Soup can labels, cereal box art, and some food packages are more common examples of food collectibles. Soda cans, wine bottles, beer growlers, and the containers our food and beverages come in are collectible for some, but many don’t realize that unopened food can be a vintage collectible. We might joke about the decades-long shelf lives of some foods, but for hardcore collectors, the older, the better. It’s not like fine wine, where it’s left to age on purpose, but rather preserving a can of squash or a jar of beets just as it would have been on supermarket shelves years ago.
What foods do most collectors look for? No one brand or food is prevalent. Like any collectible, each vintage fan will pick something they like to focus on for their collection. For some, the items they choose to collect are various versions of the same product. Items from different decades or processing plants can have different packaging designs, so a range of items can show the development of a product.
For others, it’s about the artwork on the product or any promotions that are part of the brand’s history. Some popular categories are cereal boxes, baby food, canned goods, and military items like MREs (meals ready to eat). Especially in the mid-century modern period of the 1950s and 1960s, the packaging on many food items is almost like a piece of history, telling part of the brand’s story, but also offers a glimpse into average homes and what was going on plates and tables across America.
Cereal Boxes
The boxes that breakfast cereal came in are arguably the OG of the premium/promotional packaging marketing trend. As early as 1905, promotions on packages of food staples started to show up. One of the first was Quaker Oats. The company included tokens in boxes of their oats, and if someone saved enough tokens, they could exchange them for cereal bowls from the company. This hidden treat means that many cereal box collectors have opened their boxes. Still, a smaller niche group of collectors looks for unopened cereal packages for the artwork or mail-in offers advertised. Others want older cans of oats, barley, and grits that had opened with a key.
It wasn’t until the 1930s and 1940s that cereal manufacturers began emulating the Cracker Jack strategy and including a prize in the box. The marketing targeted children, who would see an ad on television featuring a toy or a prize, and then harass their parents into buying that brand. I still wear the bracelet with the Tony the Tiger charm I got from saving box tops, but the box is long gone.
It’s a conundrum some collectors struggle with: Do they want to keep the box unopened and pristine, or do they want to harvest the prize but keep the box as well?
Collector Cans
Today’s packaging is vastly different from early versions. Tin cans were the norm for homes that needed shelf-stable foods. One of the most recognizable canned foods has to be SPAM. The iconic rectangular cans with the mystery mixture of ham and spices have been pantry staples since Hormel introduced them in 1937.
It was perfect for the times; America was in the grip of the Great Depression, and prices were high, with many families unable to afford fresh meat. Hormel makes SPAM from pork shoulder, a cut that is mostly muscle, but when ground, spiced, and formed into blocks, it can last for months. The pork shoulder bits were often leftovers after producing other foods, so it was a way to reduce waste, and families had access to a meat product that didn’t break the bank.
Victory gardens helped with supplying vegetables and fruit, but in homes that didn’t have a place to plant anything, canned fruit and vegetables were essential staples. While not everyone’s favorite, beans were cheap, easy to grow, and would stay fresh in cans. So would crackers, peas, carrots, and coffee, so the average home pantry would have rows of canned food, especially during World War II, when you never knew what the next rationed item would be.
Looking Through The Glass
Glass jars, especially those described as “hermetically sealed,” were a popular way to store and preserve food. In rural areas, homeowners canned mason jars of relish, jams, and fruit to preserve them through long winters. In more urban areas, food companies wanted to assure customers that the jars were airtight and resistant to spoiling.
Companies like Gerber, the biggest brand of jarred baby food, introduced a “safety button” on their products. Consumer confidence was crucial for the brand, and having an airtight button pop-up to verify freshness and seeing the food in the jar were significant parts of the brand’s strategy. Other Gerber products came in cans or cardboard packaging, but baby food jars were a staple in most homes.
Glass jars weren’t just for babies, though. Companies knew that customers would reuse the jars for storing leftovers, sewing notions, or other small items, so they made them sturdy. Food products like condiments, pickles, and olives came in similar air-pop jars, and unopened ones, while not edible, are still attractive to collectors.
Why Do Collectors Want Old Food?
Every collector has a reason for choosing what they want to search for in the vintage space: Décor, fine art, jewelry, clothing, and so much more. But unopened food that is likely spoiled? In some cases, it can be for show. In a retro kitchen, a shadow box or shelf of vintage products can be a nice touch with the chrome and Formica of a bygone era. Food that is decades past its expiration date can be hard to find in traditional thrift stores and antique markets because of food safety regulations. Still, at estate sales, there are often cabinets of food that can’t be sold or donated, so it’s possible to ask if there are unopened food items at a sale.
Also, like bottle digging, some food items have been found in abandoned root cellars, farmhouses, and barns. Spice tins, bottles of sauces, and condiments have turned up in crawl spaces and closets, so collectors should always open the drawers and compartments of furniture; there might be a hidden find. While we all think a tin can of peas or an airtight jar of pickles will last forever, they won’t, so don’t count on them for a meal during an apocalypse or after a few years on a dusty shelf.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
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