Keebler Company

Last updated

Keebler Company
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Food processing
Founded Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. (July 19, 1853;171 years ago (1853-07-19))
FounderGodfrey Keebler
Headquarters Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.
Area served
Nationwide
Products Cookies
Crackers
Ice cream cones
Parent United Biscuits (1974–1995)
Flowers Industries
(1995–1998)
Kellogg's (2001–2019)
Ferrero SpA (2019–present)
Website keebler.com

The Keebler Company is an American cookie and former cracker manufacturer. Founded in 1853, it has produced numerous baked snacks, [1] advertised with the Keebler Elves. Keebler had marketed its brands such as Cheez-It (which bear the Sunshine Biscuits brand), Chips Deluxe, Club Crackers, E.L. Fudge Cookies, Famous Amos, Fudge Shoppe Cookies, Murray cookies, Austin, Plantation, Vienna Fingers, Town House Crackers, Wheatables, Sandie's Shortbread, Pizzarias Pizza Chips, Chachos and Zesta Crackers, among others. Keebler slogans have included "Uncommonly Good" and "a little elfin magic goes a long way". Tom Shutter and Leo Burnett wrote the familiar jingle. [1]

Contents

The cookie and cracker lines were separated when Kellogg's sold the cookie line and the rights of the Keebler name to Ferrero SpA in 2019. [2] [3] [4] [5] The cracker lines are now marketed under the Kellogg's or Sunshine names.

Company history

Keebler Chips Deluxe Rainbow cookies Chips-Deluxe-Rainbow.jpg
Keebler Chips Deluxe Rainbow cookies
Keebler Delivery Truck, US 23, Michigan Keebler delivery truck.JPG
Keebler Delivery Truck, US 23, Michigan

Godfrey Keebler, of German descent, opened a bakery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1853. His bakery networked with several other local bakeries and others around the country over the years, and in 1927 they merged into the United Biscuit Company of America. [6]

United Biscuit operated regional bakeries which included not only Keebler, but also Hekman Biscuit Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, [7] [8] the Strietmann Biscuit Company of Mariemont, Ohio [9] and the Bowman Biscuit Company of Denver which used the Supreme brand name. [10] [11] By 1963, United Biscuit introduced the Kitchen Rich brand nationally while still utilizing the regional brand names. [12] In 1966, United Biscuit decided to adopt a uniform brand name and chose Keebler as the national brand and the name of the company. [13] Keebler did adopt Streitmann's Zesta saltine brand as Keebler's national brand of saltine crackers. [14]

Keebler-Weyl Bakery became the official baker of Girl Scout Cookies in 1936, the first commercial company to bake the cookies (the scouts and their mothers had done it previously). By 1978, four companies were producing the cookies. [15] Little Brownie Bakers is the Keebler division still licensed to produce the cookies. [16]

Keebler was acquired by United Biscuits in 1974, [17] headquartered in West Drayton, Middlesex, England. [18] By the 1980s, Keebler had expanded into the bagged salty snack market, launching a string of successful and innovative snack chips such as Tato Skins, O'Boisies, and Pizzarias. In 1995, United Biscuits announced plans to spin off the snack chip business, [19] but ended up selling the entire company to a partnership between Flowers Industries and Artal Luxembourg, a private equity firm. [20] Artal Luxembourg sold its holdings in Keebler in an IPO in 1998. [21]

The Keebler Company purchased Sunshine Biscuits in 1996. [22]

In 2000, the Keebler Company acquired a license to produce snacks based on the popular children's show Sesame Street . [23]

In March 2001, The Keebler Company was acquired by the Kellogg Company. [1] At that time, headquarters were located in Elmhurst, Illinois. [24] Currently, Keebler has manufacturing plants in the United States, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.[ citation needed ]

On April 1, 2019, Kellogg announced that it was selling Keebler cookies and other related brands to Ferrero SpA for $1.3 billion. The acquisition is a part of Ferrero's strategy to buy brands which have been neglected within broader food companies' portfolios. [25] Kellogg retained the rights to other Keebler products, such as crackers, either under the Kellogg's or Sunshine names. The acquisition closed on July 29, 2019. [26] [27]

Keebler Elves

The animated Keebler Elves, led by "Ernest J. 'Ernie' Keebler", rank among the best-known characters from commercials.[ citation needed ] Ernie is the head elf and the friendliest of the bunch. [28] The elves have appeared in countless television advertisements throughout the years (most of them animated at FilmFair), shown baking their unique products. [29] In the commercials, the Keebler tree logo is often turned into the tree in which the elves reside.

Leo Burnett Worldwide, an advertising agency, created the elves in 1968, calling the bakery "The Hollow Tree Factory." [18]

J.J. Keebler was the original "king elf" in 1969, and was featured in a classroom film about how animated commercials are made, "Show and Sell", with J.J.'s voice performed by Alan Reed, Sr. [30] Ernie Keebler became "head elf" in 1970. [31] White-haired Ernie wears a green jacket, a white shirt with a yellow tie, a red vest, and floppy shoes. [31]

Ernie Keebler was first voiced by Walker Edmiston, later by Parley Baer, then Frank Welker in 2007, then from 2016 to 2023 by Chicago actor Richard Henzel.

Other elves were Fryer Tuck (who promoted "Munch-ems"), Ernie's nephews Zoot and J.J. (known for Pizzarias Pizza Chips), Ernie's mother Ma Keebler, young Elmer Keebler, Buckets (who threw fudge on the cookies), Fast Eddie (who wrapped the products), Sam (the peanut butter baker), Roger (the jeweler), Doc (the doctor and cookie maker), Zack (the fudge shoppe supervisor), Flo (the accountant), Leonardo (the artist), [18] Elwood (who ran through the dough), [31] Professor, Edison, Larry and Art. [18] Many of the Keebler commercials were narrated by the announcer Danny Dark. The first Keebler elves were drawn by children's author/illustrator and commercial artist Roger Bradfield.

Selected products

Examples of Keebler products include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookie</span> Small, flat and sweetened baked food

A cookie or biscuit is a baked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat, and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, or nuts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cracker (food)</span> Flat, dry baked biscuit

A cracker is a flat, dry baked biscuit typically made with flour. Flavorings or seasonings, such as salt, herbs, seeds, or cheese, may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking. Crackers are often branded as a nutritious and convenient way to consume a staple food or cereal grain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nabisco</span> American snack company

Nabisco is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrero SpA</span> Italian multinational food corporation

Ferrero International SpA, more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba. Ferrero is a manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second biggest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world. Ferrero SpA is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as "one of the world's most secretive firms".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheez-It</span> Baked cheese crackers

Cheez-It is a brand of cheese crackers manufactured by Kellanova through its Sunshine Biscuits division. Approximately 26 by 24 mm, the rectangular crackers are made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, cheese, skim milk, salt, and spices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunshine Biscuits</span> Defunct American snack company

Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of cookies, crackers, and cereals. The company, which became a brand on a few products such as Cheez-It, was purchased by Keebler Company in 1996, which was purchased by Kellogg Company in 2001. Around then, Sunshine Biscuits was headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois, where Keebler was located until 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltine cracker</span> American salted square cracker

A saltine or soda cracker is a thin, usually square, cracker, made from white flour, sometimes yeast, and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations over its surface, as well as a distinctively dry and crisp texture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal cracker</span> Cracker baked in the shape of an animal

An animal cracker is a particular type of cracker, baked in the shape of an animal, usually an animal either at a zoo or a circus, such as a lion, a tiger, a bear, or an elephant. The most common variety is light-colored and slightly sweet, but darker chocolate-flavored and colorful frosted varieties are also sold. Although animal crackers tend to be sweet in flavor like cookies, they are made with a layered dough like crackers and are marketed as crackers and not cookies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Famous Amos</span> Cookie company founded by Wally Amos

Famous Amos is a brand of cookies founded in Los Angeles in 1975 by Wally Amos, a former talent agent with William Morris Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepperidge Farm</span> American commercial bakery

Pepperidge Farm is an American commercial bakery founded in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, who named the brand after her family's 123-acre farm property in Fairfield, Connecticut, which had been named for the pepperidge tree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrox</span> Brand of sandwich cookies

Hydrox is a creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie currently owned and manufactured by Leaf Brands. It debuted in the United States in 1908, and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits for over 90 years. Hydrox was largely discontinued in 1999, three years after Sunshine was acquired by Keebler, which was later acquired by Kellogg's which in turn sold the cookie line and the rights to the Keebler name to Ferrero SpA. In September 2015, the product was reintroduced by Leaf Brands.

Burton's Biscuit Company is a British biscuit manufacturer. It is recognised in the UK as the second-biggest supplier of biscuits. The company was formed by the merger of Burton's Gold Medal Biscuits and Horizon Biscuit Company in October 2000. It re-branded from Burton's Foods to Burton's Biscuit Company in November 2011. It employs over 2,200 people around the UK, in three main manufacturing facilities, Llantarnam, Edinburgh and Blackpool, a chocolate refinery in Moreton, and a central distribution hub in Liverpool. Its head office is in St Albans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vienna Fingers</span>

Vienna Fingers is an American brand of cookie made by the Keebler Company, a division of Ferrero SpA. They consist of a sandwich of vanilla flavored outer crust filled with vanilla cream flavored filling. Akin to an Oreo, the surface is textured and embossed with the product name, but Vienna Fingers have a round-ended 'finger' shape. They come in a red and yellow accented rectangular package with the words "Vienna Fingers" in white lettering. Nabisco's Cameo is similar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E.L. Fudge</span>

E.L. Fudge is an American snack food introduced in 1986 and manufactured by the Keebler Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero SpA. They are butter-flavored shortbread sandwich cookies with a fudge creme filling. The company describes their shape as "elfin", though it is actually various Keebler elves, each identified with a name tag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club Crackers</span> Type of cracker

Club Crackers are crackers made by the Kellogg Company. They are somewhat similar in resemblance to saltines, but are rectangular and have 18 holes in a 3x6 pattern instead of the 13 holes in a 3-2-3-2-3 pattern that are on a saltine. Also, their short edges are even, not perforated. A square variant used in Club & Cheddar sandwich crackers retains the saltine shape and hole pattern. They have a buttery flavor and a large amount of fat, 3g per serving, or 84g per 13.7 oz box not found in regular saltines. The crackers contain 70 calories per serving with four total crackers in one serving. Originally branded as a product of Keebler, it became a product of Kellogg's after the mega American manufacturer acquired the brand in 2001, before subsequently selling the Keebler cookie lineup as well as rights to the Keebler brand name in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burry's</span> A Food Manufacturer Company in the US

Burry's is a food manufacturer, founded as Burry's Biscuit Corporation by George W. Burry in 1888 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It became a division of the Quaker Oats Company in 1962. The company was one of the manufacturers of Girl Scout cookies from 1936 until 1989.

Murray Sugar Free Cookies, also known as the Murray Biscuit Company, is a commercial bakery in Augusta, Georgia, United States, that produces calorie-reduced biscuits. The company is part of the Ferrero Group, an Italian company best known for its Nutella hazelnut spread, and operates as a division of Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. It was founded by John L. Murray, a salesperson who accepted a cookie machine as payment for a $500 debt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese cracker</span> Type of cracker

The cheese cracker is a type of cracker prepared using cheese as a main ingredient. Additional common cracker ingredients are typically used, such as grain, flour, shortening, leavening, salt and various seasonings. The ingredients are formed into a dough, and the individual crackers are then prepared. Some cheese crackers are prepared using fermented dough. Cheese crackers are typically baked. Another method of preparing cheese crackers involves placing cheese atop warm crackers. Cheese crackers have been described as a "high-calorie snack", which is due to a higher fat content compared to other types of crackers.

Pizzarias Pizza Chips were a line of snack chips made by the Keebler Company and were developed by Adam Burck, Keebler's New Product Development Manager at the time.

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