McKee Foods

McKee Foods Corporationis a privately held and family-owned Americansnack foodandgranolamanufacturer headquartered inCollegedale, Tennessee.The corporation is the maker ofDrake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie snacks, and Sunbelt Bakery granola and cereal.The company also formerly operated Heartland Brands.
The company was founded during theGreat Depressionby Oather Dorris "O.D." McKee and Ruth McKee.Oather started out selling cakes from his 1928Whippetin theChattanoogaarea. Wanting to expand, he bought a small bakery, Jack's Cookie Company. The bakery did well for a few years, but O.D. was still looking to expand. His father-in-law, however, did not share his ideas. O.D. decided to sell his business and start over.
The McKees moved toCharlotte, North Carolina, into a new bakery designed by O.D. After some time, they sold the Charlotte plant. They moved back to Chattanooga in the early 1950s when Cecil King, Ruth's brother, was in poor health and needed help. They decided to buy back thebakery, which was renamed McKee Baking Company from King's Bakery in 1962, and run it themselves.
McKee Baking Company moved to Collegedale in 1957. In 1991, McKee Baking Company became McKee Foods Corporation.
Ellsworth McKee, the son of company-founder O.D. McKee, took over, but retired from day-to-day operations in September 2012 and retains the position of company chairman.
It was announced on January 28, 2013, that McKee Foods would pay $27.5 million forHostess Brands'Drake'sbrand, which includesRing Dings,Yodels, and Devil Dogs products.The bankruptcy court approved the purchase on April 9, 2013.
As of 2013, McKee ships more than 900 million cartons of Little Debbie products each year.
Little Debbie products are primarilycookieandcake-baseddessertsnacks. They come in dozens of varieties, including the top-sellingSwiss Cake Rolls,Nutty Bars,Fudge Rounds, Cloud Cakes, Cosmic Brownies, Zebra Cakes, andOatmeal Creme Pies.Little Debbie products are available in most discount, grocery, and convenience stores, both in boxes and as individually wrapped items.
In 1960, company founders O.D. and Ruth McKee decided to name a product after one of their grandchildren, four-year-old Debbie. Now Debbie McKee-Fowler serves as Executive Vice-President and serves on the McKee Foods Board of Directors.The original image of Debbie used on packaging and advertising, which began on August 23, 1960, was based on a black-and-white photo. Full-color portraits of Little Debbie started later in 1960. Artist Pearl Mann ofAtlantacreated the original color artwork. Following instructions, she made the little girl look older, around 8 or 9.Minor changes were made to the logo in 1985 and again in 2013.
The Little Debbie brand has sponsoredNASCARteams since the 1990s,most notably theWood BrothersNo. 21Ford Fusionin the NASCARSprint Cup Seriesfrom 2006 to 2008.The brand switched to the No. 47JTG Daugherty Racingteam in the2009 season, after sponsoring both teams in 2008.From sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, known as theSabbath, the Little Debbie logos are covered or removed, and the crew wears non-Little Debbie attire as a condition of sponsorship because McKee Foods was founded and is run by owners who areSeventh-day Adventists.
As of late 2022, the cakes will not be sold in USDepartment of Defense,Defense Commissary AgencyandNavy Exchangecommissaries. McKee has saidthat the regulatory standards required of McKee Foods are too costly to continue supplying the commissaries.
Also as of late-2022, the cakes will not be sold inCanada. The company saidthat their only distributor chose to "terminate their business relationship" and McKee was not actively looking for another Canadian distributor.
Drake'sis abakingcompanyinWayne, New Jersey. Originally an independent company, Drake's was owned by Hostess from 1998 to 2012;McKee Foods acquired Drake's line when Hostess liquidated in bankruptcy in 2012. The Drake's brand distributes snack cakes such asRing Dings,Yodels, Devil Dogs, Yankee Doodles, Sunny Doodles, Funny Bones, and coffee cake. Their mascot is Webster, a smiling drake (a male duck) holding a spoon and wearing a chef's hat and neckerchief.
Products sold under the Fieldstone Bakery brand include whole grain snacks, granola, pastries, and cookies.
Sunbelt Bakery products include a variety ofgranola bars,fruit snacks, andcereals.
The company previously sold granola cereals and pie crusts under the Heartland brand.McKee acquired the brand, which dated to 1968, in 1998.The brand was in use until at least 2018.