Drake's Cakes facts for kids
 |
|
Drake's Yodels
|
|
| Type | Baked goods |
|---|---|
| Owner | McKee Foods |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | November 14, 1896 |
| Headquarters | New York City (founding) Wayne, New Jersey (at time of bankruptcy) Collegedale, Tennessee (current) |
| Markets | Worldwide |
| Previous owners |
List
The N.E. Drake Baking Company (1896–1900)
National Biscuit Company (1900–1902) Drake Brothers Company (1902–1924) Drake Bakeries, Inc. (1924–1986) Ralston Purina (1986–1987) Rock Capital Partners (1987–1990) Culinar, Inc. (1990–1998) Interstate Bakeries Corporation (1998–2013) |
Drake's is a well-known brand of American baked treats. It was started by Newman E. Drake in 1896 in Harlem, New York. Back then, it was called The N.E. Drake Baking Company. Today, a company called McKee Foods owns Drake's.
Drake's makes many popular snack cakes. Some of these include Devil Dogs, Funny Bones, Coffee Cakes, Ring Dings, and Yodels. For a long time, Drake's products were mostly sold in the Northeastern U.S. But in 2016, they started selling in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. too. All Drake's products are made following special Orthodox Union kosher rules.
Contents
The Story of Drake's Cakes
How Drake's Began
The Drake's brand started as The N.E. Drake Baking Company. It was officially created on November 14, 1896, in New York City. The founder was Newman E. Drake. His first bakery was in Harlem.
Newman Drake had a lot of experience in baking. In 1888, he worked for a cracker company. By 1894, he was traveling internationally as a salesman. In 1893–94, he visited England. There, he saw grocery stores selling commercially baked cakes. This gave him the idea to bring similar cakes to America.
By 1898, stores were advertising Drake's pound cakes. They came in different flavors and were baked fresh daily. In 1900, Drake's layer cakes with chocolate or vanilla icing were sold. Ads even said they cost half of what it would take to bake them at home. By 1901, Drake's "celebrated" pound cakes and macaroons were popular.
A Big Company Buys Drake's
In the late 1890s, many cracker companies joined together. In 1898, three big companies formed the National Biscuit Company. This company later became known as Nabisco. By November 1900, the National Biscuit Company bought Drake's bakery. They called it the N.E. Drake Baking Co. Branch.
Drake's cakes continued to be sold under the Drake brand until at least 1902. The original Drake Baking Company closed in 1903. However, the National Biscuit Company kept making cakes at the same Harlem bakery. They just used different brand names. It's not clear how Newman Drake kept the Drake brand name for his future businesses.
Drake Brothers Company Starts Up
On December 4, 1902, Newman Drake started his business again. He called it Drake Brothers Company. He worked with his brother Charles and his brother-in-law. By May 1903, Drake was running a bakery in Brooklyn, New York. Newman was the president. His sons also worked in the business as bakers and salesmen.
In 1904, a food show article mentioned that Drake's still made pound cakes, macaroons, and other cakes. The company was known for being the first to make large amounts of cakes for grocery stores. The new Brooklyn bakery served over 1,000 stores. It also reached a large area around Brooklyn.
Drake Brothers started holding special dinners for their sales team in 1904. These events became very fancy. They had speakers, guests, and awards for good sales. A photo from a 1917 dinner shows how grand these events were. Everyone wore suits, and there were custom menus.
In 1905, Drake opened another bakery in Boston. Newman's son, J. Harold Drake, managed it. In 1909, the Brooklyn bakery got bigger. They added a new oven. Also in 1909, Drake's had a piece of sheet music called "Drake's Cake Walk" created. It was a "ragtime" song for piano.
In 1913, Drake Brothers announced plans for a new five-story bakery in Brooklyn. It was made of brick and concrete. The ovens were on the top floor to let heat escape. Mixing was on the fourth floor, and packing on the third. Offices were on the second floor, and shipping was on the ground floor. The building even had a rooftop garden for breaks.
Early Marketing and Ads
Drake Brothers was praised for its branding and advertising. Since much of their product was sold by the pound, stores could sometimes swap out Drake's cakes for others. To fix this, Drake's used pan liners with the Drake's brand name. This way, customers could easily see it was a Drake's cake. Drake's also put their trademark on their delivery trucks and in all their ads.
In 1914, one of Drake's delivery trucks in Boston was featured in a magazine. It had worked for 14 months without missing a single day. In the 1920s, Drake's added garages near their bakery to store their growing fleet of vehicles.
In the early 1900s, Newman Drake wanted a new logo for his delivery trucks. Joseph Gross, an artist, drew the first Drake's logo. It showed a duck wearing a chef's hat and holding a tray of cakes. Newman Drake loved the design so much that he gave Gross a $500 bonus.
Drake Bakeries, Inc. Forms
On July 29, 1924, a new company was formed: Drake Bakeries, Incorporated. Ralph Ward became the president. Ralph Ward's grandfather had started Ward Baking Company. This company later became Continental Baking and created the Hostess brand. Many years later, in 1998, Hostess would actually own the Drake's brand.
