Drake's Cakes
Drake's Cakes
Drake's Cakes
Drake's is a brand of American baked goods. The company was founded by Newman E. Drake in 1896
in Harlem, New York, as The N.E. Drake Baking Company,[1] but it is now owned by McKee Foods. The
company makes snack cake products such as Devil Dogs, Funny Bones, Coffee Cakes, Ring Dings, and
Yodels. Drake's has traditionally been marketed primarily in the Northeastern U.S., but it expanded to
the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. regions in 2016. The products are made under the Orthodox
Union kosher certification guidelines.
History
Devil Dog
Funny Bones
Ring Dings
Early years
Drake's brand began as The N.E. Drake Baking Company, incorporated on November 14, 1896, in New
York City[1] and founded by Newman E. Drake.[1] The first bakery was in Harlem at 36–38 West 135th
Street.[2][3]
Drake's youngest brother Judson was working with him at the founding,[4] and his brother Charles was
with him in the later business in Brooklyn. Judson left the business in 1898 for the National Biscuit
Company where he had a long and well-regarded career in bakery management.[4] Charles was a vice
president for the Brooklyn business, but he sold his interest and retired in 1907.[5][6] At some point, all
four of Newman's sons worked in the business.[5][7]
Newman Drake came into this entrepreneurial venture with experience in large scale commercial
baking. In 1888, he joined Vanderveer and Holmes Biscuit Company,[8] and he had become a salesman
traveling internationally[9] for this cracker business by 1894.[10] He was traveling in England on
business in 1893–94[9] when he observed commercially baked fine cakes sold in grocery stores, and
he was inspired to bring the idea to America.[11]
Drake's
By March 1898, retailer ads featured Drake's
pound cakes by brand name in various flavors.
The ads stated that the products were baked
fresh daily and sold for 17 cents per pound.[12]
In 1900, retailer ads featured Drake's layer
cakes with chocolate or vanilla icing at 18 cents.
One Drake's ad touted that the price was half of
what it would cost to make at home.[13] By 1901,
retailer ads referred to Drake's "celebrated"
pound cakes and included Drake's macaroons.
[14]
Drake's Yodels
On December 4, 1902, Drake reestablished his business as Drake Brothers Company with his brother
Charles and his brother-in-law Frank S. Vreeland[20] and by at least May 10, 1903, Drake was operating
a bakery at 1006 Wallabout Market in Brooklyn, New York.[21] Newman was president, his brother
Charles was vice president, and sons John Harold and Walter were bakers.[22] By 1904, Newman's third
son, Arthur, was working in the business as a salesman.[5]
An article covering a Brooklyn food show in April 1904 indicated that Drake continued to produce
pound cakes, macaroons, and other cakes at the Brooklyn bakery. The firm was noted as having been
the first to have produced cakes in large quantities for grocery stores, which must reference the origins
of the Harlem bakery. The new bakery was servicing over 1,000 stores in Brooklyn and extended "over
a large portion of surrounding country."[23]
In 1904, Drake Brothers began sales recognition dinners that became grand affairs with speakers,
guests, and monetary awards recognizing sales performance.[24][25] A photograph of the fourteenth
annual dinner in 1917, captures the grandeur of the event held at Silsbe and Son Oyster Bar and Chop
House in Manhattan (established 1863),[26] with attendees in suits, custom menus on the tables,
tuxedoed wait staff, and lavish décor.[27]
In 1905, Drake opened a bakery in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood[28] at 83-85 Savin Street[29] with J.
Harold Drake, Newman's son, as manager.[25]
The Wallabout Market bakery expanded in 1909 with the addition into 1704–1705 Wallabout Market and
the addition of a 16-foot oven.[30] Also in 1909, Drake's commissioned "Drake's Cake Walk", sheet
music for a "rag" or "ragtime" music for piano.[31]
In 1910, Newman Vanderveer Drake, Newman E. Drake's youngest son, joined the firm in Wallabout
Market.[32]
In May 1913, Drake Brothers announced that they would build a new five story bakery built of brick and
concrete on Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn on a lot 80 by 125 feet.[33] The ovens were on the top floor to
allow the heat to escape, mixing was on the fourth floor, packing was on the third floor, offices on the
second floor,[34] and shipping and receiving on the ground level as seen in photographs of the facility.
