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Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of
Until the late 19th century, the biscuit and cracker industry was made up of small independent local bakeries preparing products and selling them in bulk. The barrels and crates of biscuits were delivered by horse and wagon, set out in the grocery store and sold to the consumer by the measure.
In 1890, a group of 33 midwest and western bakers combined to form the American Biscuit & Manufacturing Company. This was to compete with United States Baking Company, another Midwest group and the New York Biscuit Company, an east coast conglomerate. Soon the American Biscuit and New York Biscuit groups were opening bakeries and lowering prices in each other's area in an attempt to eliminate the competition. Finally in February 1898, the competing groups combined 114 factories and formed the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco).
Joseph Loose was a member of Nabisco's Board of Directors, and in 1902, he, his brother
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 ...
, crackers, and cereals
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...
. The company, which became a brand on a few products 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 ...
s, was purchased by Keebler Company
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 ...
in 1996, which was purchased by 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 ...
in 2001. Around then, Sunshine Biscuits was headquartered 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 ...
, where Keebler was located until 2001.
At the time of its purchase by Keebler, Sunshine Biscuits was the third largest cookie baker in the United States.
History
Until the late 19th century, the biscuit and cracker industry was made up of small independent local bakeries preparing products and selling them in bulk. The barrels and crates of biscuits were delivered by horse and wagon, set out in the grocery store and sold to the consumer by the measure.
In 1890, a group of 33 midwest and western bakers combined to form the American Biscuit & Manufacturing Company. This was to compete with United States Baking Company, another Midwest group and the New York Biscuit Company, an east coast conglomerate. Soon the American Biscuit and New York Biscuit groups were opening bakeries and lowering prices in each other's area in an attempt to eliminate the competition. Finally in February 1898, the competing groups combined 114 factories and formed the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco).
Joseph Loose was a member of Nabisco's Board of Directors, and in 1902, he, his brother Jacob Loose
Jacob Leander Loose (June 17, 1850 – September 18, 1923) was an American businessman who founded Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company.
Biography
Jacob Loose was born in Greencastle, Indiana on June 17, 1850. He attended high school in Decatur, Illino ...
, and John H. Wiles, liquidated their holdings in National Biscuit Company and formed the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company in Kansas City, Missouri. They envisioned a factory filled with sunlight and so they adopted the name Sunshine. Soon they began expanding and opened new plants in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and then New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. In 1912 Loose-Wiles opened its "Thousand Window" bakery in the Long Island City neighborhood of New York City, which remained the largest bakery building in the world until 1955. The plant was closed in 1965 and the production was moved to Sayreville, New Jersey
Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2010 United St ...
.
Loose-Wiles never registered its Sunshine brand name and therefore spent much effort in the first forty years trying to dissuade other companies from using the word "sunshine" or any related word on their product or in their advertising. Since Loose-Wiles claim was not based on a registered mark, they often had to investigate when and where the other company first used the word to determine which company had first claim so as not to lose their right to the name "Sunshine" for their own products. Finally in 1946, the Loose-Wiles Company officially changed its name to Sunshine Biscuit, Inc.
The early part of the company's history was dominated by developing new items and acquiring established brands from other smaller companies. Many of the products and their names are similar to those of their largest competitor, the National Biscuit Company. For example, Nabisco's first individually packaged cracker was named Uneeda. Loose-Wile's cracker was "Takhoma". Loose-Wiles made "Trumps Cookies". Nabisco produced "Aces". Sunshine Biscuit had " Animal Crackers" and "Toy Cookies". Nabisco produced "Barnum's Animals".
The American Tobacco Company
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members ...
purchased the company in 1966. It was then sold to G. F. Industries, a privately held California company, and finally merged with the Keebler Company in 1996.
Products
Sunshine Biscuits made theHydrox
Hydrox is a cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie currently owned and manufactured by Leaf Brands. It debuted in the United States in 1908, and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits for over 90 years. Hydrox was largely discontinued in 1999, ...
chocolate sandwich cream cookie, before it was discontinued in 1999. They were reintroduced in 2015, and are now made by Leaf Brands
Leaf Brands, LLC is a candy company based in Newport Coast, Newport Beach, California. The original Leaf International (also known as the "Leaf Candy Company") started in the 1940s. Leaf International was once the fourth largest candy producer ...
. Sunshine is best known as the brand name of 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 ...
snack crackers. However, six well-known Sunshine products were discontinued after the merger with Keebler: Chip-A-Roos, Chocolate Nugget cookies, Chocolate Fudge Cookies, Lemon Coolers, Golden Raisin Biscuits (through 1996, similar to Garibaldi biscuit
The Garibaldi biscuit consists of currants squashed and baked between two thin oblongs of biscuit dough—technically called a currant sandwich. The biscuits are similar to Eccles cake as well as the Golden Raisin Biscuits once made by Sunshine ...
s), and Golden Fruit Biscuits. Sunshine originated 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 ...
cookies, which became branded as Keebler.
Current products are 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 ...
snack crackers, Krispy saltine crackers, Krispy Soup & Oyster crackers, and Nut Sundae Cookie.
Former products include Hydrox
Hydrox is a cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie currently owned and manufactured by Leaf Brands. It debuted in the United States in 1908, and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits for over 90 years. Hydrox was largely discontinued in 1999, ...
chocolate sandwich cookies, sold to Leaf Brands
Leaf Brands, LLC is a candy company based in Newport Coast, Newport Beach, California. The original Leaf International (also known as the "Leaf Candy Company") started in the 1940s. Leaf International was once the fourth largest candy producer ...
in 2014; Lemon Coolers cookies, trademarked by Texan Foods LLC in 2016; Yum Yums coconut caramel cookies, trademarked by Texan Foods LLC in 2016; Hi Ho Crackers, trademarked by Texan Foods LLC in 2016; and Sunshine Nut Sundaes marshmallow cookies.
They made a snack cracker line called American Heritage, Cherry Coolers, Fig Bars (not Fig Newtons), and International Snacks, a line of sandwich cookies with two flavors of creme in every cookie. Shredded Wheat was produced at the Sayreville, New Jersey facility and distributed only east of the Mississippi.
After Kellogg's took over Keebler including crackers bearing the Sunshine name, the Sunshine brand was replaced by the Kellogg's brand.https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kellogg-s-Krispy-Saltine-Crackers-Original-16-Oz-Pouch/11045755
References
{{reflist Snack food manufacturers of the United States Brand name cookies Kellogg's brands Manufacturing companies based in Kansas City, Missouri Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois Elmhurst, Illinois Products introduced in 1890 Products introduced in 1946 American companies established in 1902 Food and drink companies established in 1902 Food and drink companies disestablished in 1996 1902 establishments in Missouri 1996 disestablishments in Illinois 1996 mergers and acquisitions