Franklin Baker Company

Baker's coconut vintage ad showing boxed and canned forms of coconut

Established in 1897, Franklin Baker Company is a manufacturer and exporter of desiccated and processed coconut products in the U.S. and abroad. The company manufactures the retail coconut brand Baker's Coconut.[1]

The business coconut products are manufactured in San Pablo City and Davao del Sur, in the Philippines. The company also operates marketing offices in Memphis, United States and Northolt, United Kingdom.

History

The company was founded in 1897 in Philadelphia, Pa., when Franklin Baker, a flour miller, saw the potential of desiccated (pre-processed) coconuts in the U.S. market. Looking for a primary source of coconuts, he came to the Philippines.[2] In 1921, he and his son, Franklin Baker Jr., put up plant facilities in Santa Mesa, Manila. In 1927, General Foods Corporation acquired the company. Plant facilities were transferred to San Pablo, Laguna, where coconut plantations were abundant.[3] In 1968, General Foods put up another plant for Franklin Baker in Davao to ensure a steady coconut supply for its manufacture.

In 1987, Philip Morris, owners of General Foods, bought Kraft, and the Franklin Baker desiccated coconut products were put into the Kraft Food Ingredients Group. The Franklin Baker desiccated coconut products were branded as Baker’s. In 2004, Kraft sold the Franklin Baker industrial product lines to the investment company Andorra Investments Corporation.

References

  1. ↑ Hauser,Odell. 1976 . The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition, Page 345.Philadelphia: Current Publications, Inc., Philadelphia
  2. ↑ Patent, Greg. 2002 . Baking in America, Page 219.USA: Houghton Mifflin Cookbooks
  3. ↑ Diehl Family. 2002 . Civilian Prisoners Of The Japanese In The Philippine Islands, Page 16.Turner Publishing Company

External links