My economist colleagues tell me the oldest business in many countries is a distillery or brewery. Though Laird & Company may not by America's oldest business it certainly holds a position of distinction (it's #12 on my list of oldest continuously operating U.S. companies). The founding Laird (Alexander) immigrated to the New Jersey area from Scotland in 1698 and there are records of Laird providing applejack to colonial troops and even of George Washington asking for his recipe. So - though there were likely earlier sales of Laird applejack - since the first recorded commercial sale was in 1780, that is considered the founding date of the company.
The 6th generation Laird to run the company (Joseph) faced prohibition and kept the company in business by producing non-alcoholic apple products such as sweet cider and applesauce. During WWII Laird converted a portion of their distillery into the dehydration of apple pomace to produce pectin, which was used as a preservative for war food rations. These are just a few examples of how Laird exhibits longevity factor #2 from my research: Unique Core Strengths + Change Management.
Today the company is run by 8th generation Larrie Laird. Congratulations on 240 years in business!
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