Friday, January 13, 2023

409. CALUMET: The Double-Acting, Better Baking Powder, 1956-1960

1950s CALUMET PRINT ADS, with endorsers Gloria Romero and Lolita Rodriguez

One of the most popular baking products in the world with the most recognizable packaging is CALUMET Baking Powder. Chicagoan William Monroe Wright, with partner chemist George Campbell Rew, formulated a revolutionary, double-acting baking powder in 1899 that replaced cream of tartar with aluminum phosphate and also included dried egg whites.

The product was christened CALUMET, after a French-derived word for a Native American ceremonial pipe. It was also the name given to the land that would give rise to Calumet City, Illinois. The red, black and white CALUMET tin canisters featured the stylized profile of an Indian wearing a feathered war bonnet. To this day, this iconic packaging remains unchanged.

1956 CALUMET AD, Baked Desserts

1956 CALUMET AD,Baked Desserts

The success of CALUMET prompted Wright to put up his CALUMET Baking Powder Company  until it was acquired by General Foods in 1929..

CALUMET RECIPE ADS, 1957

CALUMET Baking Powder became available in the Philippines in the 1950s, when Filipino women discovered the joys of baking in modern ovens. It was heavily advertised in 2-color ads in leading magazines, using movie celebrities like Gloria Romero and Lolita Rodriguez as endorsers. Ot was promoted along with Swans Down Cake Flour, another General Foods product.

FILM STAR GLORIA ROMERO FOR CALUMET, 1958

LOLITA RODRIGUEZ CALUMET AD,1959

GLORIA ROMERO FOR CALUMET, 1958

In 1990, General Foods merged with Kraft Foods. The company grew even bigger when, 2015, Kraft Foods  merged with H.J. Heinz Co. It continues to produce and market CALUMET Baking Powder today

1960 VINTAGE CALUMET ADS

SOURCES:

The Kraft Heinz Co., https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/

Calumet, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calumet_Baking_Powder_Company

 

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