This week, we were alerted to the Spatini brand, a dry seasoning mix to help make spaghetti sauce. Apparently, its only sold to restaurants, though there is a website devoted to the brand, which apparently is owned by McCormick.

Writes our BrandlandUSA reader Erica of Blackwood, N.J.

I understand it was only sold in the Northeast. Jarred sauce like Ragu is much easier, but Spatini had a unique flavor so I kept looking for the boxes in supermarkets for years.

It seems to have a real cult following.

We couldn’t find out any more history;  we would love it if anyone could help us find out more info on the brand, and how it came to be. Find out more at http://www.spatini.info/

Last weekend, the teens were in the yard getting ready for church camp. They had to get a LOOK together. And what did they decide to do? Head on over to the store (I forgot to ask which one) and buy a bunch of packs of Rit Dye to do tie-dyed shirts.

It made us think what a forgotten-but-essential brand Rit Dye is; everyone knows it but few pay attention to it. Instead, we just take it for granted. Somehow, it falls into the brands like Testor’s paint; we just expect that they will be around when we need them.

Above, an ad for Rit; early on it was made by Sunbeam Chemical Co. The ad is from the blog Found in Mom’s Basement. It was owned by Unilever until 2001, when it was sold along with a dozen or so other major brands like Argo Corn Starch.

Rit Dye is one of those old American products that hangs on, no matter what. Today, it is made by Stamford-based Phoenix Brands, makers of Fab, Ajax, Niagara Spray Starch, Final Touch and Dynamo. It has survived the Depression, and lived through the conservative 1950s to find new life in the hippie movement. By the 1980s, it found new life again with boom in crafts. It is often used in decorating, as you can change colors of fabrics.

I especially liked these two lines from Phoenix’s mission page. They might seem cliche but so few companies do it that I wonder why it seems so fresh:

• Innovating to recapture and excite core users and bring new consumers to the franchise
• Enhancing profit to rebuild productivity and drive category dollars

Other than crafts, today it might be going back to one of its original uses, namely fixing a “stained” piece of clothing by re-dying it to cover the mess.

And as you see here, it’s always popular with teen-aged girls.

But it points to something about brands, namely that brands become what they become not because of marketing, but because people use them a certain way. The process, lore and history around the use of a product is what makes it a great brand. Certainly over the years, Rit’s marketing has positioned it to be the only brand of dye that folks can speak of.

But it is consumers, including a new group of 15-year-old girls, who have made it into an American icon.

There are more than 600 Piggly Wiggly stores today; in 17 states too. The chain is only a Southern phenom.

A bit of history from their website:

Piggly Wiggly was founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1916 by Clarence Saunders. In grocery stores of that time, shoppers presented their orders to clerks who gathered the goods from the store shelves. Saunders, a flamboyant and innovative man, noticed this method resulted in wasted time and man hours, so he came up with an unheard-of solution that would revolutionize the entire grocery industry: he developed a way for shoppers to serve themselves.Despite predictions that this new kind of store would fail, the first Piggly Wiggly opened September 6, 1916 at 79 Jefferson Street in Memphis.

Above, a sign from the store just off I-95 in Santee, South Carolina. The Santee store ought to promote the location as a tourist trap for families trekking from the Northeast to Florida; the store makes a great rest stop, as the kids will like the logo and idea. Buy a few billboards and give Pedro a run for it, Mr. Pig!

By the way, you should know that Piggly Wiggly stores are independently owned and operated. Hooray. We like that.

See www.pigglywiggly.com

That’s the question we asked ourselves as we looked at this favorite brand of pre-mixed drinks. The Club is actually a whole complete line of “prepared cocktails” that are available at many liquor stores still. While the bottles have evolved since the late 1970s and early 1980s, the idea hasn’t.

Except now they sell Margaritas, Pina Coladas and T.G.I. Friday’s Pina Colada on the Rocks.

At one time The Club was made in Menlo Park, California. Any help readers could give us on the current bottling spot would be a help.

A&P is about to experience its 150th Anniversary, but it has struggled, and is tiny compared to its heyday, when it had stores across the nation and in Canada. The question asked of the students? How could this once great grocery chain reposition itself? It was once known for Eight o Clock coffee, and was more associated with coffee than Starbucks ever was. But now it is just a regional grocery chain in the Northeast and a few Southern markets.

