The Keebler Company is an American cookie and former cracker manufacturer. Founded in 1853, it has produced numerous baked snacks,
advertised with the Keebler Elves. Keebler had marketed its brands such as
Cheez-It
Cheez-It is a brand of cheese cracker manufactured by the Kellogg Company through its Sunshine Biscuits division. Approximately , the rectangular crackers are made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, cheese made with skim milk, salt, and spi ...
(which have the
Sunshine Biscuits
Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of cookies, crackers, and cereals. The company, which became a brand on a few products such as Cheez-Its, was purchased by Keebler Compa ...
brand),
Chips Deluxe
Chips Deluxe is a brand of cookies made by the Keebler Company (a division of the Ferrara Candy Company, itself a subsidiary of Ferrero SpA) and distributed in the United States.
Varieties
Originally released as a chocolate chip cookies, the Ch ...
,
Club Crackers
Club Crackers are crackers made by the Kellogg Company. They are somewhat similar in resemblance to saltines, but are rectangular and have 18 holes in a 3x6 pattern instead of the 13 holes in a 3-2-3-2-3 pattern that are on a saltine. Also, the ...
,
E.L. Fudge Cookies
E.L. Fudge is an American snack food introduced in 1986 and manufactured by the Keebler Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero SpA. They are butter-flavored shortbread sandwich cookies with a fudge creme filling. The company describes their shape as "", ...
,
Famous Amos
Famous Amos is a brand of cookies founded in Los Angeles in 1975 by Wally Amos, a former talent agent with William Morris Agency.
History
Wally Amos, Wallace "Wally" Amos was born in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, on July 1, 1936. In 19 ...
, Fudge Shoppe Cookies, Murray cookies, Austin, Plantation,
Vienna Fingers
Vienna Fingers is an American brand of cookie made by the Keebler Company, a division of Ferrero SpA. They consist of a sandwich of vanilla flavored outer crust filled with vanilla cream flavored filling. Akin to an Oreo, the surface is textured an ...
, Town House Crackers,
Wheatables Wheatables were baked snack Cracker (food), crackers made by the Keebler Company (a subsidiary of the Kellogg Company).
They were available in Original Golden Wheat, Toasted Honey Wheat, as well as Wheatables Nut Crisps varieties in Roasted Almond ...
, Sandie's Shortbread,
Pizzarias Pizza Chips,
Chachos
Chachos were tortilla chip snacks produced by Keebler in the late 1980s/early 1990s. They were flour-based, as opposed to most common tortilla chips, which are corn-based (notably Tostitos). Chachos were available in three varieties: Cheesy Quesad ...
and Zesta Crackers, among others. The cookie and cracker lines were separated when
Kellogg's sold the cookie line and the rights of the Keebler name to
Ferrero SpA
Ferrero SpA (), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba, Italy. manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second biggest chocolate produc ...
. The cracker lines are now marketed under the Kellogg's or Sunshine names.
The Keebler
slogans are "''Uncommonly Good''" and "a little elfin magic goes a long way". Tom Shutter and
Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971) was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc. He was responsible for creating some of advertising's most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th cent ...
wrote the familiar jingle.
[ The ]Kellogg Company
The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...
sold Keebler to the Italian-owned Ferrero SpA
Ferrero SpA (), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba, Italy. manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second biggest chocolate produc ...
in 2019.
Company history
Godfrey Keebler, of German descent, opened a bakery in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Pennsylvania, in 1853. His bakery networked with several other local bakeries and others around the country over the years, and in 1927 they merged into the United Biscuit Company of America.
United Biscuit operated regional bakeries which included not only Keebler, but also Hekman Biscuit Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, the Strietmann Biscuit Company of Mariemont, Ohio
Mariemont (pronounced ) is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It includes two overlapping historic districts, Village of Mariemont and Mariemont Historic District. Named for its founder, Mary Emery, Mariemont exhibits English ...
and the Bowman Biscuit Company of Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
which used the Supreme brand name. By 1963, United Biscuit introduced the Kitchen Rich brand nationally while still utilizing the regional brand names. In 1966, United Biscuit decided to adopt a uniform brand name and chose Keebler as the national brand and the name of the company. Keebler did adopt Streitmann's Zesta saltine brand as Keebler's national brand of saltine crackers.
Keebler-Weyl Bakery
The Keebler Company is an American cookie and former cracker manufacturer. Founded in 1853, it has produced numerous baked snacks, advertised with the Keebler Elves. Keebler had marketed its brands such as Cheez-It (which have the Sunshine Bisc ...
became the official baker of Girl Scout Cookies in 1936, the first commercial company to bake the cookies (the scouts and their mothers had done it previously). By 1978, four companies were producing the cookies. Little Brownie Bakers is the Keebler division still licensed to produce the cookies.
