In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

Philadelphia is famous for its
appreciation of good food; and, for
more than seventy-five years, the
meats and cheeses produced by
Dietz & Watson have been a cut
above all the rest. Founder Gottlieb
Dietz insisted on producing the
most flavorful, highest-quality deli
meats, using only fresh, all-natural
ingredients. Now operated by the
third and fourth generation of the
Dietz family, the company is still
guided by the high standards set by
the company founder.
Today, Dietz & Watson is one of
the largest family owned preparers
of premium deli meats and artisan
cheeses in the nation, offering more
than 500 products found at the finest supermarkets
and delis across the nation.
The family behind Dietz & Watson is
infused with the same substance-over-style
ethic as its hometown of Philadelphia. The
company was founded in 1939 by Gottlieb
Dietz, a sausage maker who emigrated from
Germany to the United States in the early
1920s looking for a better future.
What started as a small neighborhood
sausage making shop now manufactures
more than 450 items in its Philadelphia headquarters,
employing more than 1,000 people.
Dietz died in 1964, leaving control of
the company to his daughters, Lore Dietz-
Giacchino and Ruth Dietz-Eni. Ruth, who
is known affectionately as “Momma Dietz,”
began working for the company during
summers when she was fourteen, and is now
ninety years old. Momma Dietz has served as
the face of Dietz & Watson for many years
now, traveling throughout the nation to
visit grocery customers. She is still active and
serves as company chairman.
“I learned a lot from my father, but one
thing always stood out,” says Momma Dietz.
“He always said, ‘If it’s not good enough for
my family, it’s not good enough for yours.’
So we have always run the business with an
eye toward the customer.”
Dietz & Watson was a pioneer in the
healthy deli meat market, as well as requiring
humane farming practices by its suppliers.
In 1979 the company was the first to produce
sodium-free turkey and reduced sodium ham
when it launched its Gourmet Lite line. “If it
didn’t taste great, we probably would never
have made our healthier lifestyle line,” comments
Louis Eni, CEO and grandson of the
founder. “When my grandfather talked about
quality, the key was in the ingredients. To this
day, none of our products uses fillers, MSG,
or artificial flavors, and the meats are handtrimmed,
hand-prepared, and hand-seasoned.”
Dietz & Watson feels it is important to
be a good and responsible neighbor and
supports such local causes as police and
firefighter organizations and the Battleship
New Jersey Museum. The company and its
employees also support such causes as the
Susan G. Komen Foundation and Crohn’s &
Colitis Foundation. Dietz & Watson is also
proud to support our brave servicemen and
women through the USO and Hometown
Heroes program.
DIETZ &
WATSON
PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA
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