Brownberry (bakery)

Brownberry
Formerly
 Brownberry Ovens
Industry Bakery
Founded 1946 (1946) in Oconomowoc, United States
Founder Catherine Clark
Headquarters Oconomowoc, USA
Parent Bimbo Bakeries USA
Website brownberry.com Edit this on Wikidata

Brownberry is a bakery in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, United States. The bakery was established in 1946, and is best known for its wheat bread. The company has changed management several times, and as of 2014 is owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA

History

Brownberry was created by Catherine Clark in 1946. Catherine was baking bread for her family and friends. Clark’s friends and family urged her to sell the bread.[1] Catherine Clark and her husband mortgaged their home for $7,000 to become Brownberry Ovens.[2] Catherine Clark came up with the name by watching the bread come out of the oven and said it looked “Brown as a berry”. That was how Brownberry was born. Clark baked batches of 25 loaves daily in her home kitchen on summit avenue.[3] Catherine set her ovens up in an old store building, bought a second hand truck for deliveries, and hired two assistants to help her with labor of kneading and baking.[4] The net profit from the first year was $86.[5] The sales doubled annually as the years progressed. Clark ultimately built a $400,000 plant in Oconomowoc.

In 1953, they built a 20,000 square foot bakery, followed with a rapid succession by three 10,000 square foot additions.[6] The additions have continued up to the present time.

Catherine sold Brownberry Ovens to the Peavey Company in 1973 for $5.5 million.[7] Catherine remained as chairman of the board of Brownberry. Catherine Clark was the first woman ever to serve on the Peavey board of directors.[8]

In 1996, Brownberry was sold for $146 million.[9] In Catherine’s own words, her goals were, from the beginning to create a "certain kind of product, not the every day or the ordinary, not a copy of the competition, not something just a little bit better." Brownberry has never had a money-losing year.[10]

In an attempt to create a broader name recognition across the country, George Weston Bakeries assisted the bakery in having all products bear the name Arnold by the end of 2008.[11][12] The name change helped get the bakery broader distribution to Northeast and Southeast regions to grow the business. Brownberry changed the recipe of the bread, and was changed back after complaints.[13] Arnold, like Brownberry, enjoys a long history, having begun in 1940 by Dean and Betty Arnold. In 23 years Brownberry has gone through 6 mergers to become what it is today. The bakery produces and ships more than 1 million pounds of bread every week. Brownberry made $115 million in 2013.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Kane. "Oconomowoc woman have helped shape course of history". Mary A. Kane. Oconomowoc Enterprise Shorelines. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ↑ Morton. "Nobody can Resist the Smell of Fresh Brownberry Bread". John Morton. Oconomowoc Enterprise. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ↑ Dunn. "Brownberry A Tale of Good Taste". Michael J. Dunn, III. Wisconsin Trails. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ↑ Clark. "The Brownberry Ovens Story". Catherine T. Clark. Brownberry Ovens, INC. American Marketing association.
  5. ↑ "This is the Brownberry story".
  6. ↑ "Nantucket Shores, Milwaukee". Milwaukee chapter. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ↑ "Brownberry natural beard production, Plant history".
  8. ↑ "Oroweat new owner of Brownberry ovens". Oconomowoc Enterprise. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ↑ "Oroweat new owner of Brownberry ovens". Oconomowoc Enterprise. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  10. ↑ Michalets. "Who's Arnold?". Katherine Michalets. Oconomowoc Enterprise. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ↑ Clark. "The lady and the legend". Catherine T. Clark.
  12. ↑ MacDonald. "ROAD TO RICHES Costly loaf of bread helps Catherine Clark build bakery fortune". James R. MacDonald. The Wall Street journal. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  13. ↑ Clark. "The lady and the legend". Catherine T. Clark.
  14. ↑ Clark. "The Brownberry bread of Catherine Clark". Russell J. Clark.

Further reading

  • Robert Tabern (2012). Outside the Rails: A Rail Route Guide from Chicago to St. Paul, MN (Second Edition). Lulu.com. pp. 133–. ISBN 978-1-105-59200-3.
  • John N. Ingham (1983). Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 164–. ISBN 978-0-313-23907-6.
  • Caryn Hannan (1 December 2008). Wisconsin Biographical Dictionary. North American Book Dist LLC. pp. 74–. ISBN 978-1-878592-63-7.
  • Isadore Barmash (1 July 2003). The Self-Made Man: Success and Stress-American Style. Beard Books. pp. 308–. ISBN 978-1-58798-158-6.
  • Mary A. Kane (2006). Oconomowoc. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-0-7385-4089-4.
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