Bagley Argentina S.A. is an Argentine food company with its main plant located in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Established by U.S.-born entrepreneur

Melville Sewell Bagley Melville Sewell Bagley (born July 10, 1838 in Bangor, Maine – died July 14, 1880 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was the originator of the archetypical Argentine national liqueur Hesperidina and holder of the first patent and trademark to be regist ...

in 1864, the company (owned by French multinational

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are ...

since 1994) had a wide variety of brands, having specialised in the production of crackers and

cookies A cookie is a baked or cooked 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 chi ...

. At the moment of being acquired by Danone, Bagley was the main cookies producer of Argentina. Nowadays, some of Bagley's brands (like ''Chocolinas'', ''Rumba'' and ''Criollitas'') are also marketed by Arcor, which is associated with Danone for cookies production in Argentina.

History

The company was established in

in 1864 by American entrepreneur

, when the company launched famous apéritif

Hesperidina Hesperidina is a classic Argentine apéritif made from bitter and sweet orange peels, which contain a high number of flavonoids. The beverage has antioxidant effects because of the flavonoids. Its name was taken from the Greek myth of Hesperi ...

.Bagley celebra 150 años
on The Food Tech, Dec 2020 Bagley had been involved in the dry goods business in New Orleans before the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. After the outbreak he emigrated to Buenos Aires where he experimented with different formulas to create a digestive beverage using oranges as the main ingredient. Hesperidina would be born from those tests. Nevertheless, it was not until 1875 when Bagley entered to the food market. That year, the company started producing biscuits after the Government of Argentina exempted the company from the custom duties so they could import the necessary machinery to produce food. Until then, cookies and biscuits were imported from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The first biscuit produced was named ''Lola'' and became an immediate success. The biscuit was also used in hospitals as a food for patients.¿Cuál es la historia "secreta" de las galletitas preferidas de los argentinos?
on iProfesional, 29 Aug 2014 In July 1880, Bagley died at the age of 42. His wife Mary Hamilton took over the business, while other partners were in charge of administration duties. In 1901, the company became a sociedad anónima and continued investing in machinery and opening new plants. Merchandise was delivered by

horse-drawn cart A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...

s. One year later, the company launched ''Mitre'' cookies, named after former president of Argentina Bartolomé Mitre that became popular, then launching ''Variedad'', ''Tertulia'', and ''Soda''.Sabés quién creó la marca Bagley?
on iProfesional, 5 May 2021 by Daniel Balmaceda Bagley was the first Argentine company to produce

wafer A wafer is a crisp, often sweet, very thin, flat, light and dry biscuit, often used to decorate ice cream, and also used as a garnish on some sweet dishes. Wafers can also be made into cookies with cream flavoring sandwiched between them. They ...

s in Argentina. They were ''Opera'' in 1908, following the reopening of

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

on May 25, when the four-act opera ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'' was performed for the occasion. Starting in 1924, Bagley added other food products such as preserved goods,

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

and the ''Jelina'' desserts. Moreover, their employees had benefits such as medical coverage and paid vacation before they were ruled by Law. Launched in 1943, ''Criollitas'' cracker became an immediate success. That same year, Bagley started to package its products. Until then, biscuits were sold individually, being stored in tins and the stores commercialised them that way. Other products added were canned

dulce de membrillo Dulce may refer to: Places *Dulce, New Mexico * Dulce Base, a supposed American secret military facility *Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica * Dulce River (disambiguation) People * Dulce (Mexican singer) (born 1955), Mexican singer and actress *Ana Dulce ...

and dulce de batata. The company expanded its products range introducing filled biscuit such as ''Merengadas'', ''Sonrisas'', ''Mellizas'', ''Amor'', ''Rumba'', and crackers ''Rex'', in the 1960s. ''Rumba'' soon became leader of chocolate-flavored biscuits. In 1975, the company launched ''Chocolinas'', another chocolate-flavored biscuit which became not only a success but a historic landmark for the brand. During the 1980, Bagley added more varieties to its biscuits range, launching ''Porteñitas'' (in 1980), and ''Tentaciones'' (a premium product with flavored jelly) in 1985. In 1994, Bagley Argentina was acquired by French conglomerate

