It might epitomize the great American business story. 116 years ago, Harold Feed Supply was founded on the Lower-East side of Manhattan. Mr. Harold intended merely to sell hay and oats for the city's horses. But one day something small and yellow caught his eye. It was a canary. Then two canaries, then hundreds of them. Almost overnight, canaries had become the rage, the new pet of choice in New York City and, soon, nationwide. Their popularity ushered in a new brand of pet owner and a new call--for bird seed. Mr. Harold responded, creating what he called 8 in 1 Song Food , a nutrition-packed blend of 8 different seeds, an original recipe. It was the company's first innovation. It would be far from last.

Mr. Harold moved the business to Greenwich Village and transformed it into one of the nation's first extended pet products companies. Upon his death, the Stern family took over. Two business-minded sisters, Elsie Stern and Frances Levey, ran the company together from the 1930s to 1950s. These were the great grandmother and great aunt of the current president, Mark Stern. However, much would happen in the intervening years before Mr. Stern took over. First, his father, Howard 'Bud' Stern and a cousin, Adrian Sokoloff, took a joint turn at the helm, steering the company into still more new territory and successful new product lines from the 1950s into the 1970s.

In 1970, company headquarters shifted to Long Island and in 1972, the prosperous little business was sold to Cooper Laboratories. The new owner also picked up some other companies, like St. Aubrey Laboratories and Shaw's Pet Products, extending the product line to serve cats and dogs.

Four years later, the Stern family bought 8 in 1 back and grew the business to offer innovative and extensive product lines.

Now headquartered in Hauppauge, New York with a staff of 300, the 8 in 1 team continues to serve generations of pets and their families.

8 in1 was purchased by the Rayovac Corporation, now Spectrum Brands, in January 2005.