The Continental Baking Company was one of the first bakeries to introduce fortified bread. It was the maker of the

Twinkie The Twinkie is an American snack cake, described on its packaging as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc., in turn currently own ...

and

Wonder Bread Wonder Bread is an American brand of sliced bread. Established in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1921, it was one of the first companies to sell sliced bread nationwide by 1930. The brand is currently owned by Flowers Foods in the United States. His ...

. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers it became part of the former

Hostess Brands Hostess Brands Inc. is an American bakery company formed in 2013. Its main operating subsidiaries are Hostess Brands, LLC, and Voortman Cookies Limited. The company owns several bakeries in the United States that produce snack cakes under the ...

company.

History

In 1849, James Ward and his son, Hugh Ward, who came from

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Ireland, opened a small bakery on

Broome Street Broome Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan. It runs nearly the full width of Manhattan island, from Hudson Street in the west to Lewis Street in the east, near the entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge. The street is interrupted ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1884, Hugh Ward and his son Robert Boyd Ward moved to Allegheny city (now,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

) and opened a new bakery there. The Ward Bread Company was organized by Robert B. Ward in New York, Brooklyn and Newark in 1900. Around 1910, The Ward's Bakeries built two big factories in

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, NY (143rd St. and Southern Boulevard) and

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, NY ( Ward Baking Company Building at Vanderbilt Ave and Pacific Street), which "marks a triumphant return to New York". By November 1911, the company starts to sell their famous "Ward's Tip-top Bread" for 5 & 10 cents loaves. In 1921, grandson William Ward took over the company and in 1925 renamed it the Continental Baking Company. Continental Baking acquired the Wagner Baking Company in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and other 3 companies at the end of 1924. In 1925 it bought Taggart Baking Company, the maker of

, and became the largest commercial bakery in the United States.

snack cakes were invented in 1930 in

Schiller Park, Illinois Schiller Park is a village in Leyden Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,709 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the 2010 census, Schiller Park has a total area of , all land. Demographics As of th ...

, by James Alexander Dewar, a baker at Continental Baking Company. Continental was based in New York from 1923 to 1984. It also had its executive offices in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

. M. Lee Marshall, descendant of

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

, was President, later, Chairman, from 1934-1944, and director of distribution in the

War Food Administration The War Food Administration was a United States government agency that existed from 1943 to 1945. The War Food Administration was responsible for the production and distribution of food to meet war and essential civilian needs during World War II. ...

in 1944. Continental was purchased by ITT in 1968, then sold to

Ralston Purina Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's ...

in 1984. It was purchased by

Interstate Bakeries Corporation Old HB, Inc., known as Hostess Brands from 2009 to 2013 and established in 1930 as Interstate Bakeries Corporation, was a wholesale baker and distributor of bakery products in the United States. Before its 2012 closure and liquidation, it owned ...

in 1995. The combined company was rebranded Hostess Brands in 2009. Hostess-Twinkies

Hostess Brands (the former Interstate Bakeries Corporation) closed in 2012. During the liquidation process, it again changed its name, to Old HB. An entirely new and separate entity, New HB Acquisition LLC, was established in 2013, 50% owned by HB Holdings, LLC, a venture set up by

Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. , the company had $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including mezzanine capita ...

and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company. New HB Acquisition acquired the brand names and some plants and other assets from Old HB, then renamed itself as

References

External links

* * {{C, Hostess Brands brands * Hostess Brands (old) * Hostess Brands (new) Bakeries of New York (state) Bakeries of the United States Snack food manufacturers of the United States Hostess Brands Ralston Purina Defunct companies based in New York City American companies established in 1849 Food and drink companies established in 1849 Companies disestablished in 1995 1849 establishments in New York (state) 1995 disestablishments in New York (state) ITT Inc.