Nevertheless, it had some legendary in house brands that the company has begun to tap into, including Jane Parker, A&P’s bread and fruitcake brand. It, however, sold Eight O’Clock Coffee, which was once an in house brand that became a national brand because of its association with A&P.

Store Brand Approach

Above, Stephen Cyr goes straight for the nostalgic jugular, with a recall ad for Ann Page, one of many store brands for A&P.

Brand problem: Although once the leader brand in their category, boasting private labels that Americans knew and loved, A&P has shrunk from a unique, national grocery chain to a niche supermarket chain secluded to the Northeast.

Brand solution: Focus on the “Ann Page” private label and use its age as a proof point of its quality and wholesomeness, thus helping to position A&P as an innocent brand.

Burton Runyan’s Quality Ingredients Approach

Here, student Burton C. Runyan takes a high end approach, harkening back to the history of A&P and evoking images of 19th century trading. A bit from Runyan:

Brand Problem: The A&P went from 16,000 stores in the 1930s to only 110 today. In a market with national, regional, and local chains and stores, A&P became lost in the mind of the consumer. The typical grocery supermarkets are all positioned similarly and A&P must break from this to stand out.

Brand Solution: To keep The A&P from becoming The Late, Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, position them as an “Explorer” brand. This is achieved by touting the fact that the chain was once a leader in its category because of a passion for bringing trade goods in to one primary location where everyone could get them. Their 150-year history gives them the credentials to back this position up.

Emma Jacobs writes in the Financial Times that is successful because it taps into a recessionary trend of nostalgia.

The rolls are sold in the original flavor and a new twist. A bit from the site:

Arctic Roll is back and even better than before! We relaunched the Original Raspberry Arctic Roll to an eager public but we didn’t stop there. We also created a gorgeous Triple Choc version for triple chocoholics. If you’ve never tried Arctic Roll, now’s the time to taste what you’ve been missing.

Perhaps there is hope for us Morton Honey Buns fans, after all. How about it ConAgra? 

“Over the past year, we’ve seen people trying to save money on food by either dining out less, cutting supermarket bills, or both. More people cook at home now, but they still want healthy, convenient, tasty food and drink for their dollar,” said Bill Patterson, senior analyst at Mintel, in a press release to Business Wire.

• Bread – The core of basic American eating, from breakfast bagels to lunchtime sandwiches to dinner rolls, Mintel sees the bread market faring the recession quite well. Originally predicted to grow 2.1% in 2008, Mintel’s latest figures show the bread market having grown 7%. Mintel now predicts higher growth for bread through 2013.
• Sweet Spreads - “Brown bag lunches are back!” states Bill Patterson. America’s quintessential lunch-the PB&J-is doing great during recessionary times. A healthy, cheap source of protein, peanut butter will drive sweet spread sales to increase 26% from 2008-2013, up substantially from Mintel’s initial prediction of 12%.
• Frozen Meals – Convenient, available in family-sized servings, filling and often inexpensive, frozen meals will undoubtedly benefit from the recession. Mintel expects a total sales increase of 4.5% in 2008, a jump from its original -0.3% expectation.
• Side Dishes – More people are cooking at home, but small conveniences like ready-prepared side dishes aren’t out of the question for many families. Mintel only expected the side dish market to grow 2.3% in 2008, but in fact, it grew more than 5%, driven by increased sales of basic comfort foods such as mac and cheese.
• Coffee - The $4 latte is finally going out of fashion. More adults are making their coffee at home, causing the retail coffee market to grow 6% in 2008, a substantial jump from Mintel’s original forecast of 2.4%. Mintel expects this market to enjoy continued success in the future, though recent, less expensive coffee drink launches from Dunkin Donuts and McDonald’s will compete with at-home coffee sales.

Mintel is a supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence with offices in Chicago, London, Belfast, Sydney, Shanghai and Tokyo. See www.mintel.com.

In John Updike’s Kennedy-era short story “A&P” a 19-year-old clerk identifies with three scantily clad girls who come into an A&P in a small town in Massachusetts, and offend the manager. A great line:

“I forgot to say he thinks he’s going to be manager some sunny day, maybe in 1990 when it’s called the Great Alexandrov and Petrooshki Tea Company or something..”

Today, while the chain is still called A&P, it is thankfully run by Germans, not Soviets, and has 444 stores in the Northeast under brands like Waldbaums, A&P, Pathmark, Food Emporium and Super Fresh. At the time Updike wrote the story, A&P dominated the national grocery market. The colonial cupolas on its 4,300 supermarkets were as ubiquitous as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), in every city large and small.

