History of the Totally Tomatoes Company
The Totally Tomatoes company, affiliated with the J.W. Jung Seed Company, was founded in 1907. The company originally sold seeds through catalogs. As of 2011, along with mail orders, J.W. Jung Seed Company also sells seeds online and operates several nurseries.
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Origins
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Company founder John William “J.W.” Jung pursued a lifelong interest in seed after a stint at business school when he decided to grow his own seeds and sell them through the mail. He printed a few hundred black-and-white catalogs on a hand press in a bedroom in his parents’ Wisconsin home. After a few years, he made enough money to purchase a cylinder press, which allowed him to print up to 10,000 catalogs at a time.
Growth
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As the company grew, it moved to larger headquarters in downtown Randolph, Wis. By the mid-1930s, catalog distribution reached almost 300,000. Several family members joined the business over the next few decades and the company continued to print its own catalogs until Jung’s death at 100 years old in 1988.
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Modern Times
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Family members continued to grow the business, expanding into seed production and garden centers. As of 2011, the company prints more than 8 million catalogs annually and receives more than 20 percent of its total seed orders online.
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References
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