Heluva Good!
Corporate brand
UnclaimedHeluva Good! is an American dairy brand known for cheese, chip dips, sour cream and condiments.
Last updated August 24, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Heluva Good! is an American dairy and refrigerated-food brand whose portfolio includes cheeses, chip dips, sour cream products and condiments. The brand is associated with Sodus, New York, where its founder Perry Messinger began experimenting with washed-curd cheese in 1925. Messinger operated the A.B. Williams Company and initially treated cheesemaking as a hobby before establishing a dedicated cheese shop in 1939. The Heluva Good! name was formally registered in 1940 after an earlier naming issue involving government regulators. The unusual name reportedly arose from a salesman's enthusiastic reaction to one of Messinger's cheeses. Messinger kept the operation relatively small and family-oriented during its early decades. His playful approach to business extended to the company’s listed executive titles, which humorously identified Father Time as president and Death and Taxes as treasurer. Father Time also became a long-running visual emblem on the brand’s packaging. The company’s products developed a local and regional reputation, and historical accounts identify aviator Jimmy Doolittle and President Franklin D. Roosevelt among notable customers. In 1955, Messinger sold the company to Rochester, New York, salesman George F. T. Yancey Sr. Yancey and his son expanded Heluva Good! beyond its original cheese base, adding more cheese varieties as well as chip dips and condiments. This broadened the brand from a specialty cheese business into a wider grocery offering centered on dairy-based entertaining and snack products. Heluva Good! became part of Crowley Foods in 1984. Crowley Foods was later acquired by HP Hood in 2004, making Heluva Good! a subsidiary brand within the larger dairy company. HP Hood has continued to market the brand across much of the United States and in Canada. The brand’s packaging was modernized in 2006, when the traditional Father Time character was temporarily replaced with a more colorful design; the character later returned. For many years, the company maintained a cheese packaging plant in Sodus and operated a Heluva Good! Country Store in nearby Wallington, New York. The store opened in 1980 and served as a branded retail presence in the community. HP Hood announced in April 2015 that both the Sodus cheese facility and the country store would close on June 26 of that year, with warehouse and delivery operations continuing through July. Cheese packaging was transferred to Schreiber Foods in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while chip dips and condiments continued to be manufactured and packaged at HP Hood’s facility in Arkport, New York. The change ended the brand’s long-standing local cheese-packaging operation and prompted criticism from some New York consumers who preferred locally produced cheese. Heluva Good! has also used sports sponsorship to build recognition. Its name appeared in NASCAR sponsorships, including the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 held at Michigan International Speedway in 2010 and 2011. Today, the brand remains an HP Hood product line sold primarily through grocery retailers, with its identity built around casual snacking, party foods and accessible dairy products.
History
Heluva Good! traces its origins to Perry Messinger’s cheesemaking work in Sodus, New York. In 1925, Messinger began making washed-curd cheese as a hobby in the basement of the A.B. Williams Company, a business he owned and managed. The brand’s name is associated with a salesman’s enthusiastic description of the cheese, although the name was formally registered only after a naming issue involving government regulators. Messinger established a cheese shop in 1939, marking the company’s formal commercial beginning, and registered the present name the following year. The early business retained a small-scale, family-oriented character. Messinger was known for humor in the presentation of the company: its executive listings used playful names such as Father Time, Death and Taxes, and Geo. Experience. Father Time became the most recognizable symbol, appearing on packaging for more than fifty years. Although the company remained regional, its products attracted prominent customers, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jimmy Doolittle according to historical accounts. Messinger sold the business in 1955 to George F. T. Yancey Sr., a Rochester, New York, salesman. Yancey and his son developed the company into a larger regional dairy-food operation. They expanded the cheese range and added chip dips and condiments, creating the product mix that later became central to Heluva Good!’s identity. Crowley Foods acquired Heluva Good! in 1984. In 2004, HP Hood acquired Crowley Foods, and Heluva Good! became part of HP Hood’s dairy portfolio. The brand continued to be distributed through grocery stores across much of the United States and in Canada. Its packaging underwent a substantial visual change in 2006, when Father Time was replaced by a brighter and more contemporary design. The historic character later returned to the packaging. The brand maintained important physical ties to its New York origins. Cheese products were packaged at a Sodus plant, and a Heluva Good! Country Store operated in Wallington, just east of Sodus, after opening in 1980. On April 19, 2015, HP Hood confirmed that both the cheese packaging plant and the country store would close on June 26. Warehouse and delivery functions continued until the end of July. HP Hood cited market conditions as the primary reason for the decision. Schreiber Foods assumed cheese packaging in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while HP Hood continued to manufacture and package chip dips and condiments at its Arkport, New York, facility. Some New York consumers criticized the change because the cheese would no longer be produced locally. Heluva Good! also pursued consumer visibility through sports marketing. The brand sponsored NASCAR events, including the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway in 2010 and 2011. Its current business is focused on grocery distribution of cheese, dips, sour cream products and condiments under the HP Hood corporate umbrella.
