Calumet Baking Powder Company
Historic American baking-powder company and brand founded in Chicago in 1889 and now owned by Kraft Heinz.
Last updated August 24, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Calumet Baking Powder Company was an American food company established in Chicago, Illinois, in 1889 by William Monroe Wright. Its principal product was Calumet baking powder, a double-acting leavening ingredient developed for household and commercial baking. The company’s name was taken from “calumet,” a French-derived term associated with a ceremonial pipe and with the area that became Calumet City, Illinois. The company’s early distinction came from the formulation developed by Wright with the assistance of chemist George Campbell Rew. The formula replaced cream of tartar with aluminum phosphate and incorporated dried egg whites. This approach supported a double-acting baking powder, designed to release leavening gas both when mixed and when exposed to heat. Calumet also established a recognizable package and trademark featuring a stylized Native American figure wearing a war bonnet, imagery characteristic of early twentieth-century American branding but now viewed in the context of changing standards around cultural representation. Calumet operated as an independent company for roughly four decades. In 1929, Wright sold the business to General Foods, after which Calumet became one of General Foods’ branded grocery products rather than a standalone food company. The sale also enabled Wright to devote substantial resources to horse breeding and racing. He established Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, which later became a prominent Thoroughbred operation associated with his son, Warren Wright. General Foods subsequently became part of the Kraft corporate lineage. General Foods merged into Kraft Foods in 1990, and Calumet entered the Kraft Foods brand portfolio. Following the creation of Kraft Heinz, the brand became part of that company’s portfolio. As of April 2024, Calumet remained a Kraft Heinz brand, with the baking powder produced through Kraft’s food operations. The brand’s historical corporate identity has therefore changed several times even though its name remains associated with American baking ingredients. Calumet has also acquired a minor place in popular-culture discussion. Calumet baking-powder cans appear as set props in pantry scenes of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining. The appearance was discussed in the 2012 documentary Room 237, where it was presented as a starting point for one commentator’s interpretation of the film. This association is cultural rather than a documented advertising campaign or commercial partnership. The company is best understood today as a legacy food brand rather than as an independent corporation. Its enduring identity rests on the Calumet name, its historic double-acting baking-powder formulation, its distinctive packaging, and its long continuity through General Foods, Kraft Foods, and Kraft Heinz.
History
Calumet Baking Powder Company was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1889 by William Monroe Wright. Wright established the business to manufacture baking powder, a rising agent increasingly used in American home baking and commercial food preparation. The company’s name referred to “calumet,” a French-derived term associated with a ceremonial pipe and with the region later known as Calumet City, Illinois. The company’s product was distinguished by a double-acting formula developed by Wright with chemist George Campbell Rew. The formulation replaced cream of tartar with aluminum phosphate and included dried egg whites. Double-acting baking powder was intended to produce leavening at more than one stage of preparation, including during mixing and baking. This product formulation helped define Calumet’s early market identity and gave the company a distinctive position in packaged baking ingredients. Calumet also built recognition through its visual branding. Its trademark used a stylized Native American figure wearing a war bonnet. That design was part of the period’s commercial imagery and became closely associated with the product’s packaging. Modern interpretation of such imagery is more critical, but the mark remains an important part of the brand’s historical record. For approximately forty years, Calumet operated independently under Wright’s ownership. In 1929, Wright sold the company to General Foods. Calumet then became one of General Foods’ name brands, while Wright redirected his wealth and interests toward horse breeding and racing. He founded Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky; the operation was later run by his son, Warren Wright. The company’s corporate ownership changed again when General Foods merged into Kraft Foods in 1990. Calumet was incorporated into Kraft Foods’ brand portfolio and subsequently became part of Kraft Heinz after the formation of that company. The brand therefore survived as a product identity even though the original Calumet company ceased to operate as an independent enterprise. As of April 2024, Kraft Heinz owned the brand, and its baking powder was produced through Kraft Foods’ operations. Calumet also has a documented connection with film history. Calumet baking-powder cans were used as props in larder scenes in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining. Their presence was discussed in the 2012 documentary Room 237, where the cans served as the catalyst for one commentator’s theory about the film’s historical symbolism. There is no indication in the cited material that the placement represented a formal Calumet advertising campaign. Today, Calumet is a legacy American baking-powder brand within Kraft Heinz. Its historical significance comes from its early industrial food production, double-acting formulation, recognizable packaging, and continuity through several major American packaged-food companies.
- 2024
Owned by Kraft Heinz
[1]As of April 2024, Calumet was identified as a Kraft Heinz brand, with production handled through Kraft’s food operations.
- 2012
Discussed in Room 237
[1]The documentary Room 237 discussed the Calumet cans in The Shining as part of a theory about the film’s symbolism.
- 1990
Moved into the Kraft Foods portfolio
[1]The merger of General Foods into Kraft Foods brought Calumet into the Kraft brand portfolio.
- 1980
Appeared as a prop in The Shining
[1]Calumet baking-powder cans appeared in pantry scenes in Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining.
- 1929
Acquired by General Foods
[1]Wright sold Calumet to General Foods, which retained the name as a branded food product.
- 1889
Company founded in Chicago
[1]William Monroe Wright established the Calumet Baking Powder Company in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1889
Double-acting formula introduced
[1]Wright, working with chemist George Campbell Rew, developed the company’s baking-powder formula using aluminum phosphate and dried egg whites.
Products and positioning
Mass-market household baking ingredient with a long-established American heritage.
Baking ingredient · 1889
Calumet Baking Powder
Calumet’s core product was a packaged baking powder intended for household and commercial baking. Its historic formula was described as double-acting and used aluminum phosphate in place of cream of tartar, together with dried egg whites. The product became the company’s principal consumer offering and the basis of the Calumet name’s long-term recognition in the American grocery market.
Brand decisions
1990
Integration into Kraft FoodsM&ABackground
General Foods merged into Kraft Foods, changing the corporate ownership structure of the Calumet brand.
Action taken
Calumet was carried into Kraft Foods’ brand portfolio.
Aftermath
The brand remained available as part of a larger packaged-food company and later became part of Kraft Heinz.
1929
Sale of Calumet to General FoodsM&ABackground
After operating independently since its founding, Calumet was sold by William Monroe Wright to General Foods.
Action taken
General Foods acquired the company and continued Calumet as a branded baking-powder business.
Aftermath
Calumet ceased to be an independent company and became part of General Foods’ portfolio. The brand later passed into Kraft Foods and then Kraft Heinz.
Recent events
- 2012
Room 237 discusses the Calumet reference in The Shining[1]
Other
The documentary Room 237 drew attention to the Calumet cans in The Shining and treated them as the starting point for one interpretation of the film’s alleged historical symbolism.
- 1990
Calumet becomes part of the Kraft Foods brand portfolio[1]
M&A
General Foods merged into Kraft Foods, carrying the Calumet brand into the Kraft corporate portfolio.
- 1980
Calumet cans appear in The Shining[1]
Other
Cans of Calumet Baking Powder were used as pantry-scene props in Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining.
- 1929
Calumet Baking Powder Company is acquired by General Foods[1]
M&A
William Monroe Wright sold the Calumet Baking Powder Company to General Foods, converting the business from an independent company into a branded food business within General Foods’ portfolio.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/calumet-baking-powder-company · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled