Jarden
Corporate brand
UnclaimedJarden was an American consumer-products company that built a diversified portfolio across food storage, household goods, outdoor equipment, appliances, sporting goods, and recreational products.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Jarden was an American consumer-products company created in 1993 when Ball Corporation spun off its canning business as Alltrista Corporation. Although its origins were in food-preservation products and related household goods, the company progressively developed into a broad portfolio operator with brands spanning outdoor recreation, sporting goods, small domestic appliances, kitchen products, household safety, craft supplies, games, candles, and other everyday consumer categories. The company’s early heritage came from Ball Corporation’s canning activities. The spin-off retained rights to prominent food-preservation names including Kerr, Ball, and Bernardin. In 2002, Alltrista changed its name to Jarden Corporation. The new name was intended to connect the company’s history with Ball Mason Jars and the home, while also suggesting the French word “jardin,” or garden. Under Martin E. Franklin’s influence, Jarden pursued a strategy of acquiring recognizable brands and managing them as a diversified consumer-products portfolio rather than relying on a single category. From 2002 through 2015, Jarden expanded through a long sequence of acquisitions. It added FoodSaver through the purchase of Tilia International, Diamond Match, Lehigh Consumer Products, Loew Cornell, and the United States Playing Card Company. The 2005 acquisition of American Household brought Coleman, Sunbeam, First Alert, Mr. Coffee, and Oster into the portfolio, substantially increasing Jarden’s presence in outdoor equipment, home appliances, and household products. The purchase of The Holmes Group added Rival and Crock-Pot. Later acquisitions expanded the company into firelogs, fishing, skiing, snow sports, camping, baseball equipment, candles, and school memorabilia. Jarden commonly organized its activities into broad operating groupings. Branded Consumables covered affordable, frequently purchased household products and small appliances. Outdoor Solutions included camping, fishing, skiing, snow sports, and sporting-equipment brands. Consumer Solutions included products such as playing cards, household safety goods, candles, and related consumer items. Process Solutions included plastic, applied-materials, and zinc operations; Jarden Zinc Products was known as a supplier of zinc used in the manufacture of United States pennies. The company’s acquisition of K2 Sports in 2007 was a major expansion into outdoor and sporting goods. The transaction brought a group of brands that included Marker, Marmot, Rawlings, Sevylor, Shakespeare, and Völkl. Jarden later acquired Yankee Candle in 2013 for approximately $1.75 billion and announced the purchase of Jostens in 2015 for approximately $1.5 billion. These transactions reinforced its position as a multi-category branded-consumer-products company. Jarden ceased to operate as an independent company after Newell Rubbermaid announced an agreement to acquire it in December 2015. The transaction, valued at more than $15 billion in cash and stock according to contemporary reports, was completed on April 15, 2016. Newell Rubbermaid renamed itself Newell Brands after the combination. Jarden therefore survives primarily through brands and businesses absorbed into Newell Brands and later divested from it, rather than as a standalone corporate entity.
