General Foods
C.W. Post died in 1914, and his daughter Marjorie Merriweather Post took over the company. The Postum Cereals company acquired other companies such as Jell-O (gelatin dessert) in 1925,[4] Walter Baker & Company (chocolate) and Hellmann's (sauces) in 1927,[5][6] Maxwell House (coffee) in 1928,[7] and other food brands.
By far the most important acquisition in 1929 was of the frozen-food company owned by Clarence Birdseye,[8] called General Seafood Corporation. Birdseye (December 9, 1886 - October 7, 1956) was one of the most important entrepreneurs in the history of the food industry. Born in New York City, he became interested in the frozen preservation of food during the course of working as a fur trader in Labrador between 1912 and 1916. By 1923, he had developed a commercially viable process for quick-freezing foods using a belt mechanism, which he patented. In 1924, with backing from three investors, he formed the "General Seafoods Company" in Gloucester, Massachusetts to produce frozen haddock fillets packed in plain cardboard boxes.[9]
The founder's daughter, Marjorie Merriweather Post, was the first to become excited about the prospects for the frozen foods business. In 1926, she had put into port at Gloucester on her yacht, Sea Cloud, and was served a luncheon meal which, she learned to her amazement, had been frozen six months before. Despite her enthusiasm, it took Post three years to convince Postum's management to acquire the company. Postum paid $10.75 million for a 51% interest and its partner, Goldman Sachs, paid $12.5 million for the other 49%.[10] Following this acquisition, Postum, Inc changed its name to General Foods Corporation. Goldman sold its share back to General Foods in 1932, apparently at a slight loss.[11][12]
Shortly after the acquisition, General Foods began test-marketing an expanded line of frozen foods, but the company quickly realized that a packaging process alone would not be sufficient to market frozen products in stores. To be sold, the packages had to be kept frozen while on display, so Birdseye engineers began development of a freezer cabinet designed specifically to hold frozen foods. The cabinet, which first appeared in 1934, required a great deal of space and electricity, which were not readily available in most grocery stores of the period. For those stores that could accommodate them, the payback was immediate. Housewives quickly realized that keeping packages of frozen food in the icebox could mean fresher meals and fewer trips to the market.[13][11]
The company published a cookbook in 1932 called the General Foods Cook Book dedicated "To the American homemaker". Five editions were published between 1932 and 1937. The book includes photographs (among which is "General Foods offers over twenty famous products for your well-stocked pantry shelf") and a subject index.[14]
General Foods acquired the Perkins Product Company, the makers of Kool-Aid, in 1953, Burger Chef in 1968, Oscar Mayer in 1981, Entenmann's in 1982, Oroweat in 1984, and the Freihofer baking company in 1987.[15][16][17][18][19][20] The company then sold Burger Chef to Imasco, owner of Hardee's, in 1981.
General Foods was acquired by Philip Morris Companies (now Altria) in 1985 for $5.8 billion.[22] In 1989, Phillip Morris merged General Foods with Kraft Foods Inc., which it had acquired in 1987, to form the Kraft General Foods division.[23][24] The cereal brands of Nabisco were acquired in 1993.[25] In 1995 Kraft General Foods was reorganized, and the Kraft Foods name was restored.[26] On November 15, 2007, Kraft announced it would spin off Post Cereals and merge that business with Ralcorp Holdings.[27] That merger was completed August 4, 2008,[28]
