Founder of Progresso, Giuseppe Uddo, arrived in New Orleans in 1907. One of the success stories of the French Quarter is Progresso. The soup label started as a produce company in what was then called Little Palermo. Giuseppe Uddo came to New Orleans with his wife from Sicily. Uddo went to work for his brother-in-law’s food import business.

When his brother-in-law returned to Italy, Uddo found a job with other relatives. When that business went bankrupt, Jacob Cusimano, who owned a macaroni factory in the Quarter, helped Uddo start his own business. Cusimano offered Uddo olives, cheeses and tomato paste, which Uddo relabeled.