Inventory of the Pepperidge Farm Advertising and Promotional Materials Collection, 1957-1967 and undated

Abstract

The Pepperidge Farm Company was begun in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin of Fairfield, Connecticut. It is currently a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company.

The Pepperidge Farm Advertising and Promotional Materials Collection consists of brochures and packets related to promotional incentives, photographs of store displays, proofs, and promotional recipes from the period roughly 1957-1967. Includes photographs of Pepperidge Farm Stuffing and Pepperidge Farm Party Rolls store displays; a display sign for Pepperidge Farm White Bread; color and newsprint proofs for White Bread and Rye Bread; as well as books of prize options for company promotional offers. Also includes a packet of materials detailing the 1966 Advertising and Promotional Program, and a promotional book of recipes authored by Margaret Rudkin. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Descriptive Summary

Repository: David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
Creator: Pepperidge Farm, Inc.
Title: Pepperidge Farm Advertising and Promotional Materials Collection, 1957-1967 and undated
Language of Material: English
Extent: 0.9 Linear Feet, 20 Items
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Series Quick Links

Promotional Materials, 1957-1967 and undated

Collection Overview

Administrative Information

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Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

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Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Contents of the Collection

Browse List of Series

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Promotional Materials, 1957-1967 and undated

(1 box)

Contains brochures and packets related to promotional incentives, photographs of store displays, proofs, and promotional recipes from the period roughly 1957-1967.

Advertising and Promotional Program, 1966

Box 1

Display photographs, undated

Box 1

Display sign, undated

Box 1

Distributor-Customer Contest Book, 1963-1964

Box 1

Distributor-Customer Contest Book, 1964-1965

Box 1

Miscellaneous promotional materials, 1958 and undated

[Includes price lists; product placement guidelines pamphlet; promotional brochures; recipes]

Box 1

Prize Book, 1957

Box 1

Proofs, 1967 and undated

(3 folders)

Box 1

Historical Note

The Pepperidge Farm Company was begun in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, who lived at her family's farm (called Pepperidge Farm) in Fairfield, Connecticut. Rudkin's son suffered allergies from preservatives in commercial bread products, so she began baking all-natural breads in her home kitchen that he might safely eat. She moved her operations from the kitchen to her garage, and began selling loaves to specialty stores in Manhattan. In 1939, she sold her 500,000th loaf. The following year, she moved operations to a nearby factory, where she was able to produce 4,000 loaves a week. In 1947, the company moved again to a large facility in Norwalk, Connecticut, and began selling stuffing and dinner rolls in addition to bread; by this point the company was producing 4,000 loaves of bread per hour.

During the 1950s, the company began running television commercials, and initiated their Distinctive Cookies product line based on a recipe Rudkin had purchased from a European company. That decade, Rudkin also purchased the New Hampshire frozen pastries company, Black Horse Pastry Company, allowing Pepperidge to sell Puff Pastry. In 1961, Pepperidge Farm, Inc. was acquired by the Campbell Soup Company; the following year, the newly-owned company released its popular Goldfish line of crackers, borrowing the idea from Swiss companies. In 1963, Rudkin released a cookbook entitled, The Margaret Rudkin Pepperidge Farm Cookbook, which became the first cookbook to feature on the New York Times Bestseller List. Rudkin retired in 1966.