But in the 1970s, A&P fell apart. Not only did the chain not invest in new stores, they ditched a logo as classic as Coke’s. Instead of stylish graphics, they brought in cheap “Pride and Price” mascots and garish WE-O (we owe you more) promotions. The stores were allowed to run down.

There was hope for change in 1979, when the founding Hartford family’s interests were taken over by The Tengelmann Group (Tengelmann Warenhandelsgesellschaft KG) of Germany. Since then, it has been a roller coaster of a stock ride. The price, around $5 a share in 1980, went up as high as $62 in 1989 but is back at just under $4.

Why the ups and downs? While one could write many business case studies on it, I believe that one main reason they have suffered is that they have been obsessed with other grocery chain brands while mostly ignoring what was great, namely the classic A&P concept.

Instead of really nurturing its own unique set of in-store product brands, it is now a holding company that is a conglomeration of grocery store branded formats including A&P, Super Fresh, Food Emporium, Waldbaums and Pathmark. While many of these are good brands, it is an insane strategy for a company with a brand as interesting and storied as A&P.

A&P owns Super Fresh, a grocery store format that my fellow college students in Richmond, Virginia nicknamed “Super Scary” because of its bad location, substance-abusing customers and run-down condition. A&P sort of renovated the store interior (a former Pantry Pride) but they never insisted that the potholed parking lot be filled in, and the store closed. In the 1990s, I watched as many of those cretinous Super Scaries became Farmer Jack, a format with odd cutout figures of hick farmers hung above the different sections. It was a really dumb version of Stew Leonard’s.

At the same time they added the different formats, they ditched A&P’s private labels in favor of brands like America’s Choice, Master Choice and Health Pride. Big mistake, as the A&P brand was built on an astonishing array of private brands, all crafted with care and thought. (The Eight O’Clock brand, now an independent company, sold for over $100 million just a few years ago.) The brands included Ann Page, Red Circle Coffee, Sail cleaners and detergents, Sultana, Cap’n John’s seafood items, Sparkle gelatin, Cheeri-Aid, White House evaporated milk, Our Own, Nectar tea, Ahoy liquid dishwashing detergent, Yukon Club beverages, Iona canned vegetables, Worthmore candies, Crestview small/medium eggs, Wildmere large eggs, Sunnybrook (extra large eggs and butter), Sunnyfield (pancake mix, flour), Penguin ice cream, Marvel bread and ice cream, Allgood bacon, Dexola shortening, Nutley margarine and Super Right meats.

While each of these brands were not worth $100 million, they were worth something, and they were all thrown out like week-old fish. But the store brands weren’t the only thing right about the A&P brand. What was good?

• A&Ps always had a limited number of SKUs,  which meant it was an easy store for customers to negotiate.
• The stores were almost all the same, allowing for efficiencies in store plan.
• Prices were important, but the approach was of a quality of Trader Joe. For instance, the coffee grinders at the end of the checkout were a symbol of A&P’s roots in coffee and tea, which A&P dominated.
• A&P focused on presentation. The Regalo logo seen above was not just a logo, it was a complete branded produce program of A&P, where fruits and vegetables were meticulously sorted and stacked in gorgeous pyramids.

There are good signs at the company. The first good sign is that they have invested in a new A&P store model; while I haven’t seen it, the photos of their Holmdel, N.J. store look promising, though I have to argue with their promoting Starbucks inside of an A&P (it ought to be centered around the Eight O’Clock brand, not Starbucks). A&P has tried every trick to turn itself around in the last 30 years; it’s about time they are now investing in their 150-year-old A&P brand story in order to make themselves relevant in 2009.

This year is the 150th anniversary of A&P. Thankfully, they are also reintroducing products with A&P stories, leveraging that brand legacy, and receiving favorable press on trend-setting foodie websites like Roadfood.com and Epicurious.They offer a Hartford Reserve pie brand. And for Christmas, they re-introduced Jane Parker Fruitcake, reviving a yearly holiday tradition.

Now, we know that fruitcake is no strategy for a grocery chain. But it’s the right start.

Made and smoked by hand in Palmyra Pennsylvania, Selzter’s was founded by Harvey Seltzer, who ”created a unique blend of pure beef and spices in 1902, his bologna was so popular that he began commercial production and named his company after Palmyra, his hometown.”

