How Entenmann’s Created A Packaging Revolution

Описание: The next time you look at the white powdered donuts through the clear window in the box, pay a little homage to Martha Entenmann.

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Episode: #084: Entenmann’s – Creates A Packaging Revolution

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Timestamps:
Podcast: (0:00)
Sponsored Segment: (8:11)
Podcast: (9:16)
Outro: (14:16)

Transcript:

Dave Young:
So you hit me with this topic while I’m hungry and thinking about something else. Anyway, Steve Semple’s a storyteller and marketing consultant. So am I, I’m one of Steve’s business partners. And this is the Empire Builders Podcast. And we’re talking about how they built this empire out of baked goods.

Stephen Semple:
When I came across this story, I really loved this. It’s a story about the popularizing of snack cakes, and it’s also a story of this really amazing female entrepreneur. It’s a hard name to pronounce, Entenmann’s.

Dave Young:
Yeah, there’s that N in there.

Stephen Semple:
This business was founded back in 1898, but we’re going to take up the story in 1950 when Martha, who’s also known as Miss Eve, took over the business. Because under her leadership, it transformed from this sleepy little regional bakery into this powerhouse today that has a hundred products and zillions of dollars of baked goods. And in fact, in 1978, the business was sold to Warner-Lambert for $233 million, which would be about a billion in today’s dollars. So they really became a powerhouse in the baked goods business.

Dave Young:
She had a nice exit.

Stephen Semple:
She sure did. But back to Martha or Miss Evie, she started in the business bookkeeper for the business and she fell in love with the boss. They got married and this brought her into the family business. But when he died, she’s faced with a choice, keep the business or sell it. And in fact, she gets a really great offer and it’s one where she would be well set up, but she decides to run the business. And remember, this is the 1950s when a woman running a business is really not the norm. It’s a pretty big deal that she decides, nope, she’s going to run the business.

Dave Young:
Good for her.

Stephen Semple:
Yeah. And it’s also a time of big change, especially in the food business. Just after World War II and the suburbs are growing, they’ve already doubled in size from the end of the war, and there’s this new way of shopping for food has emerged. The supermarket. Supermarket is a new idea that emerged after World War II, because before the emergence of the supermarket a person went to a baker and then the fish monger and then the butcher, et cetera. Now it’s all under one roof. And this is a new idea, and it’s growing. By 1950, 35% of all food sales are in grocery stores. And at this point there’s 14,000 across the country, but by the end of the decade it will be 70% of food sales. So in 10 years it just exploded.

Dave Young:
Right. We think, oh, there’s always been grocery stores. Not true, not true.

Stephen Semple:
Not true. They were a new idea. But boy, when they came along, they really took over quickly. It’s incredible when you look in a 10 year period of time, something going from 35% of sales in a category to 70%. That’s just explosive.