide, the company posted an increase in profits for 1998. That same year, Bestfoods UK Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bestfoods, reached an agreement with Hibernia Foods. Under this agreement, Hibernia would acquire Entenmann's baked goods business in the UK and Ireland. The next year, Bestfoods announced plans to open a new factory in Russia, and in early 2000, Bestfoods purchased Arisco Industrial Ltd. It also introduced several new products and undertook a new advertising campaign to enhance recognition of its products.

Law and order

In 1998 the U.S. Supreme Court limited the legal responsibility of parent companies for cleaning up hazardous waste sites caused by their subsidiaries. Bestfoods played a large part in this ruling, given that the company - along with GenCorp Inc.'s Aerojet-General division - was formerly liable for a $100 million in clean-up costs. Both companies had owned subsidiaries in the now-polluted Muskegon, Michigan area. While Bestfoods denied any liability, it may not be fully off the hook. The Court confirmed that parent companies could still be held liable when they take an especially "active role in managing a subsidiary's facility." Bestfoods' case is pending.

Mega-Merger