The company’s origins came from Pennsylvania Germans who merged their old world tastes with the American landscape in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. The recipe has been passed down through the years; the company operates a factory store. Do look at the video on their website, www.seltzerslebanonbologna.com

Seltzer’s Smokehouse Meats, 230 N. College Street, PO Box 111, Palmyra, PA, 17078; 717-838-2191

One regional New England product is Marshmallow Fluff, made by Durkee-Mower of Lynn, Massachusetts. (We came across info about the product when we were looking up info about Lynn, home of Lydia Pinkham.) The Wikipedia Commons photo seen here has a knife with a dollop on it; the product’s brilliance is that it is viscous without being too fluid.

It started as a one-man-show homemade product, and introduced in 1917 as Toot Sweet Marshmallow Fluff. Today, it is an iconic New England/Northeast brand; we don’t need to go through all the history as it is written in detail on www.marshmallowfluff.com. It’s still locally owned, and has not been gobbled up and ruined by some food conglomerate.

The product got insta-iconic a few years ago when a controversy erupted about its status in schools, and the Fluffernutter sandwich, which is a local favorite. While the Fluffernutter is enjoyed with Fluff and peanut butter, others enjoy Fluff and Kraft American Cheese. We even know of an editor who keeps Fluff on her desk as a sort of token against stupid, inane writing.

Marshmallows are fascinating brands; the idea of a marshmallow is pretty antique. If you have ever tried to make at home, it is possible but a pain in the ass, and you never get the light feeling you get from a factory-made marshmallow. Kraft makes Jet-Puffed Marshmallows; SB Global Foods makes Campfire Marshmallows and Rocky Mountain Marshmallows.

Go on Durkee-Mower’s site and you can order a really cool Marshmallow Fluff mug.

Durkee-Mower Inc., P.O. Box 470, Lynn, MA 01903, 1-781-593-8007

At right, a children’s coloring project from the site; it has lots of kids stuff they can print out to color or do it in an online application.

We had a reader searching for a Madelyn or Madeline-brand pickles. They were crunchy and crisp and sweet rather than most of today’s recipes. Luckily, she could look at the list online at I Love Pickles and try her luck.

Everyone has their own preferences, but luckily there are dozens of brands around the world, all selling different versions of these vinegared cucumbers.

The list at I Love Pickles is more complete than below, and regularly updated. They keep a full list of pickle brands by name, including international brands and regional brands. If you need more info, they are at Pickle Packers International, Inc., 1620 I St., NW, Suite 925, Washington, D.C. 20006 USA

Here are a few brands from their list:

