Kraft Foods company history began with James L. Kraft’s wholesale cheese business in Chicago in 1903.
James L Kraft born in Ontario, Canada immigrated to the United States where he engaged in a variety of pursuits.
He noticed that grocers traveled daily to the cheese market to buy cheese for their stores. Recognizing an opportunity, he started a wholesale cheese distribution business in Chicago that brought the cheese to the grocers.
His brothers joined him in the business and in 1914 J.L Kraft and Bros opened a cheese factory in Stockton, Illinois.
Sales were slow until Kraft came up with the idea of packaging the cheese in portions in advance, rather than weighing out and wrapping pieces to each customer’s specification.
In 1915 Kraft created a blended, pasteurized cheese, which called ‘processed cheese’ and packaged in small tin.
The company was listed on the Chicago Stock Exchange as the Kraft Cheese Company in 1924. In the year 1924 James L Kraft opened its first European sales office in London and Germany in 1927.
In 1928, the Phoenix Cheese Company was acquired by Kraft Cheese Company and the name was changed to Kraft-Phoenix Cheese Company.
In 1930 Kraft was bought by National Diary, but its operations were kept separate. The company was renamed to Kraft Inc in 1976.
The origin of Kraft Foods
