Lender's Bagels facts for kids
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| Type | Bagels |
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| Owner | Bimbo Bakeries USA (Grupo Bimbo) |
| Introduced | 1927 in New Haven, Connecticut |
| Previous owners | Kraft (1984–1996) Kellogg's (1996–1999) Aurora Food (1999–2003) Pinnacle Foods (2003–2018) Conagra Brands (2018–2020) |
Lender's Bagels is a famous brand of bagels. It was the first company to sell pre-packaged bagels in the United States. The Lender family started the company in 1927 in New Haven, Connecticut.
Lender's became a top company for selling bagels in North America. They were the first to introduce frozen bagels. They also sold the first packaged bagels in supermarkets. Eventually, Lender's became the biggest bagel maker in the world. The company was sold to Kraft Foods in 1984. Later, in 2003, it became part of Pinnacle Foods. In 2018, Conagra Brands bought Pinnacle Foods. Then, Conagra sold Lender's Bagels to Bimbo Bakery in 2020.
Contents
The Story of Lender's Bagels
How It Started
Harry Lender started Lender's Bagel Bakery. He was a baker from Chelm, Poland. Harry came to the United States in 1927. He first worked in a bagel bakery in New Jersey. Then, he bought his own bakery in New Haven, Connecticut, for $600. His family joined him in the U.S. in 1929.
New Haven had many new immigrants back then. A large part of the population was Jewish. Harry's bakery was called the "New York Bagel Bakery." It was one of the first bagel bakeries outside of New York City. In 2007, the spot where the first bakery stood became a playground. It was named the "Murray Lender Playground" after one of Harry's sons.
In 1934, Harry moved his bakery to a bigger building. He sold bagels to people, other bakeries, and restaurants. Sundays were the busiest days for bagel sales. So, Saturday nights were very busy at the bakery. People from all over would come to buy fresh bagels.
New Ideas for Growth
By the mid-1950s, the bakery faced a challenge. They had to make 6,000 bagels for Sunday sales. But the rest of the week was much slower. In 1954, Harry found a solution: freezing bagels. This allowed them to make bagels evenly all week. He kept this process a secret for two years.
One day, the bakery accidentally delivered frozen bagels. The secret was out! Customers were upset at first. But they soon realized the frozen bagels were just as good. The New York Bagel Bakery began selling frozen bagels. They even delivered them to resorts far from New Haven.
Lender's kept improving their process. They started pre-slicing bagels. They also packed them in plastic bags to keep them fresh. The bakery began selling these packaged frozen bagels in supermarkets. The Lender family would even give out samples in stores. This helped introduce bagels to people who didn't know them.
The plastic-bagged, pre-sliced six-packs of Lender's Frozen Bagels became very popular. By 1959, supermarket sales made up half of their business. The company also created new bagel flavors. They switched to faster, modern ovens for baking.
In 1960, Harry Lender passed away. His sons, Sam and Murray, took over the business. Their youngest brother, Marvin, joined them after college. Sam later retired, leaving Marvin and Murray to expand the company. Marvin managed the bakery, and Murray handled sales.
In 1963, the Lenders used the first-ever Thompson Bagel Machine. This machine was invented by Daniel T. Thompson. Before this, workers rolled bagels by hand. One person could make about 50 dozen bagels per hour. The new machine, with three workers, could do the work of eight skilled workers. This made bagel making much faster!
Growing Bigger
In 1965, the bakery changed its name to "Lender's Bagel Bakery." They moved to a much larger building in West Haven. They wanted plenty of space to grow. But business grew so fast that the bakery was full within a year! The Lenders started flash-freezing their bagels. They also made bagels that were softer and sweeter than traditional ones.
In 1974, Lender's bought their main competitor, Abel's Bagels. In 1978, the family opened a bagel restaurant. It was called "H. Lender and Sons." They opened a second one two years later. After Lender's Bagels was sold, the restaurant name changed to S. Kinder Restaurants. The name means "eat, children" in Yiddish.
Under Marvin and Murray Lender, Lender's Bagels became a huge, automated bakery. It was a leader in modern bagel making. The company grew from six employees to 600 by 1984. They sold about $60 million worth of bagels each year. They had four factories making over 750 million bagels a year! This made them the world's biggest bagel producer.
Smart Marketing
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Murray Lender was great at marketing. He helped make bagels well-known across the U.S. He traveled everywhere to promote Lender's Frozen Bagels. Many people didn't like frozen foods back then. They also didn't know much about bagels.
Murray helped start "Frozen Foods Month" in March. This helped sales a lot. He was even chosen to lead the National Frozen Food Association. He also helped put nutrition facts on bagel packages. This was when people started caring more about healthy foods.
In 1997, a writer called the line between fresh bagels and Lender's frozen bagels "the Lender's Line." Murray Lender even appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He made green bagels for Saint Patrick's Day. He also made oval bagels for President Lyndon B. Johnson. For a meeting of world leaders in 1983, he made "bagel heads." These were tiny decorated bagels that looked like the leaders.
In the late 1980s, a cartoon character called "BagelBird" promoted the brand. When Murray Lender passed away in 2012, a newspaper called him "the most important man in the modern history of bagels."
New Owners
In 1984, the Lender family sold Lender's Frozen Bagels to Kraft Foods. Marvin stayed as president, and Murray as spokesman for two years. Murray even held a fun "marriage of the century" event. He and Marvin walked a giant Lender's Bagel down the aisle. It "married" a Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese.
By 1987, Lender's had several factories. Today, only one Lender's Bagel plant is still working in Mattoon, Illinois. This town also hosts an annual "Bagelfest." Kraft spent a lot of money advertising Lender's bagels. In 1996, Kraft sold the company to Kellogg Company for $455 million.
Kellogg's then sold the business to Aurora Foods in 1999. Aurora Foods stopped making bagels at the New Haven factory in 2000. In 2003, Pinnacle Foods bought Aurora.
As of 2013, Lender's Bagels still makes many kinds of bagels. They even have a "Healthy Grain" bagel with more fiber and protein. Lender's is still a top-selling bagel brand. In 2012, Lender's Bagels sales were over $70 million.
In 2012, Consumer Reports magazine said Lender's Original bagels were among the best. But many people, especially in New York, disagreed. They believe only fresh bagels are "real" bagels.
See also
