Duncan Hines Fills Up Comstock Pies

Comstock is one of the nation’s early canned pie fillings and may be the nation’s first. The idea? Instead of cutting and cooking apples before you bake them in a pie, all you have to do is buy a crust, open the can, pour it in, and bake.

No Peel! No Core! No Waste!

Comstock was made by the Newark, N.Y. based Comstock Canning Company. Over the decades, the Comstock family name became synonymous with pies.

The company began around 1900 as the Egypt Canning Co. and later became Comstock Canning Co. in the 1930s, later Comstock Foods. In their 1956 trademark application, the first claimed use of the trademark was 1931.

Borden purchased Comstock in 1967, and in 1977 the company Curtice Burns acquired Comstock Foods from Borden. Borden, in turn, sold to Con Agra.

Today, Comstock has a new friend, as it is owned by Con Agra. Con Agra has paired their sister (or brother) brand Duncan Hines (at top) with Comstock; it looks like a bit of a takeover. It is obvious Con Agra is trying to juice the sales of Comstock, as well as promote Duncan Hines as a parent brand.

While the packaging is catchy, and Duncan Hines is well known, Comstock is a great brand in itself, and synonymous with pies. Older packaging was quite catchy, and it would be interesting to revive, taking a King Arthur high road approach.

 

 

 

Author

  • Garland Pollard

    J. Garland Pollard IV is editor/publisher of BrandlandUSA. Since 2006, the website BrandlandUSA.com has chronicled the history and business of America’s great brands.

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1 Comment

  1. I bought Strawberry pie filling yesterday the use by date is 6/2022 but the coloring is off to me.This the only brand Mom ever used and now that is all I have ever used.

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