citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message reily foods company type private industry food & beverages founded 1902 headquarters new orleans la usa key people david darragh president & ceo products see brands listing . website http www.reilyproducts.com site.php reily foods company is the primary division of wm. b. reily & company inc. and specializes in selling food and beverages . the company started in the coffee and tea business and has diversified through to include condiments dressings seasonings and baking products . luzianne iced tea is available nationally while other products have greater distribution and demand in the southern united states . the reily foods company is headquartered in the central business district of new orleans louisiana . 1 contents 1 history 2 major acquisitions 3 the reily family 4 brands 5 subsidiaries 6 notable employees 7 references 8 external links history edit william b. reily began his career in the grocery and packaged goods business in the late 1870s as a country store clerk in bastrop la . after spending eight years in that position reily decided to open his own retail grocery store . only two years later reily moved 25 miles south to monroe la where he started the southern grocery company inc. a wholesale grocery business . during this time he noticed the popularity of his coffee products and realized that he could create a profitable coffee roasting business . after 14 years of building and running his successful wholesale business in monroe reily moved to new orleans to start what would become the reily foods company . on december 11 1902 reily and his partners began their coffee roasting grinding and distributing company in new orleans . at the time more than 85 % of all coffee beans imported into the united states passed through new orleans so it gave reily first choice of the best coffee beans available . later the next year the company added to its products offerings as a convenience to its customers . both his coffee and tea products were sold under the luzianne a regional pronunciation of louisiana brand name that he created . in 1906 the company was renamed the reily taylor company and then later in 1919 became wm. b. reily & co. inc. in 1932 noticing the increased popularity of iced tea especially in the south reily and his sons created a blend of tea made specifically to be used for iced tea . luzianne iced tea has since become the cornerstone product of the company and the second best selling iced tea in the united states . major acquisitions edit for the first half of the 20th century wm. b. reily & co. and the reily foods company remained a producer of only luzianne coffee and tea products . it wasn t until its 1965 acquisition of the jfg coffee company that reily foods began diversifying their product offerings . though jfg brought with them mostly coffee brands and production facilities reily also acquired a small regional mayonnaise brand . three years later reily acquired cdm coffee from blue plate foods a wildly popular brand of coffee in new orleans that had been around since before the start of the 20th century . in 1974 reily purchased blue plate foods from the hunt wesson company which added blue plate mayonnaise to their list of brands . blue plate was the first commercially prepared mayonnaises and is one of the most popular brands of mayonnaise in the south . over the next 30 years reily acquired several brands from both regional and national companies . they include swans down cake flour try me sauces & seasonings namely tiger sauce wick fowler s 2 alarm chili la martinique salad dressings carroll shelby s original texas style chili presto cake flour no pudge fat free brownie mix french market coffees new england tea & coffee . the reily family edit throughout its 100 years of existence the wm. b. reily & company and the reily foods company has been run by a member of the reily family . from 1902 to 1932 william b. reily led the company from a startup coffee roasting company to one of the region s top suppliers of coffee and tea products . from 1932 to 1968 his two sons william b. reily jr. and james w. reily took control of the company leading it to rapid expansion in the coffee and tea markets . in 1968 william b. reily iii took control of the company and in the years since has led the diversification of its product offerings through product innovations and acquisitions . currently the fourth generation of family wm. b. reily iv serves as president & ceo of the parent company wm. b. reily & co. inc. brands edit luzianne luzianne iced tea luzianne coffees luzianne cajun foods french market coffees new england tea & coffee bonus blend coffees jfg coffees jfg mayonnaise coffee partner ground chicory blue plate mayonnaise la martinique dressings try me sauces & seasoning carroll shelby chili wick fowler chili swans down cake flour presto self rising cake flour no pudge fat free brownie mix subsidiaries edit evamor alkaline artesian water sip technologies notable employees edit lee harvey oswald who was found by five u.s. government investigations to have been the assassin of president john f. kennedy worked briefly at reily s new orleans facility in the months before the assassination . oswald was discharged from his position on july 19 1963 . 2 references edit contact us . reilly foods company . retrieved on january 21 2010 . vincent bugliosi reclaiming history p. 701 external links edit new orleans portal companies portal food portal reily foods website reily foods company website evamor water company website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title reily foods company & oldid 743576758 categories food manufacturers of the united statesmanufacturing companies based in new orleanshidden categories articles needing additional 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