Sunshine Biscuits

Last updated
Sunshine Biscuits, Inc.
Company type Public
Industry Food processing
Founded Kansas City, Missouri (1902;122 years ago (1902), as Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company)
FoundersJoseph Loose
Jacob Loose
John H. Wiles
Defunct1996;28 years ago (1996)
FateAcquired
Successor Keebler/Kellogg's
Headquarters,
Area served
Nationwide
Products Snacks
Parent Keebler Company
(Ferrero SpA)

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, [1] which was purchased by Kellogg Company in 2001. Around then, Sunshine Biscuits was headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois, where Keebler was located [2] until 2001.

Contents

At the time of its purchase by Keebler, Sunshine Biscuits was the third largest cookie baker in the United States. [3]

History

The former "Thousand Window" bakery became part of LaGuardia Community College. LaGuardia Community College td (2022-06-04) 01 - C Building.jpg
The former "Thousand Window" bakery became part of LaGuardia Community College.
Sunshine Biscuits
Owner Kellogg Company
(Keebler Company)
Country U.S.
Introduced1902;122 years ago (1902)
Related brands Keebler
MarketsNationwide

Until the late 19th century, the biscuit and cracker industry was made up of small independent local bakeries preparing products and selling them in bulk. The barrels and crates of biscuits were delivered by horse and wagon, set out in the grocery store and sold to the consumer by the measure.

In 1890, a group of 33 midwest and western bakers combined to form the American Biscuit & Manufacturing Company. This was to compete with United States Baking Company, another Midwest group and the New York Biscuit Company, an east coast conglomerate. Soon the American Biscuit and New York Biscuit groups were opening bakeries and lowering prices in each other's area in an attempt to eliminate the competition. Finally in February 1898, the competing groups combined 114 factories and formed the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco).

Joseph Loose was a member of Nabisco's Board of Directors, and in 1902, he, his brother Jacob Loose, and John H. Wiles, liquidated their holdings in National Biscuit Company and formed the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company in Kansas City, Missouri. They envisioned a factory filled with sunlight and so they adopted the name Sunshine. Soon they began expanding and opened new plants in Boston and then New York City. In 1912 Loose-Wiles opened its "Thousand Window" bakery in the Long Island City neighborhood of New York City, which remained the largest bakery building in the world until 1955. The plant was closed in 1965 and the production was moved to Sayreville, New Jersey.

Loose-Wiles never registered its Sunshine brand name and therefore spent much effort in the first forty years trying to dissuade other companies from using the word "sunshine" or any related word on their product or in their advertising. Since Loose-Wiles claim was not based on a registered mark, they often had to investigate when and where the other company first used the word to determine which company had first claim so as not to lose their right to the name "Sunshine" for their own products. Finally in 1946, the Loose-Wiles Company officially changed its name to Sunshine Biscuit, Inc.

The early part of the company's history was dominated by developing new items and acquiring established brands from other smaller companies. Many of the products and their names are similar to those of their largest competitor, the National Biscuit Company. For example, Nabisco's first individually packaged cracker was named Uneeda. Loose-Wile's cracker was "Takhoma". Loose-Wiles made "Trumps Cookies". Nabisco produced "Aces". Sunshine Biscuit had "Animal Crackers" and "Toy Cookies". Nabisco produced "Barnum's Animals".

The American Tobacco Company purchased the company in 1966. It was then sold to G. F. Industries, a privately held California company, and finally merged with the Keebler Company in 1996.

Products

Sunshine Biscuits made the Hydrox chocolate sandwich cream cookie, before it was discontinued in 1999. They were reintroduced in 2015, and are now made by Leaf Brands. [4] Sunshine is best known as the brand name of Cheez-It snack crackers. However, six well-known Sunshine products were discontinued after the merger with Keebler: Chip-A-Roos, Chocolate Nugget cookies, Chocolate Fudge Cookies, Lemon Coolers, Golden Raisin Biscuits (through 1996, similar to Garibaldi biscuits), and Golden Fruit Biscuits. Sunshine originated Vienna Fingers cookies, which became branded as Keebler.

Current products are Cheez-It snack crackers, Krispy saltine crackers, Krispy Soup & Oyster crackers, and Nut Sundae Cookie.

Former products include Hydrox chocolate sandwich cookies, sold to Leaf Brands in 2014; Lemon Coolers cookies, trademarked by Texan Foods LLC in 2016; Yum Yums coconut caramel cookies, trademarked by Texan Foods LLC in 2016; Hi Ho Crackers, trademarked by Texan Foods LLC in 2016; and Sunshine Nut Sundaes marshmallow cookies.

They made a snack cracker line called American Heritage, Cherry Coolers, Fig Bars (not Fig Newtons), and International Snacks, a line of sandwich cookies with two flavors of creme in every cookie. Shredded Wheat was produced at the Sayreville, New Jersey facility and distributed only east of the Mississippi.

After Kellogg's took over Keebler including crackers bearing the Sunshine name, the Sunshine brand was replaced by the Kellogg's brand. [5] [ better source needed ]

Related Research Articles

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

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">Ritz Crackers</span> Brand name of snack cracker by Nabisco

Ritz Crackers is a brand of snack cracker introduced by Nabisco in 1934. The original style crackers are disc-shaped, lightly salted, and approximately 46 millimetres (1.8 in) in diameter.. Each cracker has seven perforations and a finely scalloped edge. Today, the Ritz cracker brand is owned by Mondelēz International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keebler Company</span> American cookie and former cracker manufacturer

The Keebler Company is an American cookie and former cracker manufacturer. Founded in 1853, it has produced numerous baked snacks, advertised with the Keebler Elves. Keebler had marketed its brands such as Cheez-It, 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.

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

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldfish (cracker)</span> Fish-shaped cracker

Goldfish are a fish-shaped cracker with a small imprint of an eye and a smile manufactured by Pepperidge Farm, which is a division of the Campbell Soup Company. The brand's current marketing and product packaging incorporate this feature of the product: "The Snack That Smiles Back! Goldfish!", reinforced by Finn, the smiling goldfish mascot with sunglasses. The product is marketed as a "baked snack cracker" on the label with various flavors and varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Inc.</span> American snack brand

Lance is an American brand of snack foods owned by the Snyder's-Lance company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2018, Snyder's-Lance is owned by Campbell Soup Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese Nips</span> Cheese-flavored cracker

Cheese Nips were a small cheese-flavored cracker manufactured by Mondelez International under its brand, Nabisco, they were originally used to compete against Sunshine Biscuit's Cheez-It crackers.

<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">Arnott's Group</span> Australian snack food manufacturer

Arnott's Group is an Australian producer of biscuits and snack food. Founded in 1865 by William Arnott, they are the largest producer of biscuits in Australia and a subsidiary of KKR.

<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.

<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">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.

References

  1. Elliot, Stuart (August 20, 2008). "Those Shelved Brands Start to Look Tempting". The New York Times.
  2. King, Sharon (January 25, 1998). "Look Who's Leaping From That Hollow Tree". The New York Times.
  3. "Keebler adds Sunshine business".
  4. Lukas, Paul (March 1999). "Oreos to Hydrox: Resistance Is Futile". Business 2.0 . Archived from the original on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  5. "Kellogg's Krispy Original Saltine Crackers, 16 oz".