I am trying to find information on the merger of Entenmann's bakery
and Freihofer's bakery that occured sometime in the late 70's.  I am
interested in learning why these two simialr baking companies merged
and what happend to the brands.

Hello jy2322!

Wow, what an interesting chase this one turned out to be!  I'm a
terrible Entenmann's addict (cheese danish, thank you!), so your
question intrigued me.

After much searching and wading through voice mail for a few live
people to talk to, I reached Debbie in Entenmann's Marketing
Department, at their Totowa, NJ headquarters.  I asked Debbie about
details of a merger with Freihofer's in the '70s.  She hesitated a
moment, and cautiously informed me that Entenmann's, while currently
owned by the same company that owns Freihofer's, did not merge with
Freihofer's in the '70s.

Instead, Entenmann's was acquired by the Werner-Lambert Company.  She
couldn't elaborate beyond that, but suggested I pull up information
about that purchase.

Details about the purchase are scarce, but I was able to confirm that
Entenmann's was indeed acquired by Werner-Lambert in 1978.

In 1982, Entenmann's was again sold, this time to General Foods.  It
isn't until  1987 that the paths of Freihofer's and Entenmann's cross
- Freihofer's was acquired by General Foods in 1987.

Later that same year, General Foods was purchased by the Phillip
Morris Companies, and incorporated into their Kraft Foods division. 
Freihofer's was sold to CPC International Inc.'s BestFoods division
that year.  BestFoods then acquired Entenmann's in 1995.

Unilever and BestFoods merged in 2000.

In 2001, Unilever BestFoods sold its entire BestFoods Baking Group to
George Weston Bakeries, of Toronto, Canada, which currently operates
Freihofer's, Entenmann's, Thomas'and Boboli, in addition to several
other well known brands.  George Weston Bakeries is a division of
George Weston Limited.

Both the Freihofer's and Entenmann's brands are still in production,
both with varied distribution.  A representative at Freihofer's
General Offices in Albany, NY said that Freihofer's products are most
easily found in the Eastern US, but do enjoy nationwide distribution.

I used the following sources to compile this summary:

A trip to the grocery store for a cheese danish, to find the correct
address for Entenmann's. (Unless you know the city, finding the
correct address is impossible!)

Telephone calls to both the Freihofer's and Entenmann's General
Offices:

Charles Freihofer Baking Co.
Albany, New York
Phone: 518-235-0710

Entenmann's, Inc.
General Offices, P.O. Box 535
Totowa, N.J. 07511-0535

Phone contact acquired by calling Weston's inquiry line: (800)
842-9595

Freihofer Baking Co. lays off 57
http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2002/01/07/daily53.html

The Scramble to Consolidate
http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/2001/0901/0901state.htm

DBR Distributing
http://www.chey-wyo.net/dbr_distributing.htm

George Weston Bakeries
http://www.gwbakeries.com/

George Weston Limited
http://www.weston.ca

...and a trip to the library to check the following:

Unilever Seeks Sale of Bestfoods Baking, Owner of Thomas', Entenmann's
Lines.
Source: Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, 10/17/2000, Vol. 236
Issue 75, pB12, 0p
http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=3698806&db=buh

Unilever-Bestfoods deal poses synergy questions.
Source: Advertising Age, 06/12/2000, Vol. 71 Issue 25, p4, 1/2p
http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=3209258&db=buh

Bakeries' dough goes into mergers.
Source: Business Week, 8/21/95 Issue 3438, p34, 1/9p
http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=9509114977&db=buh

I hope this information is helpful to you!  If I can be of further
assistance, please just ask for clarification, and I'll be glad to
help.

--Missy

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