Drake's Cakes

"Devil dogs" redirects here. For the United States Marine Corps nickname, see Devil Dog.
Drake's Cakes
Subsidiary
Industry Food (bakery)
Founded 1900
Founder Charles Drake
Newman E. Drake
Headquarters Wayne, New Jersey
Parent McKee Foods
Slogan If it's Drake's, it's delicious!
Website http://www.drakescake.com/

Drake's Cakes is an American baking company based in Wayne, New Jersey that produces and sells a line of snack cakes. The company was founded by Charles and Newman Drake in 1900 in Brooklyn as Drake Bros. Company.[1] After being family-owned for a number of years, it was bought by Borden in 1946 as Drake Bakeries.[1] Currently, the company is now owned by McKee Foods. The company makes snack cakes products such as Coffee Cakes, Devil Dogs, Funny Bones, Ring Dings, Yankee Doodles, and Yodels. Drake's is marketed primarily in the New York City Area and historically to the Jewish population of New York City whose products are produced under kosher guidelines.[2]

History

In 1888, Newman E. Drake, a bakery machine salesman, developed a pound cake recipe at his home and selling it by the slice.[1] Eight years later, in 1896, Drake established a bakery in Brooklyn as Drake Baking Company, with a commercial bakery located at Wallabout Market in Brooklyn.[1] Nabisco would buy his bakery in 1899.[1] The following year, Newman with his brother Charles founded Drake Bros. Company.[1] As the company expanded, it was renamed Drake Bakeries, Inc. and built a facility at 77 Clinton Avenue, on the border of the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn in 1914.[3][4] The facility produced sponge cake, macaroons, and up to 15 tons of pound cake daily.[3][5] Drake's began selling Devil Dogs, a variant of the whoopie pie in 1923.[6] The acquisition of Boston-based Yankee Cake Company in 1929 added Yankee Doodles and later Sunny Doodles to Drake's product lineup.[1]

In 1946, the Drake's brand—which involved familiar products including Devil Dogs, Sunny Doodles, Yankee Doodles, and its trademark round coffee cake—were purchased by Borden. During Borden's ownership, Drake's introduced Funny Bones and Ring Dings in 1961,[1][7] Fruit Doodles in 1964,[1] and Yodels in 1965.[1] Drake Bakeries moved bakery production from 77 Clinton Avenue to New Jersey in 1977.[8] Borden sold Drake's in July 1986 to Ralston Purina, whose operations were to be overseen by Ralston Purina's ITT Continental Baking Company.[9] Unfortunately, the sale became mired in an anti-trust suit from rival Tastykake over concerns of Ralston's creating a monopoly in the snack cake industry as it also owned Hostess Brands at the time.[10] Tastykake prevailed in the suit[11] and Ralston divested Drake's to Rock Capital Partners in July 1987.[12] In 1991, it was sold to Culinar, and later Interstate Bakeries Corporation which owned Hostess Brands and Wonder Bread in 1998.[13] Hostess filed for bankruptcy liquidation in November 2012 and shuttered its plants forcing the temporary cessation of Drake's products.[14] On 28 January 2013, McKee Foods of Collegedale, Tennessee (makers of Little Debbie snack cakes) was the lead bidder for the Drake's brand and equipment,[15] and on 14 March 2013, the bid was presented for approval to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as no other qualified bids were received for those assets.[16] Drake's returned to store shelves the following September of that year.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Smith, Andrew F.; Kraig, Bruce (2013). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2 ed.). United States: Oxford University Press. pp. 650–651.
  2. ↑ Saltzman, Roberta (7 May 2010). "Famous Recipes for Jewish Housewives: Advertising Booklets in the Jewish Division". New York Public Library. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 "New Plant of Drake Bros. Company". Bakers Weekly. 8 August 1914. pp. 39–42.
  4. ↑ Spellen, Suzanne (25 June 2012). "Building of the Day: 77 Clinton Avenue". Brownstoner.com. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Bulletin III.. 17 September 1921. p. 38.
  6. ↑ Cox, Robert S. (2015). New England Pie: History Under a Crust. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 58.
  7. ↑ Sosland, Josh (1 October 2015). "Drake's Funny Bones revived by McKee Foods". bakingBusiness.com. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Snyder-Grenier, Ellen M. (2004). Brooklyn!: An Illustrated History. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. p. 161.
  9. ↑ "Borden Selling Drake Bakery To Purina; Considering Asset Writedowns". AP. 1 July 1986. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Palley, Robin (22 August 1986). "Tasty: Merger Takes Cake". Philadelphia Daily News (Philly.com). Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  11. ↑ Tasty Baking Co. v. Ralston Purina, Inc., 653 F. Supp. 1250 (E.D. Pa. 21 January 1987) (“These plaintiffs have standing to obtain both divestiture and hold-separate orders...”).
  12. ↑ Burke, Richard (14 July 1987). "Ralston To Sell Its Drake Unit Tasty Baking Opposed Merger". The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philly.com). Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Gunset, George (24 June 1998). "Interstate Bakeries Takes Drake's". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Hostess Going Out Of Business; Gov. Christie Refuses To Talk About Twinkies". CBS New York. AP. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "Hostess picks Little Debbie maker for Drake's". Stamford Advocate. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Gloekler, Mike (14 March 2013). "McKee Foods Corp. named as winning bidder for Drake’s snack cakes" (PDF). Drakes Cake.com. McKee Foods. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Matheson, Whitney (23 September 2013). "Welcome back, Devil Dogs: Drake's cakes return". USA Today. Retrieved 6 April 2016.

External links

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