The History of Welch’s Grape Juice

In 1849, Ephraim Bull grew the first Concord grapes on his farm in Massachusetts and began selling the seeds in 1854. In 1869, Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch bottled his first batch of grape juice in his kitchen. It was used as an alternative to fermented wine for communion services at certain churches and marketed as Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine. The name was changed to Dr. Welch’s Grape Juice in 1890. After Welch’s Grape Juice debuted at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, it quickly became a household name. In 1949, Welch’s introduced a new product — Frozen Grape Juice Concentrate. In 1956, Welch’s was purchased by the National Grape Co-Op and several new products were rolled out over the following decade, including several new fruit spreads. Today, Welch’s Grape Juice is a household staple for many families and is especially popular among young children.