Franklin Baker
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Franklin Baker, a flour miller in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, started the business's desiccated coconut business in 1895. At that time, Mr. Baker received a cargo of fresh coconuts from Cuba in payment for a consignment of flour he exported. Mr. Baker searched for a buyer for the coconuts. Along the way he learned a lot about the problems and opportunities of operating a coconut business in America. Mr. Baker became convinced there was an untapped market for coconut if a product could be provided that meets quality and convenience standards. In search of a buyer, he came across a small business in Arch Street in Philadelphia, which was about to fold. Mr. Baker bought it for a few thousand dollars and with his boatload of coconuts he entered the coconut business. From that modest start, Baker's coconut has grown to become the foremost supplier of quality coconut products in the United States. By 1897, Franklin Baker made so much progress with his new product that he decided to sell his flour business to concentrate on his coconut business.[1] Thereafter, Franklin Baker Jr. joined his father in the business that eventually became known as Franklin Baker Company.
In 1913, manufacturing facilities were moved to Brooklyn, New York. Then in 1924, the business was again relocated to Hoboken, New Jersey. Franklin Baker began processing coconut in the Philippines in 1922 by setting up a plant in Sta. Mesa, Manila. This gave birth to the Franklin Baker Company of the Philippines.[2] The original intention was to process coconuts in the Philippines to supply their New Jersey plant with desiccated coconut instead of importing whole nuts from the Caribbean countries.
General Foods Corporation subsequently acquired the Franklin Baker Company in 1927. This change in ownership facilitated the transfer of manufacturing operations to a bigger and modern factory in San Pablo City in Laguna, in close proximity to abundant coconut supply.[3] During the Second World War, the San Pablo plant sustained heavy damage due to the bombings. Operations were thus moved back to the United States to ensure continuity of the business. Fresh coconuts from Puerto Rico and Jamaica were brought to the Hoboken plant for processing. Eventually, the San Pablo plant was rebuilt in 1947 at its current location.
In 1964, the U.S. processing facility was moved from Hoboken to Dover, Delaware. By this time, all the base processing was being done in the Philippines while the Dover plant sweetened, toasted and creamed the desiccated coconut for industrial and retail customers.
In 1987, Philip Morris, owners of General Foods, bought Kraft. The Franklin Baker desiccated coconut products were put into the Kraft Food Ingredients Group. In 2004, Kraft, realizing that coconut products were not totally aligned with its core businesses, decided to sell the Franklin Baker Company industrial product lines. Out of the many companies that put in their bids, Kraft selected one company… Andorra Ventures Corporation.
