Sweet History: Dorchester and the Chocolate ... - Bostonian Society

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SWEET HISTORY: Dorchester and the Chocolate Factorywww.bostonhistory.org/bakerschocolate/During the two World Wars, product rationing was a daily part of life and basic foodstaples such as flour, butter, and sugar were in limited supply. A recipe book insert titledChanging the Cook Book to Meet War Conditions was handed out to adapt recipes forwartime rationing. They provided creative substitutions, such as rice, corn, or rye flour inplace of white flour; vegetable oils or margarine for butter; and maple sugar, honey, orcorn syrup for sugar. Because these items were such an integral part of cooking andbaking with chocolate, Baker’s willingness to provided suggestions on how to adapt recipesprobably helped consumers to better cope with wartime rationing restrictions. 107Product GiveawaysIn tandem with the recipe booklets, Walter Baker & Company used promotional items tokeep the name of Baker’s Chocolate fresh in people’s minds. Third-generation ownerWalter Baker displayed promotional genius when he came up with a creative packagingidea for miners during the 1849 California Gold Rush. Not only were his spiced Spanishand sweet French chocolate beverages quick and easy to fix in the field, but “the tinboxes, after they are emptied...would be good for gold dust.” 108 Baker’s later adapted thisidea to its Breakfast Cocoa tins. In 1881 the company began offering decorative tins “thatwill prove very useful to the housekeeper after being emptied of its original contents.” 109It is not known when Baker’s first developed its product giveaway strategy for thepublic, but over the years they used a wide range of items for promotion, just as manyfood companies do today. Giveaways included: trade cards, cups and saucers, servingtrays, bookends, spoons, pencil sharpeners, tins, jars, cake stands, chocolate molds,playing cards, chocolate sets, and toy trains. The list is long and includes many useful aswell as entertaining items. Today, Baker’s Chocolate memorabilia is actively sought afterby food and chocolate collectors alike.Factory VisitsAs with many product manufacturing companies, Baker’s often gave tours of the mills tothe public, mainly through school groups and clubs. In the 1920’s, for example, mostvisitors were girl’s and women’s groups, local high schools, and colleges such as MiltonAcademy Girl’s School and Radcliffe College. Local “domestic science” colleges such asWorcester Domestic Science School and the Trade School for Girls also visited to see themanufacturing process. Groups of men most often came with their chemistry classes orclubs from schools such as Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health,the MIT Chemical Society, and the Plant Engineer’s Club. 110107Alice Bradley, Changing the Cook Book to Meet War Conditions, undated insert placed into frontcover of a Miss Parola, Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes. 1916 version of recipe book originally owned by HelenCoolidge von Sneidern, currently in the possession of Peter von Sneidern.108Letter from Walter Baker to Messrs. Levering & Gay, San Francisco, dated Nov 27 1849, Letter Book1846-1850, LA-2, Walter Baker & Company Collection, Baker Library, Harvard Business School.109Letter from Walter Baker & Company to Gentlemen [general stores], dated Jan 10 1881, Advertising-Circulars-Labels-Clippings-Etc. Folder, Unbound Material, K-1, Walter Baker & Company Collection, Baker Library,Harvard Business School.110 Visitor’s Book 1916-1932, Scrapbooks, H-7, Walter Baker & Company Collection, Baker Library,Harvard Business School.34 of 76© 2005 The Bostonian Society. Nothing from the site can be reproduced without specific written permission issued by:The Bostonian Society • 206 Washington Street • Boston, MA 02109-1773. Any questions, call 617-720-1713.
SWEET HISTORY: Dorchester and the Chocolate Factorywww.bostonhistory.org/bakerschocolate/Demonstrations and LecturesBaker’s also promoted their products through cooking demonstrations. Expositions andfairs reached the largest amount of people, but even small local grocery stores made aneffort. Not only did the grocers benefit from the demonstrations by selling more products,but customers learned new techniques and recipes so they could enjoy chocolate drinksand baked goods more often. 111For many years Baker’s actively promoted the purity of their chocolate and cocoa.To increase consumer knowledge, pamphlets titled Some Notes on the Adulteration ofFood were distributed free to doctors, teachers, and homemakers to educate the public onBaker’s chocolate products. Small sample boxes were distributed to help with educationaldemonstrations in schools. Students learned what cocoa beans looked like, what productscame from processing the beans, and saw small samples of the brands Baker’s sold. 112In the 1890s a man named E.B. Worrell gave lectures around the country discussing the foodvalue of cocoa and chocolate. It is not known what kind of relationship Mr. Worrell had withBaker’s Chocolate, but it would not be surprising if he was a paid spokesman, since hislectures included product endorsements for Walter Baker & Company chocolates. 113Distributing Baker’s ProductsDistributorsWhen James Baker first started making chocolate in the 1770s, much of his trade wasbased on a barter system. In exchange for goods and supplies, James ground cocoa forlocal merchants in Dorchester and Boston who would then sell the final product.James’s son, Edmund, began shipping products outside of New England as early as 1795,his first shipments going to merchants in Baltimore, Maryland. Business connectionswere made in Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia in 1800, followed by Philadelphia,Pennsylvania in 1802. 114As transportation improved it became easier and cheaper to ship products further fromNew England. By the 1830s, third-generation owner Walter Baker shipped his productsall along the Atlantic Coast from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Portland, Maine, to Savannah,Georgia, and New Orleans, Louisiana. With the advent of the railroad, Walter Baker wasable to expand business by shipping goods and employing sales agents in large citiesaround the country. These regional agents took care of all the sales and distribution of111 Memo of Advertising, Walter Baker & Company Collection, Baker Library, Harvard Business School.112 Memo of Advertising, Walter Baker & Company Collection, Baker Library, Harvard Business School;Education Exhibit: Cocoa and Chocolate, Miscellaneous Collection, Box 54F-3, Walter Baker Chocolate CompanyArchives, Milton Historical Society, Milton, MA.113 Memo of Advertising, Walter Baker & Company Collection, Baker Library, Harvard Business School.114 James Baker, Business Records 1761-1823, Manuscript Collection, American Antiquarian Society,Worcester, MA; Edmund Baker, Account Book, 1792-1822, entry dated Dec. 1795, The Winterthur Library: Winterthur,DE. Wales & Clapper was the Baltimore merchant listed in Edmund’s account book. They did business withEdmund Baker into the early 1800s.35 of 76© 2005 The Bostonian Society. Nothing from the site can be reproduced without specific written permission issued by:The Bostonian Society • 206 Washington Street • Boston, MA 02109-1773. Any questions, call 617-720-1713.
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