BrandlandUSA

By Garland Pollard

He was the hot tomato of the 1970s brunch, Snap E Tom. But when did this tomato juice mascot disappear from grocery shelves?

Snap E was a product of the Pioneer Ortega Chili Company, and later Heublein, from what I can find. Made with chile peppers, onions and tomatoes, it was a Bloody Mary mix that advertised itself as Bloody Thomas.

According to Kathy Strong’s Southern California Off the Beaten Path, Ortega of Ventura, California was founded by Emilio Ortega. Ortega was headquartered in the historic Ortega Adobe, a structure at 215 East Main Street. Ortega invented a fire roasting process for chili peppers and developed chili, salsa and Snap-E-Tom.

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