. Five years later, the group increased its ownership of the business to 91%. By 2003, Arcor had incomes for US$800 million and had 13,000 employees (9,000 in Argentina). In 2004, Arcor associated with French conglomerate Danone to take over Bagley, a local producer of crackers and other cookies. Bagley had been acquired by Danone in 1994. With this partnership, Arcor–Danone became the largest cookies manufacturer in South America, with a turnover of US$300 million. Arcor owned 51% of Bagley, and Danone 49%. This alliance was only for the cookies market, with both companies carrying on the rest of their business separately.Arcor se asocia con Danone y toma las riendas de Bagley
on ''Clarín'', 2 Apr 2004 Both companies joined forces to sell cookies in Argentina, Brasil and Chile, with an estimated production of 385,000 tons of cookies per year.
on Cronista.com, 2 Apr 2004 Also in 2004, Bagley sold the rights to the Hesperidina brand to "Tres Blasones", which took over production of the apéritif until 2018, when it was acquired by another local company, "Grupo Cepas S.A.". It has been producing the beverage since then.Grupo Cepas compra icónica marca argentina Hesperidina
by Ingrid Rojas, Lex Latin, 22-8-2018 When

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arran ...

acquired most of Danone biscuits division in 2007, Danone retained its shareholding in Bagley. In 2019, Bagley (along with

Grupo Arcor Arcor is an Argentine food company specialized in confectionery. The firm was founded on July 5, 1951 in the city of Arroyito, Córdoba. It specializes in the production of foodstuff, sugar and chocolate confectionery, cookies and ice cream in 39 ...

) became owners of 43% of Mastellone Hermanos, the main dairy company of Argentina, after both firms acquired 2,310,000 shares to increase their part in the business.La compañía Mastellone informó que Arcor y Bagley tendrán el 43%
on Minuto de Cierre, 10 May 2019

Products and brands

The company is mostly known for its wide variety of cookies and crackers, with some renowned brands such as ''Criollitas'', ''Rumba'', ''Opera'', ''Sonrisas'', and ''Chocolinas'' among others. current line of products include:

In popular culture

The ''chocotorta'' (a local

chocolate cake Chocolate cake or chocolate gâteau (from ) is a cake flavored with melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or both. History Chocolate cake is made with chocolate. It can also include other ingredients. These include fudge, vanilla creme, and other ...

) uses ''Chocolinas'' cookies as its main ingredient. It was invented in 1982 by Marité Mabragaña, an advertising creative that came up with the idea of preparing a tasty dessert for her two little sons. As she also worked for two dairy companies, she mixed

dulce de leche ''Dulce de leche'' (; pt, doce de leite), also known as caramelized milk, milk candy or milk jam in English, is a confection from Latin America prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over a period of several hours. The resulting substance, w ...

with

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration de ...

to use as filling, giving origin to one of the most popular cakes and an iconic dessert of Argentine

pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" sugges ...

. The chocotorta had a TV advertising spot (featuring two products from different companies, ''Mendicrim'', a cream cheese brand marketed by Osvaldo Mendizábal, and Bagley's ''Chocolinas'') and soon became a success. That success led Bagley to include the cake recipe on ''Chocolinas'' packages. In 2020, the chotorta was elected as "the best dessert in the world" by the

TasteAtlas TasteAtlas is an experiential travel guide for traditional food that collates authentic recipes, food critic reviews, and research articles about popular ingredients and dishes. Describing itself as "a world atlas of traditional dishes, local i ...

website after a survey conducted among its followers. The site mentioned "this unbaked Argentine dessert was influenced by the

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and later spread around the world together with wave ...

and is inspired on

tiramisu Tiramisu ( it, tiramisù , from , "pick me up" or "cheer me up") is a coffee-flavoured Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers (savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavoured w ...

. It is made with three basic Argentine ingredients: chocolate cookies, dulce de leche and cream cheese". In the voting results, the chocotorta ranked first above Belgian waffle and Hungarian zserbó. In 1973, guerrilla organisation Montoneros assesinated union leader

José Ignacio Rucci José Ignacio Rucci (5 March 1924 – 25 September 1973) was an Argentine politician and union leader, appointed general secretary of the CGT (General Confederation of Labour) in 1970. Close to the Argentine president Juan Perón, and a chief r ...

. The attack was named ''Operación Traviata''Las tres verdades de "Operación Traviata"
by Rosendo Fraga on La Política Online, 8 Sep 2008 in reference to the popular Bagley's cracker, which was advertised as "the 23-hole cracker". The maccabre reference allded Rucci was killed with 23 gunshots by the terrorist group.

Notes

References

External links