• Acadian 337.394.7112 LA, USA
• Aeschbach 024/468.50.00
• Aigle, Switzerland
• Agribaja 646.177.4026 CA, USA
• Allen’s Barrel Cured 516.676.0640 NY, USA
• Aristocrat 61 029 417 1231
• Arnold’s (no number) WI, USA
• Atkins (no number) WI, USA
• Aunt Jane (no number) WI, USA
• Aylmer (Canada) 450.435.1974
• B & G 973.401.6500 NJ, USA
• Ba-Tampte 718.251.2100 NY, USA
• Bautz’ner 089/61 102 106 Unterhaching, Germany
• Best Maid 817.335.5494, bestmaidproducts.com TX, USA
• Bick’s 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada
• Big Papa 920.478.2144, www.vanholtenpickles.com WI, USA
• Big Value 989.754.4721, hausbecks@usol.com MI, USA,
• Bond 920.834.4433 WI, USA
• Bush’s Best (Sauerkraut) 865.588.7685 TN, USA
• Cajun Chef 337.394.7112 LA, USA
• Capco (no number) WI, USA
• Cates (no number)  WI, USA
• Chenango-Delicut 800.255.7288, readpack@adelphia.net NY, USA
• Claussen 815.338.7000 IL, USA
• Cool Crisp 810.359.7680 MI, USA
• Columbia (no number) WI, USA
• Coronation 450.435.1974, ghenry@nabisco.ca Quebec, Canada
• Cortland Valley Kraut 715.752.4105 WI, USA
• Crown 856.969.7100 NJ, USA
• Dailey (no number) WI, USA
• Deans (no number) WI, USA
• DeGraffenreid 417.862.9411 x24, degraff@jldpickle.com MO, USA
• Del Dixi 817.335.5494, bestmaidproducts.com TX, USA
• Del Monte 450.435.1974, Quebec, Canada
• Develey 089/61 102 106, Unterhaching, Germany
• Devil’s Fire 952.448.2612 MN, USA
• Don Hermann & Sons 330.527.2696 OH, USA
• Durach 089/61 102 106, Unterhaching, Germany
• Edible Pickle Works 718.251.2100 NY, USA
• ESG (Ever So Good) 714.895.9661 CA, USA
• Evangeline 337.394.7112 LA, USA
• Everybody’s 91 80 55 22 010, koeleman@bgl.vsnl.net.in Bangalore, India
• Farman’s (no number) WI, USA
• Felix (Finland) +358 2 410 414, Turku, Finland
• Felix (Sweden) +46 413 65 000 Eslov, Sweden
• Flanagan Krrrisp Kraut 715.752.4105 WI, USA
• Freestone 269.427.7702, freestonepickle@freestonepickles.com MI, USA
• Frenzel’s 089/61 102 106, Unterhaching, Germany
• Garden State 856.964.1083 NJ, USA
• Garlic Gus 920.478.2144, jploc@vanholtenpickles.com WI, USA
• Gattuso 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada
• Gedney 952.448.2612 MN, USA
• Giuliano 714.895.9661 CA, USA
• Goldin 972.272.1111, Goldpickle@aol.com TX, USA
• Green Boys 626.855.2717 CA, USA
• Green Valley 920.834.4433, JP@KellyPickle.com WI, USA
• Greenhouse 32 53 78 89 89, Belgium
• Grey-Poupon 024/468.50.00, Direction@Reitzel.ch Aigle, Switzerland
• Habitant 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada
• Hausbeck 989.754.4721, MI, USA
• Heifetz (no number) WI, USA
• Heinz 616.396.6557 MI, USA
• Hengstenberg +49 711/39 29-3-15, Esslingen, Germany
• Holiday, Holiday Royal, 269.427.7702, freestonepickles.com MI, USA
• Homade 323.223.1141, a1pickle@earthlink.net CA, USA
• Hot Mama 920.478.2144, WI, USA
• Hugo Reitzel 024/468.50.00, Aigle, Switzerland

• Jerry’s Best 91 80 55 22 010
• K & Z 856.964.1083 NJ, USA
• Kelly 920.834.4433, JP@KellyPickle.com WI, USA
• King David 920.748.7110, AZ, USA
• Klein’s 602.269.2072 AZ, USA
• Koeleman 91 80 55 22 010, koeleman@bgl.vsnl.net.in Bangalore, India
• Kosciuszkowy (no number) WI, USA
• Kringles 516.676.0640 NY, USA
• Kruger 510.782.2636 CA, USA
• Kuehne 040 85305206, Hamburg, Germany
• Little Pepe 920.478.2144, WI, USA
• Lowensenf 089/61 102 106

• Ma Brown (no number) MN, USA
• Mancini, Zolfo Springs, FL
• Mautner Markhof 089/61 102 106, Unterhaching, Germany
• Maxs 413.665.7011 MA, USA
• Max’s 952.448.2612 MN, USA
• McLarens 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada
• Milwaukee’s Wiejske Wyroby 856.969.7100 NJ, USA
• Mor Annas +46 413 65 000 Eslov, Sweden
• Mrs. Neushiuns (no number) WI, USA
• Mt. Olive 919.658.2535 NC, USA
• Nalley (no number) WI, USA
• Old Country 61 029 417 1231, N.S.W., Australia

• Pantry Shelf 91 80 55 22 010, koeleman@bgl.vsnl.net.in Bangalore, India
• Paramount (no number) WI, USA
• Peppers 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada
• Peter Piper’s (no number) WI, USA
• Pick-Pack 973.401.6500 NJ, USA
• Pickle Fair (no number)  WI, USA
• Pickle King 61 029 417 1231
  info@fawcett-bros.com.au N.S.W., Australia
• Pickle O’Pete 920.748.7110 RPI@VBE.COM WI, USA
• Pickle Pick-Ups 952.448.2612 MN, USA
• Pickle Planks 952.448.2612 MN, USA
• Pickle Time 269.427.7702, freestonepickle@freestonepickles.com MI, USA
• Pickles 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada
• Picnic 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada
• Pilgrim Farms (no number) WI, USA
• PIK-L-GIANT 972.272.1111
• Po Polsku 920.748.7110 WI,USA
• Polar Pak@ 516.676.0640 NY, USA
• PRIMO 450.435.1974

