The History of Pepperidge Farm

 

    Ever had a Goldfish cracker, a Milano Cookie, cake that was moist, cookies that were huge? If so, then you had a Pepperidge Farm product. But...where did this company come from? How did they become huge, and why Pepperidge? What is a Pepperidge? Here's the history of Pepperidge Farm, a company that was started from a concerned mother.

 Her name was Margaret Rudkin. She started the company right after finding out her son could not eat the bread that was made in his school due to a food allergy. She decided to create her own for her son that was safe for him to eat. Everyone started loving the bread she made that she started a company called Pepperidge Farm after the Pepperidge trees that she had seen growing in her yard.

  She started mostly making breads that were healthy for not only her son, but for everyone else that loved her breads. She soon went into making cookies like the famous Geneiva cookies that she loved making and it reminded of a chocolate factory in Europe (or truth be told). She would soon sell the Pepperidge Farm name to Campbells around 1961.

 

    In 1962, Goldfish Crackers became famous for being a snack for young people and children in mind. Starting out with a Saltine flavor at first, they are soon the cheddar flavor would reign supreme flavor as it still is today. They have over hundreds of flavors of savory to sweet. Big to small and Cheddar would always be considered the best flavor of the Goldfish cracker. Julia Child was rumored to have enjoyed these fish crackers when she had company over.

 Margaret Rudkin was not only known for being a baker, she also encouraged women to take their place in the workforce. Her distinctive cookies were becoming well known having other bakers try to crank out their own batch with fancy names like Farmhouse, Chunk, Brussels, Chessmen and many more with having Milano being the number one reigning champ of the Pepperidge Farm cookie market. Pepperidge Farm was also known for their breads and sweet cakes.

  When the 70's came around commercials popped up for Pepperidge Farm products like Goldfish Crackers and cookies. They had an interesting campaign with an old man riding a buggy wagon with a horse attached to it. He would have some cookies in his hand and saying the catchphrase, "pepperidge farm remembers." That Catchphrase would be known as the number one slogan for the Pepperidge Farm company today, even if the old man is dead.

  Sadly, Margaret Rudkin passed away in the late 60's from Cancer, but the Pepperidge Farm Company is still growing strong today. Having items from their cookies to their crackers (Goldfish or not) and much more. If it weren't for a mother trying to find food for her son with an allergy, there wouldn't be a company today known as Pepperidge Farms.