From Family Recipe To Family Business

From humble beginnings to a nationally recognized company.

It all started in 1990 while Nickki Stello was attending The Indiana University of Pennsylvania. During Nickki's senior year he was assigned an entrepreneurship project that would change his life. the project focused on the idea of building a brand around his grandmother’s much loved and widely shared red pepper spread.

Along with friends and family, Nickki introduced a new small business to their hometown of Punxsutawney, PA, and his grandmother's recipe to the world, starting Stello Foods right on her patio.

In 1993 a new production facility was established in the former Punxsutawney Hardware Store. The larger production facility allowed Stello Foods to purchase larger manufacturing equipment and increase production.

What started as a manufacturing facility for our own family recipes, soon turned into a business where other companies and individuals could come to have their recipes produced — what is today our growing contract packaging and private label business.

Stello Foods started with the problem of how to capture the essence of a Sunday Italian family dinner into a jar. We prioritize quality to ensure that the flavors that our family enjoyed are shared with as many as possible, just like Rosie intended! We remain committed to producing in our hometown and use as many local ingredients as we can find!

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From humble beginnings to a nationally recognized company.

 


We all have a childhood memory of a special recipe that only Mom could make. For Nickki Stello and his family and friends, “Rosie’s Sweet Pepper Spread” was

everyone’s favorite. Their Grandparents' (Nick and Lucy Villella) recipe for ground peppers with oil in a special tomato sauce was passed on to the next generation. No one ever imagined this special spread, so often shared with family and friends, would soon be sold in grocery stores all across Pennsylvania & some neighboring states.

In 1990, what began as Sunday meals with family and friends, evolved into Nickki Stello’s college business project built around his grandmother’s pepper spread recipe.

Jim and Dave

 After many hours of discussion, this plan led to the birth of a partnership between family and friends (David Daughenbaugh, James Stello, Jamie Stello, Nickki Stello, and Richard Weaver), and the conception of another of America’s Small Businesses.

The business quickly outgrew their grandparents’ patio operation, and a food processing kitchen was constructed out of the beauty shop in the basement of the Stello’s (Rosie and Jim Stello) Punxsutawney home, in 1991. Sales increased from thousands of jars to thousands of cases.

 In 1993, what began as a partnership became the corporation Stello Foods, Inc.,

Nickki

making a significant commitment to its customers and products. The old Punxsutawney Hardware building on Pine Street was purchased & converted into a new processing plant. The larger production facility now allowed Stello Foods to purchase larger manufacturing equipment and increase production.


Soon other companies heard about our success and began to approach us to manufacture their family recipes. This newfound market for our manufacturing services quickly took off. What started as a manufacturing facility for our own family recipes, soon turned into a business where other companies and individuals could come to have their recipes produced — what is today our growing contract packaging and private label business.

Over the next 15 years, a large warehouse was purchased and more production equipment was installed. Now over 18 years into business we have a fully automated production facility in which we produce a wide range of products for hundreds of companies.

 

Over the years we have experienced numerous obstacles in building our business. As our business continues to grow, the experiences from our humble beginnings help make us the company that we are today and define the path for our future. Stello Foods, Inc. now looks forward to the excitement of the future as we strive for higher goals.

We hope you have enjoyed our story as much as you have enjoyed our products. We would love to hear your thoughts. Please send us an email, call, or write to us about what you enjoy most about our products and what we can do to make things better in the future.

Love, 

All of the employees and owners of Stello Foods, Inc.