In 1925, Drake Bakeries started a new policy. They would remove products from store shelves after 48 hours to ensure freshness. Their ads also shared recipes for Drake's products. This showed customers the good ingredients used. The ads also introduced products in new "Fresh Cake" cartons.
Also in 1925, Drake's began making collectible cards. Two of these cards featured famous baseball player Babe Ruth. These cards had brand information on the back. Drake's baseball cards continued for many years. Work also began on a new bakery in Irvington, New Jersey.
One of Drake's most popular products today, Devil Dogs, was first sold on June 15, 1926. The trademark for Devil Dogs was owned by S. Gumpert Co., Inc. at that time.
Yankee Doodles, a chocolate cupcake with cream filling, were first sold in 1928 by the Yankee Cake Company. By 1936, Drake's was selling Yankee Doodles under their own brand. Drake Bakeries later shared a building with Yankee Cake Company and eventually owned it.
On August 28, 1928, Central Distributors, Inc. bought Drake Bakeries. Less than a year later, on August 8, 1929, The Borden Company bought Central Distributors, Inc. This gave Borden control of Drake Bakeries. Ralph Ward became a vice president at Borden while still leading Drake Bakeries.
In 1929, Drake's started advertising that their products were wrapped in cellophane. They said shoppers could see what they were buying. They also noted it was a "flavor-sealed" package.
The 1930s and 1940s
Newman E. Drake, the founder, passed away on March 18, 1930, at age 69. His wife Elizabeth and son Arthur continued running the business.
In December 1930, Drake's Coffee Cakes appeared in newspaper ads. These ads even mentioned a radio show that offered to share the recipe. Coffee Cakes are still one of Drake's top-selling products today.
On August 28, 1933, Drake Bakeries opened a new location in Philadelphia. By 1941, Drake's had bakeries in Brooklyn, Boston, Irvington, and Providence. They also had distribution points in the Bronx and Jamaica (Queens).
Drake's had a cake stand at the 1939 New York World's Fair. They provided cakes to visitors.
During World War II, Drake's production was limited. This was because of rationing of sugar and shortening. Ralph Ward, Drake's president, helped lead the American Bakers Association during the war.
By the end of 1949, Drake Bakeries had a bakery in Long Island City, NY (Queens).
The 1950s and 1960s
Even though another company first owned the Devil Dogs brand, Drake's started marketing them under their own name in 1956.
Drake's Ring Dings were launched in January 1958. They are still one of their best-selling items.
Drake's Funny Bones were launched on April 12, 1961.
Drake's Yodels were launched on August 15, 1962. They are also still one of their top-selling items.
Drake's Fruit Doodles, which were fruit pies, were introduced in October 1964. By the early 1970s, they were known as Drake's Fruit Pies.
In 1969, a new bakery was built in Wayne, New Jersey. This helped support the other bakeries in Brooklyn, Boston, Long Island City, and Newark.
The 1980s and 1990s
In 1981, Drake Bakeries held a contest to name their duck mascot. The winning name was Webster.
On July 1, 1986, Borden announced they were selling Drake Bakeries to Ralston Purina Co. Ralston Purina wanted Drake's to be part of their Continental Baking Co., which owned the Hostess brand. However, another company, Tasty Baking Co., sued Ralston. They argued that Ralston owning both Drake's and Hostess would be unfair. Tasty Baking Co. won, and Ralston could not keep Drake's.
On July 13, 1987, Ralston Purina Co. agreed to sell Drake Bakeries to a private group. This group was led by Drake's management and supported by Rock Capital Partners. The sale was completed on August 22, 1987.
By September 1987, Drake's management told their salespeople they would need to buy their sales routes. If not, they could lose their jobs. This was a way to save costs.
In April 1988, Drake Bakeries celebrated its 100th anniversary. They even cut a huge 500-pound Ring Ding! However, the company was actually founded in 1896, so the celebration was a bit early.
On December 31, 1990, Rock Capital Partners sold Drake Bakeries to Culinar Inc. Culinar was a Canadian food company that owned the popular Canadian cake brand Vachon. Culinar made changes to improve the bakeries and make them more profitable.
On August 16, 1998, Interstate Bakeries Corporation bought Drake Bakeries from Culinar Inc. Interstate Bakeries added Drake's to their products, which already included the Hostess brand.
The 2000s and 2010s
Hostess Brands Inc., which used to be Interstate Bakeries Corporation, faced financial problems. They filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and eventually closed down.
On April 9, 2013, McKee Foods Corporation bought the Drake's brand. They paid $27.5 million for it. McKee Foods brought back Drake's top-selling items on September 22, 2013.
In the fall of 2017, McKee stopped making Drake's Coffee Cakes without telling customers. But on July 27, 2018, McKee announced that Drake's Coffee Cakes would return later that year.
