Gaines-Burgers

Gaines-Burgers was a brand of dog food. It was introduced in 1961 by General Foods, and production ceased in the 1990s. The product consisted of individually wrapped patties of moisturized dog food which resembled a hamburger. Unlike hamburgers, the Gaines-Burgers could be stored at room temperature for long periods of time. The technique was later used for human foods.

Gaines-Burgers was named after the former Gaines Food Company of Sherburne, New York, a major pet food company acquired by General Foods in 1943.^[1] In November 1982, General Foods introduced "Improved Gaines-Burgers Cheese", advertised as made with cheddar cheese.^[2] The "improved" reference relates to an earlier version of the product "with cheese" marketed in the early 1970s.

In 1972, National Lampoon's Deteriorata (a spoof of Desiderata, then enjoying a measure of popular attention thanks to a spoken word recording) singled out Gaines-Burgers "with cheese" in order to poke fun at modern product advertising using the line "Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese".^[3]

In 1984, General Foods sold Gaines to Anderson, Clayton and Company.^[4] In 1986, Quaker Oats Company bought Anderson, Clayton to acquire Gaines for its pet food division; the rest of Anderson, Clayton was sold to Kraft.^[5]

Footnotes

1. Phillips, Tim (October 24, 2007). "Learn from the Past". Petfood Industry magazine. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
2. Pace, Eric (November 29, 1982). "Dog Food Campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
3. Dundes, Alan; Pagter, Carl R. (1987). "The Writing on the Walls: Notices, Mottoes, and Awards". When You're Up to Your Ass in Alligators: More Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire. Wayne State University Press. p. 94. ISBN 9780814318676.
4. "General Foods To Sell Off Gaines". The Gainesville Sun. April 17, 1984. p. 7B.
5. Phillips, Stephen (May 29, 1987). "Kraft Is Acquiring A Quaker Division". The New York Times.