Merita Breads facts for kids
Merita is a well-known brand of bread. It was first made by Hostess Brands. Now, another company called Flowers Foods makes it. You can find Merita bread mostly in the southeastern parts of the United States. Hostess Brands stopped making Merita in 2012. This happened because of problems with a workers' union strike. Later, Flowers Foods bought the Merita brand in 2013.
Contents
How Merita Bread Started
The First Bakery
Merita bread began a long time ago. Two friends, William Fisch and Herman Malchow, started it. They had a lunchroom in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1901, they opened the Highland Bakery. They started by selling bread from one horse-and-wagon route. They also had one small bakery shop. Their business grew and became very successful.
The Name Merita
There's a cool story about how the name "Merita" came to be. In the early days, there was an award. It was called the "MERIT-A" award. This award was given to bakery products that were the very best. The Highland Bakery products often won this award. They would proudly show "MERIT-A" on their packages. One day, a printer made a mistake. They left out the hyphen. So, "MERITA" became the new name!
Growing Bigger
In 1910, Highland Baking Company joined with two other companies. These were the Martin Cracker and Candy Company and the Huston Biscuit Company. Together, they formed the American Bakeries Candy Company. By 1912, they stopped making candy. The company then became known as American Bakeries Company, Inc.
Merita was one of the first bakeries to care deeply about quality. In 1921, they set up a special lab. This "bakery research laboratory" checked all their ingredients. They made sure everything was pure and good. They checked the ingredients all the way to the finished bread.
Later, in 1988, a company called Interstate Bakeries Corporation bought the Merita division. This company later became Hostess Brands, Inc. When Hostess Brands closed down in 2012, Merita was sold again. Flowers Foods bought Merita for a lot of money. They also bought other famous bread brands like Wonder Bread.
Merita's Fun Advertising
The Lone Ranger
Merita bread was very popular. They used fun ways to advertise. In 1938, Merita brought The Lone Ranger radio show to the South. This was the first time people in the South could hear these adventures. The show was on three times a week. Each episode was 30 minutes long.
Merita also made history in 1949. They were the first company in the South to sponsor a TV show. They sponsored The Lone Ranger television show!
Muppet Commercials
Do you know the Muppets? In 1963, the company Muppets, Inc. made commercials for Merita Bread. These were short, 10-second ads. They were shown in the southern parts of the U.S. The ads featured two characters named Wilkins and Wontkins. These Muppets were already famous for coffee commercials.
Sports Sponsorships
Merita also teamed up with sports! In November 2010, Merita became the "official bread" of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The SEC is a big college sports league. Merita sponsored all SEC Championship events. This partnership lasted until June 2013.
See also