- 2015
Sodus plant and country store close
[1]The Sodus cheese packaging plant and Wallington country store close, with cheese packaging transferred to Schreiber Foods.
- 2010
NASCAR sponsorship begins
[1]Heluva Good! sponsors the Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
- 2006
Packaging redesign
[1]The traditional Father Time character is replaced by more colorful packaging, though the character later returns.
- 2004
Becomes part of HP Hood
[1]HP Hood acquires Crowley Foods, including the Heluva Good! brand.
- 1984
Acquired by Crowley Foods
[1]Crowley Foods acquires Heluva Good!, bringing the brand into a larger dairy-business structure.
- 1980
Heluva Good! Country Store opens
[1]The branded country store opens in Wallington, New York, near Sodus.
- 1955
Ownership passes to George F. T. Yancey Sr.
[1]Perry Messinger sells the company to Rochester salesman George F. T. Yancey Sr., who later expands the business with his son.
- 1940
Heluva Good! name registered
[1]The present brand name is registered after an issue concerning an earlier application.
- 1939
Cheese shop established
[1]Messinger opens a cheese shop, establishing the company as a formal commercial operation.
- 1925
Perry Messinger begins cheesemaking
[1]Perry Messinger begins making washed-curd cheese as a hobby in Sodus, New York, at the A.B. Williams Company.
Products and positioning
A casual, accessible dairy-snacking brand focused on cheese, dips and condiments for everyday grocery use, entertaining and snack occasions.
Cheese · 1925
Cheese
Cheese is the brand’s historic core category, originating in Perry Messinger’s washed-curd cheesemaking. Heluva Good! later expanded its cheese range under successive owners. For many years, production-related packaging was associated with the company’s Sodus, New York, operation; after that facility closed in 2015, cheese packaging moved to Schreiber Foods in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Dips
Sour cream and chip dips
Heluva Good! sour cream and chip dips extend the brand from packaged cheese into casual snacking and entertaining. The dip range became part of the broader portfolio developed after the Yancey family acquired the company and remains one of the brand’s most visible product areas.
Condiments
Condiments
Condiments complement the brand’s cheese and dip products and support everyday meal and snack occasions. These products are manufactured and packaged by HP Hood at its Arkport, New York, facility according to the cited historical account.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400
United States
The brand continued its sponsorship of the Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway as part of its NASCAR marketing activity.
Outcome. The event represented the second consecutive year of the cited sponsorship.
- 2010Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400
United States
Heluva Good! sponsored the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, placing the sour cream dips line at the center of a national sports-marketing activation.
Outcome. The sponsorship established a named NASCAR event for the brand and was repeated in 2011.
Brand decisions
2015
Consolidation of cheese packaging operationsStrategyBackground
HP Hood cited market conditions when announcing the closure of the Sodus cheese packaging plant and the Wallington country store.
Action taken
The facilities closed on June 26, 2015. Cheese packaging moved to Schreiber Foods in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while dip and condiment production remained at HP Hood’s Arkport, New York, facility.
Aftermath
The decision ended local cheese packaging in Sodus and prompted criticism from some New York consumers, while warehouse and delivery operations continued through July.
2006
Refresh packaging while later retaining historic characterStrategyBackground
The brand had used the Father Time figure on its packaging for more than half a century.
Action taken
Heluva Good! replaced the traditional character with more colorful and lively packaging, and subsequently brought Father Time back.
Aftermath
The change modernized the visual presentation while preserving a recognizable element of the brand’s heritage.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/heluva-good · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled