| Type | Cracker |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Minnesota |
| Invented | 1899 |
| Main ingredients | Rye |
Ry-Krisp is an American brand of rye crisp bread that was introduced in 1899. [1] Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Ry-Krisp plant was purchased by Ralston Purina in 1926. [2] In 1994, the Ralston portion of Ralston Purina was spun off into a new company called Ralcorp Holdings, including the RyKrisp operations. Ralcorp was acquired by ConAgra Foods in 2013.
In January 2015 ConAgra Foods announced that the factory that produces RyKrisp would be closed and the product would be discontinued due to declining demand. [3] RyKrisp Inc. bought the brand in April 2015 with plans to revitalize it once a new manufacturing partner wass found. A larger-scale commercialization was planned for October 2015 with commercial production expected some time after that. [4] As of fall 2018 production had not yet started. The owners of the RyKrisp brand gave legal issues as a reason. [5] The reason for the legal issues lay with a dispute between RyKrisp and the baking company, Distinctive Foods. Due to concerns about Distinctive Food's ability to produce product, RyKrisp moved the equipment purchased from ConAgra to their own warehouse. RyKrisp alleged that Distinctive's CEO moved the equipment back to its own facility and refused to return it, demanding an additional $50,000. At this point RyKrisp contracted with iBake, who later cancelled the contract after Distinctive allegedly sent a cease and desist letter to iBake. [6] [7]
RyKrisp took Distinctive to court, where they were defended by State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company in the case State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Distinctive Foods, LLC. State Auto found that Distinctive's policy did not provide coverage in this instance and the case went to trial. [7] In October 2019 the Ry-Krisp owners wrote that their "attorneys succeeded in securing an $8.3 million verdict from a Cook County jury in favor of Firm client RyKrisp, LLC in a dispute between the rye cracker producer and (its contract manufacturer). ... The judgment ensures that RyKrisp will recover damages and lost profits following (the) conversion of RyKrisp's equipment and tortious efforts to interfere with RyKrisp's business." [8]
On 23 May 2024, RyKrisps stated that due to the costs involved with litigation and lack of funds they would no longer be able to go forward with production. [9]
Land O'Lakes, Inc. is an American member-owned agricultural cooperative based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills, Minnesota, United States, focusing on the dairy industry. The cooperative has 1,959 direct producer-members, 751 member-cooperatives, and about 9,000 employees who process and distribute products for about 300,000 agricultural producers, handling 12 billion pounds of milk annually. It is ranked third on the National Cooperative Bank Co-op 100 list of mutuals and cooperatives. The co-op is one of the largest producers of butter and cheese in the United States through its dairy foods business; serves producers, animal owners and their families through more than 4,700 local cooperatives, independent dealers and other large retailers through its Purina Animal Nutrition business; and delivers seed, crop protection products, agricultural services and agronomic insights to 1,300 locally owned and operated cooperative and independent agricultural retailers and their grower customers through its WinField United business.
The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major business units: consumer foods, pet foods, and coffee. Its flagship brand, Smucker's, produces fruit preserves, peanut butter, syrups, frozen crustless sandwiches, and ice cream toppings.
Drake's is a brand of American baked goods. The company was founded by Newman E. Drake in 1896 in Harlem, New York, as The N.E. Drake Baking Company, but it is now owned by McKee Foods. The company makes snack cake products such as Devil Dogs, Funny Bones, Coffee Cakes, Ring Dings, and Yodels. Drake's has traditionally been marketed primarily in the Northeastern U.S., but it expanded to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. regions in 2016. The products are made under the Orthodox Union kosher certification guidelines.
Ralstonism was a social movement founded by Webster Edgerly that promoted his pseudoscientific ideas of personal and racial hygiene. It began as the Ralston Health Club, which published Edgerly's writings. It was a hierarchical organization where members were ranked according to the number of "degrees" they had, which ranged from 0 to 100. Members gained in the hierarchy by purchasing and studying Ralston's books, each of which taught five degrees. Edgerly at first published his ideas under the pseudonym Everett Ralston, but later used his own name and explained "Ralston" as an acronym for "Regime, Activity, Light, Strength, Temperation, Oxygen, Nature"
Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's Friskies division to form Nestlé Purina PetCare Company.
