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In 1945, Ralph F. and Alice Stayer opened up a butcher shop with another family and named it after their Wisconsin hometown – Johnsonville. Their shop featured delicious meats, including sausage. Ralph F. was determined to make his brat better – not with scraps of meat like other butchers used. Instead, his recipe used premium cuts of pork, better spices and a better grinding technique. When sales of his bratwurst started to exceed sales of hamburger, the Stayers knew they were onto something.
During the 1950s, the popularity of Johnsonville Sausage exploded out of local neighborhoods and spread to nearby communities. In 1970, Johnsonville Sausage became available throughout the entire state of Wisconsin.
Johnsonville is – and always has been – family owned and operated, since it was started in 1945 in the town that bears our name. The products we sell in the U.S. are all made in our Midwest facilities.
In 1978, Ralph C. Stayer, son of Ralph F. and Alice Stayer, became president of the company and grew interest in Johnsonville beyond Wisconsin. To meet increased demand, a second plant was built. Johnsonville ads began airing on TV.
During the mid-1980s, the big, bold flavor of Johnsonville Sausage became a nationwide phenomenon. Sales increased 20-fold from a decade earlier, and a direct sales force was launched, expanding distribution to 47 states.
Today, Johnsonville is the most popular brand of sausage in the United States and is available in more than 45 countries. The company remains privately owned and still relies on the same values and work ethic that the Stayer family instilled in its family-owned butcher shop in a small Wisconsin town.
Keep your plates full, keep your tables fuller, and whatever you do, don’t forget to keep it juicy.