• Rainbo (no number) WI, USA
• Regina 973.401.6500 NJ, USA
• Reine de Dijon 089/61 102 106, Unterhaching, Germany
• Roddenbery’s (no number) WI, USA
• Rose 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada

• S.V.Z. 31 76 5049314, hans.valkenburg@svz-nl.com Etten-Leur, Netherlands
• S=O 81 3 3288 1181 Kagawa-Ken, Japan
• San-Del 973.401.6500 NJ, USA
• Schwartz (no number) WI, USA
• Sechler’s 260.337.5461, dsechler@sechlerspickles.com IN, USA
• Shell Bei 330.527.2696 OH, USA
• Silver Floss Kraut 715.752.4105 WI, USA
• Silver Star 972.272.1111, Goldpickle@aol.com TX, USA
• Snackers 952.448.2612 MN, USA
• Specht 089/61 102 106, info@Develey.de Unterhaching, Germany
• St. Joe Valley 260.337.5461, dsechler@sechlerspickles.com IN, USA
• STAR 52 312 316 0700, gbrun@brunfoods.com Colima, Mexico
• State Fair 952.448.2612 MN, USA
• Steinfeld (no number) WI, USA
• Strub’s 519.751.1717, arnie@strubpickles.com Ontario, Canada
• Stueber 516.676.0640 NY, USA
• Sugarloaf 413.665.7011 MA, USA
• Summer Kitchen 920.834.4433, JP@KellyPickle.com WI, USA

• Talk O’Texas 915.655.6077, tot@wcc.net TX, USA
• Trappey 973.401.6500 NJ, USA

• Victor Kraut 715.752.4105 WI, USA
• Vlasic 856.969.7100 MI, USA

• Warsaw Falcon (no number) WI, USA
• Whitfield (no number) WI, USA
• Willies 800.255.7288 readpack@adelphia.net NY, USA
• Willie’s 519.751.1717, arnie@strubpickles.com Ontario, Canada
• Willy’s 905.836.6532, Willyspickleproducts@bellnet.ca Ontario, Canada
• Windsor 952.448.2612 MN, USA
• Wisconsin Pride 920.748.7110, RPI@VBE.COM WI, USA
• Woodman’s 905.940.9600 Ontario, Canada

This week Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) revealed its new logo in a ceremony at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference in Boca Raton. It is, according to Adweek‘s report, to differentiate the product brand Kraft from the company brand Kraft. Please read the article in Adweek to see the logo as I can’t look at it I am so upset.

That is a bit of an exaggeration, but frankly, I find the new logo confusing. Kraft unwisely ditched decades years of brand equity when it dumped the General Foods corporate brand, and now it confuses customers again by changing the look of the familiar Kraft logo. What a waste of effort.

General Foods was a great brand, with a perfect, classic logo, and it was used mostly as a corporate brand, not as a product brand.

Writes Adweek‘s Elaine Wong:

The latest logo, however, is an attempt by Kraft to distinguish between its corporate and product brand identity. In a recent interview with Brandweek, Kraft chief marketing officer Mary Beth West said the company felt the need to redefine its mission…

Hey Mary Beth West! As logos go, your new Kraft logo by agency Nitro isn’t bad, and we are glad they got some work out of it, but we just wonder about the whole strategy. But here’s a little secret that you missed. Nitro could have tweaked the classic General Foods logo, and been done with it.

But no, this is what we get:

“In some ways, this really is all about Kraft Foods. It’s about our next step in the evolution of getting ourselves to top-tier performance. Going forward, it defines, unifies and simplifies our employees and gets everyone thinking about one common purpose,” West said.

We don’t understand why Kraft is doing this sort of thing; they are doing brilliant work with their Kool-Aid brand, and so many other products in their company are getting back on target. It’s just that they are missing the boat by sending General Foods to Alang.

But Kraft doesn’t have it all correct. The Wall Street Journal reported that Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld is pursuing a “top brand” strategy that tries to ensure that its brands are at the top of their category. This strategy is off base, as it imposes a one size fits all strategy on all brands, whether they are mega-brands like Kool-Aid and Jell-O or third-ranking brands like Post Cereals. Post Cereals have for decades been a more “adult” cereal brand; for Kraft to think they needed to be General Foods or Kellogg’s is a grievous mistake in understanding what Post is about. We hope Ralcorp (NYSE: RAL) will be better stewards of the Post brand.

