Merita Breads

Merita is a brand of breads produced by Hostess Brands and available throughout the Southeastern United States.

A Vintage Sign Promoting Merita Bread

Origins

William Fisch and Herman Malchow, who for three years had been operating a lunchroom in Birmingham, AL, established the Highland Bakery which began producing breads in 1901. Starting with one horse-and-wagon route and a retail bakeshop, the business grew and flourished. Legend has it^{[weasel words]} that in the company’s early years, an award known as the MERIT-A award, signifying highest merit, was conferred on some bakery products. The company consistently won the award and displayed the symbol “MERIT-A” on the packages. By mistake, a printer left out the hyphen and thus the name MERITA was born.^{[citation needed]}

In 1910, Highland Baking Company merged with the Martin Cracker and Candy Company and the Huston Biscuit Company to form American Bakeries Candy Company. In 1912 candy production was halted, and the company was incorporated as American Bakeries Company, Inc.

Merita set up its first “bakery research laboratory” in 1921 to guard the purity and quality of its raw materials all the way through to finished products.

The Merita division of American Bakeries was purchased by Interstate Bakeries Corporation (now Hostess Brands, Inc.) in 1988.

Today

Merita is produced by Hostess Brands Inc., one of the largest manufacturers of baked goods in the United States. The Merita brand is available throughout the Southeastern United States.

Marketing

In 1928 Merita brought The Lone Ranger radio adventures to the South for the first time. Broadcasts were three times a week for a half hour on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Additionally, in 1949, Merita becoming the first advertiser in the South to sponsor a network television program when it sponsored The Lone Ranger television show.

In November 2010, Merita became the "official bread" of the Southeastern Conference(SEC) and all SEC Championship events through June 2013.^[1]

References

1. ^ http://www.bakingbusiness.com/en/News/News%20Home/Business/2010/11/Merita%20Southeastern%20Conference%20in%20partnership.aspx

External links

• The Official Merita Website