Keebler (Samuel)

In 1852, Godfrey Keebler, started the first Keebler factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Godfrey lived in Germany for the first ten years of his life, but his family moved to America, and he lived in the New England states for the rest of his life. Godfrey started out as an apprentice, learning the ins and outs of being a baker. He started his own store in 1847 before officially founding Keebler. The company's namesake passed away in 1893 in Pennsylvania, but his legacy and brand have lived on. By 1944, there were sixteen Keebler bakeries in the US.

In 1974, Keebler was bought out by United Biscuits, a British food manufacturer. About two decades later, in 1995, Keebler was losing over 1.5 billion dollars due to aggressive responses from other companies following Keebler's massive success. To combat this, Keebler partnered with "Invus", a private equity firm, to get their business back on track. 

2001 marked a huge turning point for Keebler when they partnered with Kellogg, a giant food company known for breakfast cereal and, like Keebler, snacks. This partnership with Kellogg lasted until 2019 when Keebler was sold to Ferrero.

Today, Keebler's products fall into three different categories: cookies, pie crusts, and cones. Keebler produces 23 different types of cookies, 6 different pie crusts, and 5 different ice cream cones. One of the best-selling products (and one of my favorites) are "Fudge Stripes" cookies. In the past, Keebler got their feet wet with making both chips and cereal, but neither really lasted. 

“FAQs for Keebler.” Keebler. Date accessed January 29, 2025. https://www.keebler.com/faqs. 

"Godfrey Keebler." Columbia Historic Preservation Society. Date accessed January 29, 2025. https://columbiahistory.org/godfrey-keebler/.

“Keebler.” Invus. Date accessed January 29, 2025. https://www.invus.com/case-studies/keebler/. 

Schumaker, Lauren. “The Untold Truth of Keebler.” Mashed. Date posted April 21, 2022. https://www.mashed.com/86831/untold-truth-keebler/.