Meow Mix is a product of The J.M. Smucker Company ; a variety of dry and wet cat food known for its advertising jingle. Meow Mix was introduced in 1974 and sells many flavors, including "Original Choice" and "Seafood Medley". It also is known for selling "Alley Cat" dry cat food. Their current slogan is "it's the only brand cats ask for by name".
Nestlé Purina PetCare, or simply Purina, is an American subsidiary of the Swiss corporation Nestlé, based in St. Louis, Missouri. It produces and markets pet food, treats, and cat and dog litter. Some of its pet food brands include Purina Pro Plan, Purina Dog Chow, Friskies, Beneful and Purina One. The company was formed in 2001 by combining Nestlé's Friskies PetCare Company with Ralston Purina, which acquired it for $10.3 billion. As of 2012, it is the second-largest pet food company globally and the largest in the United States.
Chex is an American brand of breakfast cereal currently manufactured by General Mills. It was originally known as Shredded Ralston, first produced in 1936 and owned by Ralston Purina of St. Louis, Missouri, then later renamed Chex in 1950. The Chex brand went with corporate spinoff Ralcorp in 1994 and was then sold to General Mills in 1997. Rival cereal company Kellogg's has the rights to the Chex brand in South Korea and Singapore.
Ryvita is a brand of rye crispbread from Great Britain. The brand started in the 1920s and has been owned by Associated British Foods (ABF) since 1949. Today Ryvita products are manufactured and sold by Jordans Dorset Ryvita, a subsidiary of ABF.
Van Camp's is an American brand of canned bean products currently owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. Their products typically consist of beans stewed in a flavored sauce. Van Camp's has for some time been the second-best selling brand of baked beans in the United States, competing with Bush's Baked Beans.
Alpo is an American brand of dog food marketed and manufactured by the Nestlé Purina PetCare subsidiary of Nestlé. The brand is offered as a canned or packaged soft food, as well as in dry kibbles.
Newman E. Drake was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded Drake's, an American baking company now owned by McKee Foods.
Beneful is a brand of dog food products by Nestlé Purina PetCare global that includes wet dog food, dry dog food and dog treats. As of 2012, it was the fourth most popular dog food brand, generating more than $1.5 billion in annual revenues. According to a SWOT analysis by Marketline, Beneful is one of Nestle Purina's more significant brands by revenue.
Friskies is an American brand of wet and dry cat food and treats owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, a subsidiary of Nestlé global. Friskies was initially introduced by Carnation Company in the 1930s as a dog food brand. When Friskies cat food was introduced in the 1950s, it was the first dry pet food product specifically for cats. The brand was acquired by Nestlé in 1985. From the 1970s to the 2000s, variations in Friskies cat food proliferated as the competition for consumer spending intensified.
Ralcorp Holdings is an American manufacturer of various food products, including breakfast cereal, cookies, crackers, chocolate, snack foods, mayonnaise, pasta, and peanut butter. The company is based in St. Louis, Missouri. The majority of the items Ralcorp makes are private-label, store-brand products. It has over 9,000 employees. Ralcorp has its headquarters in the Bank of America Plaza in downtown St. Louis.
Purina Mills, LLC is the farm animal feeds unit of Land O' Lakes. It was previously part of Ralston Purina, until the U.S. animal feeds portion was first sold in 1986.
TreeHouse Foods Inc. is a multinational food processing company specializing in producing private label packaged foods headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. Created in 2005 and consisting entirely of acquisitions, in 2010 the company had sales of $2 billion and employed over 4,000 people at 20 facilities. Food Processing magazine named TreeHouse Foods their 2010 Processor of the Year, calling them "the biggest company you never heard of". In 2015, the company was the 37th-largest food and beverage company in North America. In 2018, TreeHouse Foods was ranked No. 446 on the Fortune 500 list. In 2020, it dropped to No. 552 into the Fortune 1000 list.