History
Jarden began in April 1993 when Ball Corporation separated its canning business into a new public company named Alltrista Corporation. The spin-off retained trademarks associated with Ball’s food-preservation heritage, including Kerr, Ball, and Bernardin. The business initially remained closely connected to home food storage and canning, but its later identity was shaped by an acquisition-led diversification strategy. Martin E. Franklin joined the company in 2001 and was associated with the effort to reposition it. In May 2002, Alltrista adopted the Jarden Corporation name. The name was designed to evoke Ball Mason Jars and the domestic setting in which many of the company’s products were used, while also alluding to “jardin,” the French word for garden. That rebranding accompanied an expansion beyond traditional canning products. Jarden acquired Tilia International, owner of FoodSaver, in April 2002. It then bought Diamond Match in February 2003 and Lehigh Consumer Products in September 2003, adding brands such as Crawford, Lehigh, and Leslie Locke. In 2004, Jarden acquired Loew Cornell and purchased the United States Playing Card Company in two stages, first taking a 75 percent stake and then acquiring the remaining shares. These deals established a pattern of assembling established, category-specific brands under one corporate owner. In January 2005, Jarden acquired American Household, bringing Coleman, Sunbeam, First Alert, Mr. Coffee, and Oster into the company. The purchase significantly broadened its presence in outdoor products, small appliances, and household safety. Later that year, the acquisition of The Holmes Group added Rival and Crock-Pot. Jarden also acquired Pine Mountain firelogs and firestarters in 2006. The company moved more deeply into sporting and outdoor goods in 2007. It acquired Pure Fishing and then K2 Sports, the latter bringing a substantial family of brands, including Marker, Marmot, Rawlings, Sevylor, Shakespeare, and Völkl. Jarden subsequently added Mapa Spontex’s baby-care and home-care businesses in 2010, followed by Quickie Manufacturing and Aero Products International. In 2012, it acquired Pulse Home Products, which included rights or businesses associated with products sold under names such as Breville in the United Kingdom, Dirt Devil, and Nicky Clarke. The European Breville business was distinct from the Australian company that owns the Breville brand in other markets. Jarden’s most prominent late-stage transactions included the acquisition of Yankee Candle in September 2013 and the announced purchase of Jostens in October 2015. By this period, the company had organized its activities into broad areas including Branded Consumables, Outdoor Solutions, Consumer Solutions, and Process Solutions. Its portfolio covered products used in the home, outdoors, schools, sports, recreation, and industrial-material applications. Newell Rubbermaid announced its agreement to acquire Jarden on December 14, 2015. The transaction was completed on April 15, 2016, ending Jarden’s existence as an independent company. The combined company was renamed Newell Brands, with Newell shareholders reported as owning 55 percent of the combined business. Newell later reviewed and reshaped the inherited portfolio, including selling Rawlings in 2018 and Pure Fishing in a separate 2018 divestiture. Jarden is therefore best understood today as a former corporate owner whose brands and operating units became part of a larger consumer-products group.
- 2018
Rawlings and Pure Fishing are divested
[1]Newell Brands sold Rawlings and Pure Fishing as part of a portfolio-refocusing program.
- 2016
Jarden is acquired by Newell Rubbermaid
[1]Newell Rubbermaid completed its acquisition of Jarden and later adopted the Newell Brands name.
- 2015
Jostens acquisition announced
[1]Jarden announced plans to acquire Jostens, extending its portfolio into school memorabilia and related products.
- 2013
Yankee Candle acquisition
[1]Jarden acquired Yankee Candle, strengthening its household and consumer-solutions portfolio.
- 2007
Expansion into fishing and outdoor sports
[1]Jarden acquired Pure Fishing and K2 Sports, adding a large collection of outdoor and sporting brands.
- 2005
American Household acquisition
[1]The purchase of American Household added Coleman, Sunbeam, First Alert, Mr. Coffee, and Oster.
- 2002
Alltrista becomes Jarden
[1]The company changed its name to Jarden Corporation and began presenting itself as a broader consumer-products company.
- 2002
FoodSaver joins the portfolio
[1]Jarden acquired Tilia International, owner of the FoodSaver brand.
- 1993
Alltrista is spun off from Ball Corporation
[1]Ball Corporation spun off its canning business as Alltrista Corporation, establishing the corporate predecessor of Jarden.
Products and positioning
A diversified branded-consumer-products platform built through acquisitions, with emphasis on recognizable brands, household staples, outdoor recreation, sporting goods, and niche products with recurring consumer demand.
Food preservation
Ball, Kerr, and Bernardin
These brands represented Jarden’s original canning and food-preservation heritage inherited from Ball Corporation’s former canning business. Their product areas included home food-storage and preservation supplies. The trademarks remained important historical links to the company’s origins even as Jarden expanded into unrelated consumer categories.
Food storage appliances · 2002
FoodSaver
FoodSaver was added through Jarden’s acquisition of Tilia International in 2002. The brand focused on vacuum-sealing systems and related storage products intended to extend food freshness and support household food organization. It helped Jarden move from traditional canning into appliance-assisted food preservation.
Outdoor recreation · 2005
Coleman
Coleman became part of Jarden through the 2005 American Household acquisition. Its outdoor portfolio included equipment associated with camping and recreation. Coleman gave Jarden a major consumer-facing outdoor brand and complemented the later additions of fishing, snow-sports, and other sporting-goods businesses.