But, that is to be expected from a company that could not figure out how to market brands like Postum in a time when health-conscious eating is the height of chic. While the stuff tasted weird, it had a niche following and brand extensions could have kept the line viable. What’s next, dumping or selling off Tang?

General Foods was a brand that was known to consumers as a master brand to numerous product brands like Tang, Maxwell House, Oscar Meyer and the like. Read our post on the unwise dumping of the General Foods name entitled Where is General Foods?

Frankly, they would do well to scrap the confusing Kraft identity, and go back to General Foods. Kraft is a dairy and refrigerated brand, and there is no getting around that. The “elephant” in the room in Boca Raton was actually a big ole mama cow, with giant teats, that was moo-ing something else, namely that Kraft is an excellent CONSUMER (not corporate) brand that decades of advertising has associated with C-H-E-E-S-E. That Kraft doesn’t get this is weird.

There is no getting around it.  Kraft does not spell F-O-O-D-S. It never will. Kraft does not spell a great consumer products company; I don’t infer this. I was taught this by my wasted childhood in front of American network television. Instead it goes like this:

“America spells cheese K-R-A-F-T.”

Lovin’ that Tasty Shoe Peg!

For generations, white sweet corn was a staple of the Delmarva and East Coast. And one of the great brands was Mitchell’s Whole Kernel Fancy White Sweet Corn, made by Hanover Foods of Hanover, Pennsylvania. We found a can on the shelves, but we didn’t know if it was still around.

What’s so great about Shoe Peg corn? It’s sweeter and because the kernels are all irregular, it has the feel of something more exotic. And the brand Mitchell’s is way cool; the label is still classic and they have not messed it up.

What’s the difference between white sweet and other corn? First, it’s white, and that makes it very different. We found a telling discussion on Chowhound that tells some more about it. A bit from the site:

‘Mitchell’s', which was/is a farming family in Perryman, Harford County. The Mitchells have pretty much subdivided and sold all their farmland for industrial development, which probably accounts for the absence of the product in the supermarkets.

So we looked for it. Hanover, on its website, was founded in 1924 and remarks that it is the largest fully integrated food processor in the U.S. They make a number of different brand names. From the FundingUniverse.com website we found the following brands:

• Bickel’s
• Superfine
• Spring Glen Fresh Foods
• Dutch Farms
• Gibbs
• Mitchell’s
• Myers
• Bonton Foods
• Draper King Cole
• Casa Maid
• Sunny Side
• Sunwise
• Phillip’s
• York Snacks
• L.K. Bowman

Find the company online at www.hanoverfoods.com.

A recent study from Consumer Reports, published on Yahoo, looked at coffee from blind taste tests, including all brands.

Their verdict? We quote Consumer Reports:

• Chock full o’Nuts and Maxwell House have pushed coffee that’s “heavenly” and “good to the last drop” since 1932 and 1907, respectively. But off-notes, little complexity, and, for Chock full o’ Nuts, variable quality put both behind Eight O’Clock.
• Midwest-based Caribou and Kickapoo beat an array of larger players among regular coffees. But Bucks County Coffee, from Langhorne, Penn., tasted only OK, and Peet’s, from Berkeley, Calif., was burnt and bitter, despite costing $14 per pound. Peet’s, Archer Farms, and Kickapoo also varied from batch to batch.

We are again hearing the Bumble Bee tuna jingle on cable networks.

Click on the image for an old ad. Founded in 1899, Bumble Bee has had a succession of owners, and they are finally doing big television again.

“I love Bumble Bee Bumble Bee Tuna”

Below are some recent dates from the company’s site.

2000 Bumble Bee is acquired by Conagra Foods.

2003 Bumble Bee becomes Bumble Bee Seafoods, LLC.

2004 Bumble Bee Seafoods, LLC combines its business with Connors Bros. Income Fund

2005 Bumble Bee announces name change to Bumble Bee Foods, LLC to reflect its business encompassing seafoods and other meats categories. Connors Bros. acquires Castleberry/Snow’s and assets of Sara Lee Shelf-Stable Meats.

2008 Bumble Bee is acquired by Centre Partners, becoming a privately held U.S. company. Hannover Foods purchases Castleberry’s Food Company from Connors Bros.