World War II was finally over, and with it had gone the uniformed customers of Ben Eisenstadt’s Brooklyn Navy Yard cafeteria. With four kids and two newly immigrated in-laws to support, Ben needed to find a way to make a living. After selling the eatery’s fixtures, Ben had just enough money to purchase one tea-bag machine. Vague memories of working at a tea factory as a child (probably illegally) prompted his business interest in the tea industry. It was this machine that would forever change Ben’s life.

During a rare lunch out with his wife Betty, Ben ordered a cup of tea and attention turned to the sugar bowl. Betty had long decried fly-swarmed sugar bowls as unsanitary. “Wouldn’t it be nice if sugar came in individual bags, like tea?” Ben then realized that packing sugar couldn’t be much different from packing teas and the idea of the individual sugar packet was born.

Working together, Ben and his son Marvin came up with the idea of a single-serve zero calorie sugar substitute packet. The name was inspired by Ben’s favorite song, “Sweet and Low.” The pink color was chosen so the packets would stand out in the sugar bowl. With the brand look and name established, Sweet’N Low received Federal Trademark Registration No. 1,000,000.

For the first 6 years of being in market, Sweet’N Low was only available in restaurants and coffee shops. In 1963, Sweet’N Low made its debut in grocery stores so people could pick up a box of their favorite zero calorie sweetener and enjoy its sweetness at home.

On December 19th, 1968, Louis Armstrong wrote a letter to our offices in Corona, NY expressing his love of our little pink packet. "Dear Sweet’N Low Folks, I just want to tell you that Sweet’N Low picks me up and is just right for my diet. Since I use lots of it, I wonder if I could order direct from the company? I buy large orders. Anyway, let me know if I can buy maybe a carton or so, or something or other. Yea! Regards, Satchmo Louis Armstrong"