Jasper Sanfilippo was born in Chicago, Illinois in March 1931 to John Battista and Rosalie Baratta, the former of Sicilian ancestry.
He attended Lake View High School and graduated in 1953 with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois.
Over the subsequent decades Sanfilippo built the business into first a regional, and then national, major nut supplier, selling both branded and private label nuts and related products to primarily supermarkets, mass merchandisers, convenience stores and foodservice providers.
[3] A main focus of Sanfilippo's efforts was on the mechanical shelling and processing of a variety of nuts.
[9] Sanfilippo was also well known for his museum collection, Sanfilippo Place de la Musique, at his home and estate in Barrington Hills, Illinois,[10] consisting of collections of music boxes, automatic pianos and orchestrions, as well as antique locomotives, circus carousels, slot machines, penny arcades and steam engines.