![Folger's Golden Gate ad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Folger%27s_Golden_Gate_ad.jpg)
Folgers Coffee is a brand of
ground
Ground may refer to:
Geology
* Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water
* Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth
Electricity
* Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...
,
instant
In physics and the philosophy of science, instant refers to an infinitesimal interval in time, whose passage is instantaneous. In ordinary speech, an instant has been defined as "a point or very short space of time," a notion deriving from its ety ...
, and
single-use pod coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
produced and sold in the United States, with additional distribution in Asia, Canada and Mexico. It forms part of the food and beverage division of
The J.M. Smucker Company
The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major bus ...
.
History
"J.A. Folger & Co. were established in 1850 as Wm. H. Bovee & Co"
The precursor of the Folger Coffee Company was founded in 1850 in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, California, as the Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills. The founding owner, William H. Bovee, saw an opportunity to produce roasted and ground coffee ready for brewing. Before that, Californians had to purchase green coffee beans, and roast and grind them on their own. To help build his mill, Bovee hired James Athearn (J.A.) Folger as a carpenter. Folger had arrived from
Nantucket Island
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
at age 15 with his two older brothers during the
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
. In the 1850s,
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
became a cheaper alternative to
whale oil
Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop").
Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...
, Nantucket's dominant business. Many Nantucket ships were re-purposed to instead bring coffee from South America to San Francisco. After working at Bovee's mill for nearly a year, Folger had saved enough money to buy part of the company, and went to mine for gold. He agreed to carry samples of coffee and spices, taking orders from grocery stores along the way. Upon his return to San Francisco in 1865, Folger became a full partner at Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills. In 1872, he bought out the other partners and renamed the company J.A. Folger & Co.
In 1861, James Folger married. He and his wife had four children, and two of the children worked for the family business. In 1889, Folger died, and his oldest son, James A. Folger II, became president of J.A. Folger & Co at the age of 26.
In the 1900s, the company began to grow dramatically due primarily to a salesman named Frank P. Atha. Atha sold coffee in the California area, but proposed to James Folger II that he open and manage a Folgers Coffee plant in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. The company grew exponentially after Atha opened the Texas plant.
Under the mid-20th century leadership of
Peter Folger
Peter Folger (December 26, 1905 – August 27, 1980) was an American coffee heir, socialite, and member of the prominent United States Folger family. He was also the longtime chairman of the board and president of the Folgers Coffee Company. He ...
, the brand became one of the principal coffee concerns in North America.
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
acquired Folger's in 1963 and removed the apostrophe from its name.
During P&G's ownership, Folgers became the number one coffee brand in America.
On August 9, 1969, company heiress
Abigail Folger
Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married ...
was stabbed to death in Los Angeles as part of the
Manson Family's
Tate–LaBianca murders
The TateLaBianca murders were a series of murders perpetrated by members of the Manson Family during August 810, 1969, in Los Angeles, California, United States, under the direction of Tex Watson and Charles Manson. The perpetrators killed five ...
.
P&G announced in January 2008 that Folgers would be spun off into a separate
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
-based company but reversed itself that June and announced Folgers would be acquired by the end of 2008 by
The J.M. Smucker Company
The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major bus ...
. Utilizing a rare financial technique called a
Reverse Morris Trust
A Reverse Morris Trust in United States law is a transaction that combines a divisive reorganization ( spin-off) with an acquisitive reorganization ( statutory merger) to allow a tax-free transfer (in the guise of a merger) of a subsidiary. It may ...
, Smucker purchased Folgers in November 2008 and made it a subsidiary, whose products lead the 10 billion USD at-home retail coffee category.
Brands
Folgers established brand colors, included on their
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...
, were traditionally a moderately dark red background with white lettering. The white or grey lettering is still used, with a green background signifying decaf and a black background signifying their Noir dark roast.
Folgers products available in the United States include:
*Ground coffee in cans
**100% Colombian (medium roast)
**Black Silk (dark roast), also available in
decaf
Decaffeination is the removal of caffeine from coffee beans, cocoa, tea leaves, and other caffeine-containing materials. Decaffeinated drinks contain typically 1–2% of the original caffeine content, and sometimes as much as 20%. Decaffeinated ...
**Brazilian blend (medium roast)
**Breakfast blend (mild roast)
**Classic roast (medium roast), also in decaf and
half caff
Decaffeination is the removal of caffeine from coffee beans, cocoa, tea leaves, and other caffeine-containing materials. Decaffeinated drinks contain typically 1–2% of the original caffeine content, and sometimes as much as 20%. Decaffeinated ...
**Coffeehouse blend (medium-dark roast)
**Country roast (medium-dark roast)
**French roast (medium-dark roast)
**Gourmet Supreme (medium-dark roast)
**House blend (medium roast)
**Special roast (medium roast)
*Folgers Noir, a line of dark roast coffees
*Simply Smooth, a mild roast coffee intended to be gentler on the stomach, also in decaf
*Simply Gourmet, a line of naturally flavored coffees
*Folgers Flavors, French vanilla and hazelnut flavored coffees, also available as decaf hazelnut
*Folgers Crystals,
instant coffee
Instant coffee is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans that enables people to quickly prepare hot coffee by adding hot water or milk to coffee solids in powdered or crystallized form and stirring. Instant coffee solids (also called sol ...
available in regular and decaf
*Coffee Singles, single-serve packets
*Cappuccino instant mixes
*
K-cup
Keurig is a beverage brewing system for home and commercial use. The machines are manufactured by the American company Keurig Dr Pepper. The main Keurig products are: K-Cup pods, which are single-serve coffee containers; other beverage pods; an ...
pods in a variety of roasts and flavors
*1850, a premium brand launched in 2018
In Canada, Folgers is primarily available as Classic Roast and Mountain Roast.
