Tabasco Maker's New CEO is Descendant of Founder

McIlhenny Co. was founded in 1868, making it one of the U.S.'s oldest family-owned companies.

This June 4, 2018 file photo shows a display that counts how many bottles of Tabasco sauce were produced at the Louisiana-based McIlhenny Co. Tabasco factory on Avery Island on that day alone. McIlhenny Co. has named the great-great-grandson of Tabasco creator Edmund McIlhenny as its new president and chief executive officer. News outlets reported Monday, June 10, 2019, that Harold Osborn will take over the company, popularly known for creating the Tabasco brand and distributing Tabasco Pepper Sauce.
This June 4, 2018 file photo shows a display that counts how many bottles of Tabasco sauce were produced at the Louisiana-based McIlhenny Co. Tabasco factory on Avery Island on that day alone. McIlhenny Co. has named the great-great-grandson of Tabasco creator Edmund McIlhenny as its new president and chief executive officer. News outlets reported Monday, June 10, 2019, that Harold Osborn will take over the company, popularly known for creating the Tabasco brand and distributing Tabasco Pepper Sauce.
AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz, File

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana-based McIlhenny Co., which produces Tabasco sauce, has named the great-great-grandson of Tabasco creator Edmund McIlhenny as its new president and chief executive officer.

News outlets report Monday that Harold Osborn will take over the company, popularly known for creating the Tabasco brand and distributing Tabasco Pepper Sauce.

The Acadiana Advocate reports Osborn worked on Southern Louisiana's Avery Island and in the Avery Island salt mine for the McIlhenny Co. when he was younger. Avery Island was the birthplace of Tabasco Pepper Sauce, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year.

The newspaper says McIlhenny Co. was founded in 1868, making it one of the U.S.'s oldest family-owned companies.

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