Back in the 1920s, half a century before the PX
business boomed in the country, popular American-made products were already
available to Filipinos—without restrictions. These were directly imported by
legitimate distributors who had offices and branches throughout the country,
and advertised in leading magazines and newspapers of their time. Here are
examples of print ads of American food products that one can pick right off a
store shelf in 1926.
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| Campbell's Tomato Soup, 1926 Ad. |
CAMPBELL’S
SOUPS
Campbell's, was put up in 1869 by fruit merchant Joseph
Campbell and Abraham Anderson, which today is one of the largest processed
companies in the world. The flagship brand is Campbell’s Soups, with such
variants like Cream of Mushroom,Cream of Chicken, Tomato, Chicken Noodle, Cheddar Cheese
and French Onion Soup. John Dorrance became the company president from 1914 –
1930, and being a chemist, he developed
a commercial process for condensing soup by halving the quantity of its
heaviest ingredient: water. The success of the company enabled it to distribute
its products internationally, finding its way to the country in the 1920s, and
sold by authorized dealers.
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| Hershey's Cocoa Powder Ad, 1929 Ad |
HERSHEY’S COCOA POWDER
Hershey’s was founded in 1894 by Milton S. Hershey in
1894 in Pennsylvania., one of the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers.
Breakfast Cocoa was one of the first products manufactured by Hershey’s, and
made its appearance in the Philippines in the 1920s. Filipinos then were
already drinking cacao-based tsokolate, so Hershey’s Breakfast Cocoa gained
patronage as the powder was also used for baking. Hershey’s Philippines
continues to sell products, including on online channels. Hershey’s Cocoa is
still available in the market today after over 100 years!
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| Kellogg's Corn Flakes, 1935 Print Ad |
KELLOGG'S CORN FLAKES
The staple of American breakfast—Kellogg’s Corn
Flakes—involved several family members like Ella Eaton Kellogg, John Harvey
Kellogg, his younger brother Will Keith Kellogg. The wheat based product, that
was rolled into flakes that were baked, were served at a sanitarium, but demand
became heavy and so the flakes were sold thru mail-order. The contentious
Kellogg brothers had a falling out, so in 1906, and renamed it the Kellogg
Toasted Corn Flake Company in 1909 (shortened the Kellogg Company in 1922.)
Kellogg Corn Flakes were available in Manila by the 1920s, sold for its health
benefits. It was made to appeal more to the American market in the Philippines,
as Filipinos favored rice for breakfast. Today, Kellogg’s are available in the
Philippines which is part of Kellogg’s SouthEast Asia network. Fruit loops
and frosted flakes come from thei manufacturing plants in Thailand.
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| SUN-MAID Raisins, 1926 Ad |
SUN-MAID RAISINS
In 1912, raising growers in California and banded
together to sell their common product as one, thus the California Associated
Raisin Company was born. Under the brand SUN-MAID, coined by advertising man
E.A. Berg, the California seedless raisin products, in their iconic carton
boxes featuring a bonneted woman with a basket of grapes against a yellow sun,
was launched in the market. SUN-MAID Raisins were so special in the Philippines
that they were advertised only during the holidays, as snacks or as ingredients
for candies and fruitcakes,
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| WRIGLEY'S Gum, 1926 Print Ad |
WRIGLEY’S GUMS
The historic Wrigley chewing gum company was founded 133
years ago in 1891 by Wiliam Wrigley Jr. in Chicago, Illinois. He actually was
into selling baking powder, which he promoted by giving 2 packs of chewing gum
for every purchase. It was the chewing
gum, however, that interested consumers more. Thus began his Wrigley’s
Spearmint Gum, that would catapult Wrigley Company as the largest manufacturer and marketer of chewing
gum in the world. Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum made use of a “Spearman” mascot in
promoting the product in the Philippines. Succeeding variants were Juicy Fruit,
a bestseller in the country, and Doublemint,