[35]
The facility had a laundry to clean the white uniforms. There was a rooftop garden that served as a
break area.[33]
Drake Brothers was recognized in a leading advertising magazine of the day for branding and
advertising efforts. With much of the product sold by the pound, the products were vulnerable to
substitution by retailers. Drake implemented pan liners that were perforated with the Drake's brand
name so that the product could be identified by the end consumer. Drake's advertised this feature.
Drake also made wide use of the trademark on trucks, advertising, and "everything that leaves our
bakery".[36]
A White (brand) three-ton truck in the small fleet at the Drake's Boston bakery was featured in a
trucking publication in 1914 for having operated for 14 months without the loss of a day.[37]
In 1920 and again in 1927, Drake's added garages to store their fleet of vehicles just down the street
from the bakery at 35-37 Clinton Avenue and 41-43 Clinton Avenue.[38]
In the early 1900s, Newman Drake was looking for something new and different to grace the door of his
delivery trucks. Joseph Gross, a German immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1898 and worked as striper
painting lines and designs on horse wagons and automobiles, drew the original Drake's logo which
consisted of a duck with a chef's hat holding a tray of cakes. Drake was so pleased with the design that
Gross received a bonus in the amount of $500 for his work.
On July 29, 1924, a new corporation was formed as Drake Bakeries, Incorporated.[39] Ralph Ward
became president of the company. Ralph Ward was the grandson of the founder of Ward Baking
Company, a major bakery enterprise founded in 1849 that went on to be Continental Baking and
introduce the Hostess brand, develop competitive products like Twinkies,[40] and eventually after
transitioning to Interstate Bakeries Corporation, own the Drake's brand in 1998, 74 years later,[41] after
having made an unsuccessful attempt to gain the Drake's brand in 1986.[42]
The preferred shares of Drake Bakeries, Incorporated were owned by Bessemer Investment Company,
[43]
the investment arm of the Bessemer Trust which was founded in 1907 by Henry Phipps from
proceeds from the sale of Carnegie Steel, which Phipps founded with Andrew Carnegie.[44] Newman E.
Drake and other Drake family members, Ralph Ward and other Ward family investments, B. B.
Vanderveer, and others were among the closely held group of common stockholders of Drake Bakeries.
[43]
In 1925, Drake Bakeries advertised with full page ads a new freshness policy where they would remove
products from store shelves after 48 hours. The ad also featured recipes for three Drake's products,
highlighting to readers the wholesome ingredients used and how much easier it would be to buy the
same product you would make at home from Drake. The ad also introduced the products in cartons,
termed the "Fresh Cake" package.[45]
In 1925, Drake's began a series of collectable cards including two featuring Babe Ruth. These cards
had brand information on the back.[46] Drake's baseball cards continued for decades.[47]
Also in 1925, work began on a new three story bakery in Irvington, New Jersey, near Newark.[48]
One of the top sellers for Drake's still today, Devil Dogs, was filed for trademark protection in 1926 and
shown as first sold in commerce on June 15, 1926. The owner of the trademark was S. Gumpert Co.,
Inc. of Brooklyn.[49]
Yankee Doodles, a chocolate cupcake with creme filling and no icing, was first sold in interstate
commerce in 1928 by the Yankee Cake Company of Providence, Rhode Island.[50] The firm built a
bakery around that time at 24 Althea Street in Providence. In 1936, Drake's was running ads for Yankee
Doodles under the Drake's brand.[51] Around 1937, Drake Bakeries was sharing the building with
Yankee Cake Company and later became sole occupant.[52] The "Old Formula Book" of Drake Bakeries
from the late 1930s to early 1940s references the Providence bakery.[53] The Yankee Cake Company
was stated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Drake Bakeries in a 1941 article.[28]
On August 28, 1928, Drake Bakeries was purchased by acquisition of common stock by Central
Distributors, Inc. Central Distributors was formed March 9, 1928, by Ralph Ward, his cousin, William
Ward, and Benjamin Titman as a holding company for food companies. Drake common shareholders
received shares in Central Distributors, Inc. Newman E. Drake and Ralph Ward were signatories of
documents related to the purchase.[43]
Less than a year later, on August 8, 1929, The Borden Company purchased Central Distributors, Inc. for
Borden stock, gaining control of Drake Bakeries, Inc. as it was a company held within Central
Distributors, Inc. Ralph Ward became a vice president within The Borden Company in October 1931
while continuing to serve as President of Drake Bakeries, Inc. without interruption.[43]
In 1929, Drake begins advertising that the products are wrapped in cellophane, noting that shoppers
could see what they were buying and that it was a "flavor-sealed" package.[54]
Newman E. Drake, the founder of the business, died March 18, 1930, at 69 years old.[55] one month
after its founder's death his wife Elizabeth Drake and their son Arthur Drake took over to continue
running the business, in April 1930.
