Our History

Over the years, Mother Murphy's customer base expanded from bakeries to the military, crafting fruit-flavored bases used to make the beverages that proved to be so popular with soldiers, sailors, and marines. In 1948 in its new location, the company did $56,000 worth of business. In the early 1950s, the company began work on creating a vanilla product that could be used by commercial bakers. In 1954, the firm introduced its first vanilla flavoring to the market—a category that would grow to become a major part of the business.

The following year, 1955, Southern Laboratories incorporated and changed it name to Mother Murphy’s Laboratories, Inc. Mother Murphy’s began to expand fast and in 1958 Kermit’s brother L.M. “Pete” Murphy joined the company. Within seven years, the company outgrew its Arnold Street plant and the brothers designed a new building on South Elm Street. Since 1965 this location has served as its major production facility, and as corporate headquarters, it continues to welcome our guest and clients today.