Newman's Own - Great Products, Great Philanthropy, a Great Man

In 1982, Paul Newman, along with Aaron Hotchner, who grew up during the Great Depression, met Ernest Hemingway and wrote several books about him, joined forces to create Newman's Own.

Newman's Own

Mr. Newman's brand of products with his smiling face on the front started with salad dressing and has spread to pasta sauces, teas, salsas, candies, popcorn, beverages, wine and more.

Newman's Own added an organic branch in 1993, run by his daughter, Nell.

Paul Newman proclaimed that all profits after taxes would go to charity and to date his company has raised more than $250 million dollars for charities around the world.

Although the whereabouts of all the charities are mostly kept quiet, many include schools, scholarships, and community projects. Paul Newman was most vocal about the charity he started in 1998 - Hole in the Wall Camps - a place where terminally ill children could experience summer camp and bond with kids like themselves, free of charge.

Started in 1988 in New Haven, Connecticut, the Hole in the Wall Camps now span 13 camps in Colorado, California, Ohio, North Carolina, New York and Florida, as well as international locations in Israel, Ireland, Hungary, Italy, France and the UK.

Each camp provides the entire summer camp experience for terminally ill children from 6-17 years of age, and have served more than 100,000 children to date.

These camps are free for all children who qualify, funded entirely by proceeds from the sale of Newman's Own brand products.

For more information: Hole in the Wall Camps.

Despite spending a lot of time with his racing passion and starring in or producing and directing feature films, Mr. Newman took great interest in the company he founded.

His lovable smiling face is on every product sold. Each picture is modified minutely to reflect the product itself. Sometimes he has facial hair added, or hats and clothing to represent the flavor and style of the product.

The picture itself was drawn by a young fan and given to him while he was shooting The Verdict. The company has used the drawing ever since and modified it as needed.

Paul Newman himself was involved with making suggestions on these products, including writing the captions and comments on the back of products.

He was also an occasional taste tester, and checked up on every new product that was suggested, developed and produced.

Paul Newman didn't seem like the kind of guy to just put his name on a product. If the dressing, or cereal or wine wasn't up to snuff, you'd hear about it!

In 1993, Newman's Own opened their organic branch, and he helped daughter Nell raise and run the company. Family was important to Paul Newman and giving his support to help Nell make this part of the business successful was more than just a business strategy, it's how he was.

Nell appears on many of the organic products beside her father, captioned as "Nell Newman" next to ""Pa" Newman".

Mr. Newman was also a major spokesman for his products, using his prestige and starpower to encourage stores and customers to stock and purchase his products. After all, more sales meant more money for his beloved charities.