In December 1930, Drake's Coffee Cakes, still one of the top-selling products, came on the scene in
newspaper advertisements that mentioned a radio broadcast that offered to share the recipe.[56] The
advertisement is another example of Drake's forward stance promoting product quality. The ad is
assumed to be the introduction of coffee cakes because the product is not listed in previous
advertisements, even as late as 1929, that provide a listing of cake products.[54]
On August 28, 1933, Drake Bakeries Incorporated is established at 2224 N. Marshall Street in
Philadelphia.[57] In 1941, in addition to the aforementioned Brooklyn, Boston, Irvington, NJ, and
Providence, bakeries, the Philadelphia branch is noted as well as two distribution points in the Bronx
and Jamaica (Queens) in an article.[28] Photographs of delivery vehicles for the Philadelphia branch
exist,[58] but very little other information has been found regarding this bakery. By the mid-1950s, an
order ticket showing the various Drake's bakeries does not include a Philadelphia bakery.[59]
Drake's participated in the 1939 New York World's Fair (in Queens) with Drake's cake stand providing
cake to attendees.[60]
During World War II, Drake's production was limited due to rationing of sugar and shortening.[61] Ralph
Ward, president of the Drake Bakeries, Incorporated, was the president of the American Bakers
Association (American Institute of Baking) in the 1942–1944 term[62] and chairman of the War Advisory
Committee of the American Bakers Association.[63]
By the end of 1949, Drake Bakeries had a bakery at 21 – 30 44th Avenue in Long Island City, NY
(Queens).[59][64]
While the Devil Dogs brand was first owned by another company (see 1926), Devil Dogs are marketed
in advertisements under the Drake's brand in 1956.[65]
Drake's Ring Dings launched in January 1958, still one of the top-selling items.[66]
On April 18, 1962, Drake Bakeries had a case heard in front of the United States Supreme Court.[68]
Drake's Yodels launched on August 15, 1962, and continues to be one of their top-selling items.[69]
Drake's Fruit Doodles, a trademarked name for fruit pies, were introduced on October 29, 1964,[70] but
were known as Drake's Fruit Pies by the early 1970s.[71]
In 1969, a bakery in Wayne, New Jersey, was built to supplement the existing bakeries in Brooklyn,
Boston, Long Island City, and Newark.[72]
In 1981, Drake Bakeries conducted a contest to name the duck mascot.[73] Webster was the selected
name.[74]
On July 1, 1986, Borden announced the sale of Drake Bakeries to Ralston Purina Co. to be part of their
Continental Baking Co. subsidiary.[42] Ralston Purina paid $115 million for Drake.[75] Tasty Baking Co.
filed a federal antitrust suit against Ralston in August 1986 and was successful with efforts to block
Ralston's Continental Baking subsidiary from holding the Drake's brand along with its existing Hostess
brand.[75]
On July 13, 1987, Ralston Purina Co. announced its agreement to sell Drake Bakeries to a private group
led by Drake management and funded by support from Rock Capital Partners L.P.[76] Purina completed
the sale of the Drake Bakery unit which was sold for $176 million on August 22, 1987.[77] Rock Capital
Partners was formed by the heirs of John D. Rockefeller with funds from mortgaging Rockefeller
Center.[78]
By September 1987, Drake management informed the route salespeople that they would need to buy
their routes or lose their jobs as a cost savings effort and an opportunity to increase earnings for the
salespeople. Union officials representing the route salespeople condemned the effort.[79]
In April 1988, Drake Bakeries held a 100th-anniversary celebration with the cutting of a 500-pound
Ring Ding.[80] Evidence points to 1896 as being the founding of the company, and 1888 was simply the
year its founder entered the baking industry (in another company), so this celebration was technically
about eight years early.[1]
On December 31, 1990, Rock Capital Partners sold Drake Bakeries to Culinar Inc. for $35 million.
