Dare Foods, Limited is a
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
-based food manufacturing company. They have seven factories in Canada and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Their products are distributed in
North America and at least 25 other countries.
Company history
In 1892, the founder of Dare Foods, Charles H. Doerr began making and selling cookies and candies in a small grocery shop in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada. By 1919, Doerr had created the C.H. Doerr Company, which distributed his goods throughout Ontario. Following Charles's death in 1941, the company was led by his twenty-four-year-old grandson Carl Doerr.
Carl had been raised by his paternal grandparents after both his parents died of the
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...
.
On February 16, 1943, a fire destroyed the company's factory at Weber and Breithaupt in Kitchener, killing nightwatchman Julius Eckstein and risking the future of the company, then known as C.H. Doerr Co. Ltd.
Carl quickly moved to rebuild, relocating the same year as the fire to a plot of land on what is today Kingsway Drive in Kitchener.
The name of the company was changed to "Dare" in 1945 because it was easier to pronounce.
Dare products became more popular Canada-wide by 1954. and began to be exported to the U.S. in 1956.
Products
Dare is known for adopting the resealable "tin tie"
packaging for their cookies in 1954.
The resealable bag ensured freshness and soon became the standard packaging for cookies across Canada.
Dare continued to grow rapidly by expanding their product lines and starting new trends in the
food industry. Due to the recent awareness of peanut allergies, Dare declared all of its facilities to be "peanut free." They were one of the first large food manufacturers in Canada to do this.
The following is a list of traditional products they make:
*Maple Leaf Crème Cookies
*Ultimate Coconut Crème Cookies
*Bear Paws
*Viva Puffs
*
Whippets
*
Wagon Wheels
*Breton Crackers
*Vinta Crackers
*RealFruit Gummies and RealFruit Minis
*Maxi Fruit
*
Melba toast
Melba toast is a dry, crisp and thinly sliced toast, often served with soup and salad or topped with either melted cheese or pâté. It is named after Dame Nellie Melba, the stage name of Australian opera singer Helen Porter Mitchell. Its name i ...
*Breaktime Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dare provides snacks for families. A few of their new promoted products are:
*Bear Paws Cereal and Fruit
*Bear Paws Crackers
*Baguettes Bites
*Simple Pleasures Moments
Since 2003, they have produced Canada's
Girl Guide cookies.
References
External links
Homepage* {{cite web , title=Dare Foods Limited , url=https://archives.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/dare-foods-limited , website=archives.uwaterloo.ca , publisher=University of Waterloo Library - Special Collections & Archives , access-date=15 July 2021
Food and drink companies of Canada
Companies based in Kitchener, Ontario