In the United Kingdom, Folgers Instant Crystals are available.
Advertising
Folgers is promoted with the slogan "The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!" It is well associated with a jingle featured in almost every advertisement since 1984, with lyrics by Susan Spiegel Solovay and Bill Vernick, and music by
Leslie Pearl. Over the years it has been rearranged and performed by many famous musicians, such as
Richie Havens
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...
,
Randy Travis
Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor.
Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...
,
Bonnie Tyler
Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...
,
Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular ...
,
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
, and
Rockapella
Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City. The group's name is an amalgam of "rock" and "a cappella". Rockapella sings original vocal music and a cappella covers of pop and rock songs; and over time, their ...
.
From 1965 to 1986, Folgers was known for television ads involving "Mrs. Olson", a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
neighbor played by
Virginia Christine
Virginia Christine (born Virginia Christine Ricketts; March 5, 1920 – July 24, 1996) was an American stage, radio, film, television, and voice actress. Though Christine had a long career as a character actress in film and television, she i ...
who invariably recommended a cup of Folgers coffee for the characters in the commercial.
Folgers promoted their instant coffee in the 1970s and early 1980s ads which took the viewer inside various 'high-end' restaurants while a voice-over (by Bryan Clark) whispered to the viewer that they've secretly switched the coffee used at the restaurant with Folgers, and watched the restaurants' patrons to see if they could tell whether or not they noticed the difference.
One Folgers television ad from 1985, "
Peter Comes Home For Christmas
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
," became particularly associated with the Christmas holidays. A college student returns home, apparently on Christmas Day. His younger sister is the first one to greet Peter, helping him make the Folgers. The smell of freshly brewed coffee awakening his parents and alerting them to their son's arrival. The
Cunningham & Walsh spot aired yearly until 1998, then in edited form in 2004 and 2005.
In the mid-1980s Folgers became a
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
sponsor. After a trial season with the
Joe Ruttman
Joe Ruttman (born October 28, 1944) is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. With 13 career wins in the Truck Series he is currently tied for 13th ...
-driven and
Larry McClure
Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names.
Larry may refer to the following:
People Arts and entertainment
* Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer
*Larry Boone ...
-owned
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
in 1985, Folgers expanded its sponsorships.
In 2006, the advertising agency
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency gr ...
created a
viral advertisement, popularly known as "Happy Mornings", in which a large group of cheerful singers and dancers appear at sunrise as the sun itself to wake people up.
In 2009, Saatchi & Saatchi created a holiday ad,
"Coming Home", where an older brother is met by his teenage sister at their parents home on returning from volunteering in West Africa. The ad quickly went viral and has been criticized for
perceived sexual tensions between the siblings.
In 2014, the brand celebrated the 30th anniversary of the famous jingle.
Building
The brick, five-story
Folger Coffee Company Building
The Folgers Coffee Company Building is a historic mid-rise office building located at 101 Howard Street in the Financial District, San Francisco.
Description and history
The five-story plus basement, Renaissance Revival style building was orig ...
at 101 Howard in San Francisco, California is the former headquarters of Folgers. It is listed on the United States
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The building still has a sign saying "The Folgers Coffee Company" on one corner.
On August 2, 2011, the Folger Building was purchased by the
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...
, marking a return to the university's roots in downtown San Francisco.
In popular culture
In the 1998 film ''
The Big Lebowski
''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken i ...
'', after one of the protagonists dies, their
ashes are transported to the Pacific Ocean in a Folgers coffee can because the cheapest
urn
An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
is deemed too expensive. The film has become a
cult classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
, and at least one person has
cosplay
Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...
ed as a can of Folgers during a
fan event.
In the 1991''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'' episode
"The Library", Jerry is challenged by Lt. Bookman (played by
Philip Baker Hall
Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor.
Hall is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including '' Hard Eight'' (1996), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997) and ''Magnolia'' (1999). He als ...
) on why there is no instant coffee available for guests to his apartment: "You buy a jar of Folger's Crystals, you put it in the cupboard, you forget about it. Then later on when you need it, it's there. It lasts forever. It's freeze-dried. Freeze-dried crystals."
The November 16, 1991 episode of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' had a sketch that parodied the 'high end restaurant' commercials from the 1970s and 1980s, showing a customer (
Chris Farley
Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. Farley was known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the ...
) violently losing his temper upon being informed that he was given another company's coffee blend instead of the restaurant's usual blend.
Notes and references
Notes
References
Further reading
*''The Folger Way: Coffee Pioneering Since 1850,'' by Ruth Waldo Newhall (1910–2003), married to
Scott Newhall
Scott Newhall (January 21, 1914 – October 26, 1992) was a newspaper editor known for his stewardship of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''.
Early life
Scott Newhall was born on January 21, 1914, into the family that owned the Newhall Land and Farm ...
(1914–1992), late of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
,'' J.A. Folger (publisher) (1961);
External links
*
Selection of 20th Century Folgers commercials
{{Authority control
Coffee brands
Articles containing video clips
Food and drink companies established in 1850
Former Procter & Gamble brands
Companies based in San Francisco
1850 establishments in California
Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area
The J.M. Smucker Co. brands
American brands
Drink companies based in California
1963 mergers and acquisitions
2008 mergers and acquisitions