100 years of cheese

April 16, 2003

Kraft celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and it all started with cheese in Chicago. According to the company's history, James L. Kraft (a Canadian by birth) started his cheese business in 1903 by taking phone orders from neighborhood grocers. He filled their requests at South Water Street market, then--in a wagon pulled by his horse, Paddy--delivered the products to the stores.

The grocers liked this, because it saved them time. Kraft had a handle on convenience even back then, so maybe it's not surprising that this is the company responsible for Velveeta (1928), macaroni-and-cheese dinners (1937), individually packaged cheese slices (1950) and Cheez Whiz (1952). These were all possible because of Kraft's big-time creation, process cheese. He patented the method in 1916, after spending several years figuring out how to heat, stir and then cool cheese to give it a longer shelf life.

The history of the Northfield-based company, like so many corporations around the world, is padded with acquisitions and mergers. (Kraft acquired several companies in its history, and was itself acquired by Philip Morris Cos. in 1988.) Thus, the Kraft family now includes more than 60 major brands, many of which still remain more closely associated with their original companies: Planters' peanuts, Nabisco's Barnum's Animals crackers, and Maxwell House coffee, to name just three.

Kraft also is famous for some non-cheese products; maybe the best known is Miracle Whip, introduced during the Depression as a less expensive alternative to mayonnaise. (It was named after the Kraft machine that produced it.) It made its debut at Chicago's Century of Progress World's Fair in 1933.