Culinar was a CA$500 million sales Canadian food company based in Montreal that held the popular
Canadian cake brand Vachon.[81]
Culinar refocused on improved bakery operations resulting in greater efficiencies, gained work rule
concessions, and reconfigured routes resulting in improved profitability.[81]
On August 16, 1998, Interstate Bakeries Corporation completed the purchase of Drake Bakeries from
Culinar Inc.[41] Interstate Bakeries added Drake's to their line including the Hostess brand of
competitive products. In the fiscal year, Hostess had one major acquisition (Drake) and one minor
acquisition (My Bread Baking Co.) with the total paid of $106 million.[41] If the purchase price was
proportional to sales, Interstate may have paid in the neighborhood of $80 million for Drake Baking.
Gilles Boudreau, Vice President and Controller for Drake during the Culinar era and later Vice President
of Finance with Interstate Bakeries stated that Hostess paid around $100 million for Drake Bakeries.[82]
Hostess Brands Inc. (formerly Interstate Bakeries Corporation) filed for bankruptcy a second time on
January 11, 2012[83] and eventually filed for liquidation on November 16, 2012.[84]
On April 9, 2013, McKee Foods Corporation completed the purchase of the Drake's brand for $27.5
million out of liquidation from Hostess Brands.[85] McKee Foods reintroduced the Drake's top-selling
items on September 22, 2013.[86]
During the fall of 2017, and without warning to consumers, McKee stopped production and distribution
of Drake's Coffee Cakes. On July 27, 2018, McKee announced that Drake's Coffee Cakes would return
in the fall.[87]
In popular culture
Drake's Coffee Cakes are mentioned in the season 3 episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld titled "The
Suicide", which aired on January 29, 1992. In addition, in the season 5 episode "The Dinner Party",
which aired on February 3, 1994, George Costanza suggests bringing Ring Dings and Pepsi to a dinner
party. As a result, the brand has become associated with Seinfeld. [88] They also became somewhat
associated with comedienne Rosie O'Donnell when she gave them away on her TV talk show.[89] Yodels
are referenced in the season 4 episode of the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond titled "Robert's
Rodeo", which aired on February 7, 2000.
References
1. Certificate of Incorporation, The N.E. Drake Baking Company, Record Room, County Clerk, New York County. Filed
and recorded, November 23, 1896.
2. Trow's Business Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, 1898.
4. Judson C. Drake, The N.B.C. (Internal National Biscuit Company Publication), September 1921, page 20. Sourced
from Mondelez Archivist.
7. News of the Markets Personal and Social, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 10, 1910.
8. Know Your County, Newman Drake Broadcast – Transcript, July 1, 1973. WNNJ and WIXL-FM, by Howard Case of
the Sussex County (NJ) Historical Society, page 29.
11. Encyclopedia of American Biography, New Series, Winfield Scott Downs, The American Historical Society, Inc.
New York, 1934, pages 347–348.
16. Fifteenth Annual Report of the Factory Inspector of the State of New York, November 20, 1900, page 854.
19. Price List, Harlem Bakery, 36 – 38 West 135th Street, National Biscuit Company, March 18, 1908. Sourced from
Mondelez Archivist.
20. Certificate of Incorporation of Drake Brothers Co., Originally misfiled in the County of New York, but refiled in the
County of Kings May 3, 1911, pages 178–180. (Kings County Clerk – Record Room. Search by date May 3, 1911).
22. Upington's General Directory of Brooklyn, 1903. Note that John Harold's name is listed as John Howard, but the
home address is the same as Newman and Walter.
24. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 22, 1905 (Note: Second annual dinner)
25. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 7, 1906 (Note: Third annual dinner)
25. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 7, 1906 (Note: Third annual dinner)
26. Silsbe & Son menu, January 10, 1900. In the collection of the New York Public Library.
27. Photograph by J.G. Waters, Fourteenth Annual Dinner, Salesmen and Department Heads, Drake Brothers, January
13, 1917, in the collection of the Brooklyn Historical Society.
28. Boro Baking Company Foresees Sales Gains, Brooklyn Eagle, March 31, 1941.
31. Drake's Cake Walk, Sheet Music, Composed by Edwin F. Kendall, in the collection of the New York Public Library,
1909.
34. Wonders of Brooklyn, XXXIII, Drake Brothers, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 17, 1920.
39. Certificate of Incorporation of Drake Bakeries, Incorporated, filed in the County of Kings July 31, 1924, pages 69–
79. (Kings County Clerk – Record Room. Search by date July 31, 1924).
40. Lehmann Brothers Collection – Contemporary Business Archives, Harvard Business School.
42. Borden Selling Drake Bakery to Purina; Considering Asset Writedowns. Associated Press, July 1, 1986.
43. New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division – First Department, Cornelius P Gearon, Walter Anderson, and
Andrew H. Huber, (Plaintiffs – Appellants) against David T. Layman, Jr., Robert H. Graham, Ralph D. Ward, Alex
Neubert, Benjamin Titman, Central Distributors, Inc., and Isidore Strongin (Defendants – Appellees). Case on
Appeal, Volume 1, pages 1 – 544, Hudson Dispatch Printers, Union City, NJ, County of New York at the County
Court House, December 20, 1934.
44. Bessemer Trust – Our Heritage, sourced from bessemertrust.com website on August 4, 2014.
49. Devil Dogs Trademark Filing, US Patent Trademark Office, October 21, 1926.
50. Yankee Doodles Trademark Filing, US Patent Trademark Office, April 16, 1947.
53. Old Formula Book (of Drake Bakeries, Inc.), In the archives of McKee Foods Corporation.
55. Newman E. Drake Obituary, New York Sun, March 19, 1930.
60. Drake's Cake, Photograph in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York, circa 1940.
63. Strike to Shut City Bakeries, The Sun, New York, September 9, 1946.
65. Village Market, Inc. advertisement, Bulletin, Wilton, CT, January 25, 1956.
66. Ring Ding Trademark Filing, US Patent Trademark Office, February 11, 1958.
67. Funny Bones Trademark Filing, US Patent Trademark Office, May 16, 1961.
70. Fruit Doodles Trademark Filing, US Patent Trademark Office, December 23, 1964.
71. Nat Williams & The Dry-Dells Drake's Fruit Pies Commercial, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ZTWP2Lg64Ns
72. New Plant for Drake Bakeries, The Bakers Digest, October 1968, page 76.
75. Ralston May Spin Off Drake's. Philadelphia Inquirer, February 12, 1987.
76. Ralston Purina to Sell Drake Bakeries. Associated Press, July 13, 1987.
79. Route Drivers Fight Move to Franchises. New York Times, September 26, 1987.
80. Bakery Celebrates with a Big Ring Ding. The Citizen, Auburn, NY, April 11, 1988.
82. Interview with Gilles Boudreau conducted by Steven Bush. September 17, 2013.
83. Twinkies Maker Hostess Files for Bankruptcy Protection. Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2012.
84. Hostess Brands to Wind Down Company After BCTGM Union Strike Cripples Operations. Hostess Brands Press
84. Hostess Brands to Wind Down Company After BCTGM Union Strike Cripples Operations. Hostess Brands Press
Release, November 16, 2012.
85. McKee Completes Purchase of Drake's Cakes from Bankrupt Hostess. Chattanooga Times Free Press, April 9,
2013.
86. McKee Sees Drake Snack Cakes Increasing Footprint. Milling & Baking News, September 25, 2013.
87. "Seasonal flavors take the (snack) cake | 2018-12-18 | Food Business News" (https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/a
rticles/13051-seasonal-flavors-take-the-snack-cake) . www.foodbusinessnews.net. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
88. "TV: The Top 25 Food Moments from 'Seinfeld' " (https://www.eater.com/2017/4/17/15266202/seinfeld-best-episo
des-food) . Eater.com. April 17, 2017.
External links