Martha White is an American brand of flour, cornmeal, cornbread mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes, and similar products.[1]

The Martha White brand was established as the premium brand of Nashville, Tennessee-based Royal Flour Mills in 1899.[2] At that time, Nashville businessman Richard Lindsey introduced a fine flour that he named for his daughter, Martha White Lindsey.[3]

The Martha White brand is probably most associated with its long-term sponsorship of the Grand Ole Opry, a radio program featuring country music.[2] The relationship began in 1948, and has existed continuously since then, making it one of the longest continually running radio show sponsorships known.[4]

A jingle for the flour was written by the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle in 1950 was the first Martha White Jingle. The Carter girls also wrote a jingle for Martha White Coffee Time an early morning radio program in 1951 that Martha White sponsored. Nashville songwriter Pat Twitty wrote a jingle in 1953, and was performed from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry by bluegrass music artists Flatt and Scruggs.[2] It is still in use today, having become a bluegrass standard and a signature number of Rhonda Vincent and the Rage.[5] In 1972, Tennessee Ernie Ford became the spokesman for the flour, with the catchphrase, "Goodness gracious, it's pea-pickin' good!"

Packaging for Martha White ingredients (flour, cornmeal) features the likeness of three-year-old Martha White. The commercials for the products stress the fact that they are "self-rising" due to the presence of leavening known by trademarks "Hot-Rize" or "Hot-Rize Plus". Martha White has expanded its product offering beyond ingredients to include baking mixes.[citation needed]

Martha White merged with Beatrice Foods in 1975. In 1986, Beatrice, newly acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, spun off its specialty foods and nonfood brands as E-II Holdings. E-II attempted to take over American Brands in 1988, but instead American Brands purchased E-II. Martha White was sold off in 1989.[citation needed]

Martha White was purchased by the Pillsbury Company in 1994; the baking products of Pillsbury were spun off in 2001 under the name International Multifoods. The J.M. Smucker Company acquired International Multifoods in 2004.[6] It was sold to Hometown Food, a division of Brynwood Partners, in 2018.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Company News; Pillsbury to Acquire Tennessee Baking Mix Business". The New York Times. July 20, 1994. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Samuelson, Dave (2012). "Martha White Flour". In P. Kingsbury, M. McCall & J. Rumble (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 1281–1283. ISBN 978-0-19-992083-9. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  3. ^ Sheckler Finch, Jackie (2009). Nashville. Globe Pequot. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7627-5567-7. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  4. ^ Favorite Recipes Press (1996). The Ryman Remembers: Recipes & Recollections. Favorite Recipes Press. ISBN 978-0-87197-449-5. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Rhonda Vincent to Continue Martha White Partnership". Cybergrass. Bluegrass Music News Network. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  6. ^ J.M. Smucker FAQ
  7. ^ Marchat, Alissa (Sep 4, 2018). "J.M. Smucker Co. Closes $375M Deal With Hometown Food Co". The Shelby Report. Retrieved April 7, 2019.

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