Keebler was acquired by United Biscuits
United Biscuits (UB) is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In ...
in 1974, headquartered in West Drayton
West Drayton is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and from 1929 was part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District, which became part of Greater London in 1965. Th ...
, Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, England. By the 1980s, Keebler had expanded into the bagged salty snack market, launching a string of successful and innovative snack chips such as Tato Skins, O'Boisies, and Pizzarias. In 1995, United Biscuits announced plans to spin off the snack chip business, but ending up selling the entire company to a partnership between Flowers Industries and Artal Luxembourg, a private equity firm. Artal Luxembourg sold its holdings in Keebler in an IPO in 1998.
The Keebler Company purchased Sunshine Biscuits
Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of cookies, crackers, and cereals. The company, which became a brand on a few products such as Cheez-Its, was purchased by Keebler Compa ...
in 1996.
In 2000, the Keebler Company acquired a license to produce snacks based on the popular children's show Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
.
In March 2001, The Keebler Company was acquired by the Kellogg Company
The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...
.[ At that time, headquarters were located in ]Elmhurst, Illinois
Elmhurst is a city mostly in DuPage County and overlapping into Cook County in the U.S. state of Illinois, and a western suburb of Chicago. As of 2021, the city has an estimated population of 47,260.
History
Members of the Potawatomi Native ...
. Currently, Keebler has manufacturing plants in the United States, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
On April 1, 2019, Kellogg announced that it was selling Keebler cookies and other related brands to Ferrero SpA
Ferrero SpA (), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba, Italy. manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second biggest chocolate produc ...
for $1.3 billion. The acquisition is a part of Ferrero's strategy to buy brands which have been neglected within broader food companies' portfolios. Kellogg retained the rights to other Keebler products, such as crackers, either under the Kellogg's or Sunshine names. The acquisition closed on July 29, 2019.
Keebler Elves
The animated Keebler Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...
, led by "Ernest J. 'Ernie' Keebler", rank among the best-known characters from commercials. Ernie is the head elf and the friendliest of the bunch. The elves have appeared in countless television advertisement
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
s throughout the years, shown baking their unique products. In the commercials, the Keebler tree logo is often turned into the tree in which the elves reside.
Leo Burnett Worldwide
Leo Burnett Worldwide, Inc., also known as Leo Burnett Company, Inc., is an American advertising company, founded on August 5, 1935, in Chicago by Leo Burnett.
In September 2002, the company was acquired by Publicis Groupe, the world's third ...
, an advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
agency, created the elves in 1968, calling the bakery "The Hollow Tree Factory."[
J.J. Keebler was the original "king elf" in 1969, and was featured in a classroom film about how animated commercials are made, "Show and Sell", with J.J.'s voice performed by Alan Reed, Sr.] Ernie Keebler became "head elf" in 1970.[ ] White-haired Ernie wears a green jacket, a white shirt with a yellow tie, a red vest, and floppy shoes.
Ernie Keebler was first voiced by Walker Edmiston
Walker Edmiston (February 6, 1926 – February 15, 2007) was an American radio, television and voice actor.
Early years
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Edmiston participated in local theater productions during his high school years. He later stu ...
, later by Parley Baer
Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...
, then Frank Welker in 2007, then Richard Henzel
Richard Henzel (born June 15, 1949) is a Chicago-based stage, film, TV, and voice-over actor.
He is best known as the voice of Ernie Keebler, the Keebler Elf (since 2016), and as one of the two DJ voices heard on the clock radio in the movie ''G ...
since 2016.
Other elves were Fryer Tuck (who promoted "Munch-ems"), Ernie's nephews Zoot and J.J. (known for Pizzarias Pizza Chips), Ernie's mother Ma Keebler, young Elmer Keebler, Buckets (who threw fudge on the cookies), Fast Eddie (who wrapped the products), Sam (the peanut butter baker), Roger (the jeweler), Doc (the doctor and cookie maker), Zack (the fudge shoppe supervisor), Flo (the accountant), Leonardo (the artist), Elwood (who ran through the dough),[ Professor, Edison, Larry and Art.][ Many of the Keebler commercials were narrated by the announcer ]Danny Dark
Danny Dark (December 19, 1938 – June 13, 2004) was an American voice-over artist. For nearly four decades, he embedded pop culture with memorable lines in advertisements for Budweiser ("This Bud's for you"), Raid Ant & Roach Killer ("Raid - Kil ...
. The first Keebler elves were drawn by children's author/illustrator and commercial artist Roger Bradfield.
List of Keebler snacks
Examples of Keebler products include:
References
External links
*
{{Kellogg Company
Brand name snack foods
Ferrero SpA brands
Snack food manufacturers of the United States
American companies established in 1853
Food and drink companies established in 1853
Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois
Elmhurst, Illinois
1853 establishments in Pennsylvania
2019 mergers and acquisitions
1998 initial public offerings
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
American subsidiaries of foreign companies