Hyman Golden
Encyclopedia
Hyman Golden was one of the co-founders of the Snapple
Beverage Corporation (now part of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group
) and was the company's chairman when the firm's juice drinks and teas attained national attention in the late 1980s.
Golden was born in Passaic, New Jersey
, to an immigrant Romanian
father, and grew up in Middle Village, Queens
. He served in the United States Air Force
. Golden had little formal education and one of his early jobs was as a window washer for his father. He worked as a business broker and later founded a maintenance company together with Leonard Marsh, his wife Mitzi's brother.
Golden co-founded Unadulterated Food Products in 1972 to sell fruit juices to health-food stores, together with Marsh and Arnold Greenberg, who himself operated a health food store in Manhattan
's East Village
. Golden's partners Marsh and Goldberg had been childhood friends since the early 1930s, who had both attended PS 165 and Samuel J. Tilden High School
in Brooklyn
. The word "Snapple" was introduced for a lines of drinks introduced in the early 1980s and is derived from a carbonated apple juice. The firm's iced tea line, introduced in 1987, led to skyrocketing sales as health-conscious consumers reached for one of the first ready-made iced tea drinks produced with real-brewed tea and natural ingredients.
The company, originally headquartered in Brooklyn
, relocated to Valley Stream, New York
, where the partners lived. As the company grew exponentially in the, the firm was bought out by Thomas H. Lee Company
in April 1992 for $140 million, with the three original partners retaining a one-third share of the company which had annual sales of $100 million the previous year. The company went public in December 1992 for $10 per share, split two-for-one in 1993, and was bought out by the Quaker Oats Company
in November 1994 for $1.7 billion, with $1.1 paying for the 68% share in the firm held by Thomas H. Lee Company, along with Hyman and his original two partners. The company changed hands several times over the years and is now a part of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group
. Golden retired as Snapple's chairman in 1995.
He died on September 14, 2008 in Great Neck, New York
of complications from a stroke.
Snapple
Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group and based in Plano, Texas. The brand was founded in 1972. The brand achieved some notoriety due to various pop-culture references including television shows.-History:...
Beverage Corporation (now part of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. is an American soft drink company, based in Plano, Texas.It was spun off from Britain's Cadbury Schweppes, on May 5, 2008, with trading in its shares starting on May 7, 2008...
) and was the company's chairman when the firm's juice drinks and teas attained national attention in the late 1980s.
Golden was born in Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 69,781, maintaining its status as the 15th largest municipality in New Jersey with an increase of 1,920 residents from the 2000 Census population of 67,861...
, to an immigrant Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
father, and grew up in Middle Village, Queens
Middle Village, Queens
Middle Village is a neighborhood in central Queens, a borough of New York City. The neighborhood is located in the western central section of Queens, bounded to the north by Eliot Avenue, to the east by Woodhaven Boulevard, to the south by Cooper Avenue, and to the west by Fresh Pond Road...
. He served in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Golden had little formal education and one of his early jobs was as a window washer for his father. He worked as a business broker and later founded a maintenance company together with Leonard Marsh, his wife Mitzi's brother.
Golden co-founded Unadulterated Food Products in 1972 to sell fruit juices to health-food stores, together with Marsh and Arnold Greenberg, who himself operated a health food store in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
. Golden's partners Marsh and Goldberg had been childhood friends since the early 1930s, who had both attended PS 165 and Samuel J. Tilden High School
Samuel J. Tilden High School
Samuel J. Tilden High School is a New York City public high school in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. It is named for Samuel J. Tilden, the former governor of New York State and presidential candidate who, although carrying the popular vote, lost to Rutherford B...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. The word "Snapple" was introduced for a lines of drinks introduced in the early 1980s and is derived from a carbonated apple juice. The firm's iced tea line, introduced in 1987, led to skyrocketing sales as health-conscious consumers reached for one of the first ready-made iced tea drinks produced with real-brewed tea and natural ingredients.
The company, originally headquartered in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, relocated to Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population in the village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census...
, where the partners lived. As the company grew exponentially in the, the firm was bought out by Thomas H. Lee Company
Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners is a private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts specializing in leveraged buyouts, growth capital, special situations, industry consolidations, and recapitalizations....
in April 1992 for $140 million, with the three original partners retaining a one-third share of the company which had annual sales of $100 million the previous year. The company went public in December 1992 for $10 per share, split two-for-one in 1993, and was bought out by the Quaker Oats Company
Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by Pepsico since 2001.-History:Quaker Oats was founded in 1901 by the merger of four oat mills:...
in November 1994 for $1.7 billion, with $1.1 paying for the 68% share in the firm held by Thomas H. Lee Company, along with Hyman and his original two partners. The company changed hands several times over the years and is now a part of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. is an American soft drink company, based in Plano, Texas.It was spun off from Britain's Cadbury Schweppes, on May 5, 2008, with trading in its shares starting on May 7, 2008...
. Golden retired as Snapple's chairman in 1995.
He died on September 14, 2008 in Great Neck, New York
Great Neck, New York
The term Great Neck is commonly applied to a peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island, which includes the village of Great Neck, the village of Great Neck Estates, the village of Great Neck Plaza, and others, as well as an area south of the peninsula near Lake Success and the border of Queens...
of complications from a stroke.