Small domestic appliances · 2005
Sunbeam, Oster, and Mr. Coffee
These appliance brands entered Jarden through American Household in 2005. Together they covered a range of kitchen and household electrical products, including coffee preparation and food-preparation appliances. Their scale helped establish Jarden’s Branded Consumables and household-solutions activities.
Kitchen appliances · 2005
Rival and Crock-Pot
Rival and Crock-Pot joined Jarden through the 2005 acquisition of The Holmes Group. The brands were associated with countertop and slow-cooking appliances and broadened Jarden’s presence in practical kitchen products used regularly in the home.
Fishing equipment · 2007
Pure Fishing
Pure Fishing was acquired in 2007 and became part of Jarden’s Outdoor Solutions activities. Its portfolio included fishing-equipment brands such as Abu Garcia, Berkley, Penn, and Shakespeare. The business was later sold by Newell Brands to Sycamore Partners in 2018.
Outdoor and sporting goods · 2007
K2 Sports portfolio
Jarden acquired K2 Sports in 2007. The transaction added brands including Marker, Marmot, Rawlings, Sevylor, Shakespeare, and Völkl, giving Jarden a broad position across skiing, snow sports, camping, outdoor equipment, and sporting goods. Some of these businesses were subsequently reorganized or divested by Newell Brands.
Home fragrance · 2013
Yankee Candle
Yankee Candle joined Jarden in 2013 through a transaction valued at approximately $1.75 billion in contemporary reports. The brand strengthened Jarden’s Consumer Solutions and household-consumables presence with candles and home-fragrance products sold through retail and specialty channels.
Industrial and specialty materials
Jarden Process Solutions
Jarden Process Solutions comprised Jarden Plastic Solutions, Jarden Applied Materials, and Jarden Zinc Products. These activities differed from the company’s consumer-facing brands and supplied materials and components for industrial and commercial applications. Jarden Zinc Products was particularly associated with supplying zinc used in United States penny production.
Controversies
2006
Securities-fraud class action
A class action alleging securities fraud was filed against Jarden Corporation and its chief executive in January 2006. The available reference confirms the filing but does not establish the ultimate outcome or provide enough detail to characterize the allegations further.
Brand decisions
2015
Agree to be acquired by Newell RubbermaidM&ABackground
Jarden had become a large multi-category consumer-products company through sustained acquisition activity, while Newell Rubbermaid sought to combine complementary branded portfolios.
Action taken
Newell Rubbermaid announced an agreement to acquire Jarden for more than US$15 billion in cash and stock.
Aftermath
The transaction closed in April 2016, Jarden ceased to exist as an independent company, and the combined company was renamed Newell Brands.
Reported transaction value. More than US$15 billion (Announced December 2015; completed April 2016)
2013
Acquire Yankee CandleM&ABackground
Jarden aimed to strengthen its household and consumer-solutions portfolio with a well-known home-fragrance business.
Action taken
Jarden acquired Yankee Candle using a combination of cash, common equity, bank debt, and bonds.
Aftermath
Yankee Candle became one of the most prominent additions to Jarden’s branded household portfolio.
Reported transaction value. Approximately US$1.75 billion (2013)
2007
Acquire K2 SportsM&ABackground
Jarden was expanding its Outdoor Solutions segment and sought greater scale across sporting and recreational products.
Action taken
Jarden acquired K2 Sports in a transaction reported at approximately US$1.2 billion.
Aftermath
The acquisition added a substantial group of outdoor and sporting brands, including Marker, Marmot, Rawlings, Sevylor, Shakespeare, and Völkl.
Reported transaction value. Approximately US$1.2 billion (2007)
2002
Rename Alltrista as JardenStrategyBackground
The company sought a name that connected its Ball Mason Jar heritage with household use while allowing room for expansion beyond canning products.
Action taken
Alltrista Corporation changed its name to Jarden Corporation.
Aftermath
The renamed company pursued a broader acquisition-led consumer-products strategy.
Recent events
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