Ross Creamed Corn was the family business of the Ross family. However, Bill Ross and his brother sold it to Lionel Luthor, hoping that it would be better promoted. Instead, it was converted into a LuthorCorp factory. It later emerged that Lionel had only bought the business as a cover for his own personal interests. The buyout was a cover for his interests in The Traveler, a powerful being from another planet. Lionel planned to maintain the plant in Smallville, while waiting for the traveler who was prophesied to come to Earth.