Rochelle Bilow
We here at Bon Appétit couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic when we heard that the Entenmann's plant in Long Island, N.Y.--in operation since 1961--was closing. As we shared Entenmann's memories and debated our favorite snacks (the case of ultimate crumb cake vs. iced lemon cake is one that may never be resolved), we got to talking about the company's history. Although Entenmann's was purchased in 2002 by baking behemoth Bimbo Bakeries USA, consumers remain nostalgic about its small-town roots and family-focused history.
Entenmann's isn't the only food company taking "mom and pop" shops to the next level. Here's a look at some of the most powerful families in food, from around the world.
The Richest, Most Powerful Families in the Food Business
The Albrecht Family(01 of10)
The Business: Aldi discount grocery stores, owner of Trader Joe’s (since 1979)The Fortune: The privately held company is secretive about its finances, but Forbes estimates that co-owner Karl Albrecht alone is worth over $25.4 billion. (That’s 13,439,153,439 Aldi brand chocolatey pretzel cereal bars.)A Brief History: In 1914, Anna Albrecht founded a small grocery store in Essen, Germany, after her husband developed emphysema; her sons Karl and Theo took ownership in 1948 and began expanding rapidly while keeping costs down by selling store-brand goods and keeping design to a no-frills minimum. (The name Aldi is a combination of the family name and the word “discount.”) By 1960, they owned 300 shops. Aldi opened its first U.S. store in 1976—in Iowa. Today, Aldi has 10,000 stores across the world.Family Feud: A brotherly argument over the sale of cigarettes—whether or not to carry them, that is—in 1960 led the business to split into Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd.Um…What? In 1971, Theo was kidnapped and held for a ransom of $3 million. He was returned safely, and the kidnappers were caught.Didja Know? Aldi’s dedication to keeping prices low is extreme, to say the least: The stores are BYOB (That’s “Bring Your Own Bag”), and you have to pay a deposit to use a cart.
The Busch Family(02 of10)
The Business: Anheuser-BuschThe Fortune: The company was bought by InBev in 2008 for $52 billion. (That’d be 8,681,135,225 6-packs of Budweiser, or 8,012,326,656 6-packs of Bud Light Lime).A Brief History: In 1857, German-born Adolphus Busch purchased a brewery supply company in St. Louis, Missouri, then bought a brewery from one of his customers—Eberhard Anheuser—and renamed it Anheuser-Busch. Adolphus’s son, August A., carried the company through Prohibition by selling the raw materials—like barley—for home brewing. Anheuser-Busch saw its greatest expansion from 1946 to 1975 under August Jr., and the company was kept in the family until 2008, when InBev instituted a “hostile takeover.” Didja Know? Not only did original owner Adolphus Busch purchase a brewery from Eberhard Anheuser, he married Anheuser’s daughter, Lily. Wonder what they drank at the wedding…
The Cathy Family(03 of10)
The Business: Chick-fil-AThe Fortune: At age 93, founder S. Truett Cathy is worth $6.4 billion (1,887,905,604 spicy chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A).A Brief History: In 1946, Cathy opened his first restaurant, The Dwarf House, with his brother Ben, then opened another spot in 1951. When Ben died, Cathy started a fried chicken joint based out of the original Dwarf House location. In 1967, he unveiled the first shopping mall Chick-fil-A, and as mall culture grew throughout the 1970s and ’80s, so did Chick-fil-A. Today, Cathy’s son Dan is chairman, president, and chief executive.Didja Know? You probably know that the Cathy family is Southern Baptist, and that Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays. What’s more, the company’s mission, as stated on a plaque at headquarters, is to “glorify God.”
The Entenmann Family(04 of10)
The Business: Entenmann’s baked goodsThe Fortune: Entenmann’s is famously tight-lipped about its net worth, but parent company Grupo Bimbo does $10 billion in sales annually. (That’s 1,669,449,081 12-pack boxes of assorted Sof’tees doughnuts.)A Brief History: In 1898 German-born William Entenmann opened a bakery in Long Island, focusing on home delivery. When William died in 1951, William Jr., his wife, Martha, and their two sons took the reins and made the leap to supplying supermarkets, building the iconic Long Island baking plant in 1961 to keep up with demand. In 2002, the company was purchased by Bimbo Bakeries USA, and in March 2013, it was announced that the plant would be closed. Although 178 workers will lose their jobs, Entenmann’s will continue to produce its full line of baked goods.The Black Sheep: Robert Entenmann, William’s grandson, owns the Long Island winery Martha Clara Vineyards.Didja Know? In 1980, Entenmann’s battled rumors that its profits were being funneled into Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church.
The Unanue Family(05 of10)
The Business: GoyaThe Fortune: The company does $1 billion in sales annually. (That’s 253,164,556 containers of Adobo all-purpose seasoning).A Brief History: In 1936 Prudencio and Carolina Unanue opened a small Hispanic grocery on New York City’s Lower East Side; it soon became the go-to spot for authentic Puerto Rican food. The operation grew, and Prudencio found himself supplying other supermarkets. As the Goya business model changed, they advertised heavily; by the ’70s Goya had expanded to the Midwest and were making over $90 million in sales annually. The company has always been managed by the Unanue family, and today it’s run by third-generation Bob Unanue, along with his two brothers and four cousins.Family Feud: Joseph, Prudencio’s oldest surviving son, was accused of making decisions without consulting the rest of the family, and was booted from the company along with his son Andy.Didja Know? Worried that his name was too difficult to pronounce, Unanue purchased the name Goya from a Moroccan cannery from which he imported sardines and olives. The cost for the rights? Just $1.
The Mars Family(06 of10)
The Business: Mars The Fortune: The ultra-secretive family is worth an estimated $28.05 billion (roughly 18,700,000,000 Milky Ways), but owner Forrest Mars Jr. alone is rumored to be worth $20.1 billion.A Brief History: In 1911, Frank Mars began making candies in Tacoma, Washington. In 1920, he created the Milky Way bar with his son Forrest E. Mars. Forrest expanded the business globally with new confections like M&Ms, invented in 1940, and in 2008 Mars acquired Wrigley, adding it to a business portfolio that includes pet care, drinks, and symbioscience (technology-based health research) brands. Mars Sr. inherited the business in the late 1960s, and third-generation Forrest E. Jr., John F., and Jacqueline Badger worked together until Jacqueline’s death in 2013. Although still family-owned, Mars has been “led by non-family management” since 2001.Didja Know? Apparently no Mars employee “has an office” or “flies first class.”
The Schwan Family(07 of10)
The Business: Schwan’s frozen foodsThe Fortune: The company’s revenue is reported to be $3 billion (about 527,240,773 56-ounce cartons of black cherry frozen yogurt).A Brief History: Marvin Schwan started off selling ice cream from his van in 1952—and five years later expanded to other frozen goods, like juice concentrate and fish. In the late 1960s and early ’70s, Schwan’s began acquiring other companies, like Todd’s foods, and in the ’70s and ’80s, the company went pizza-crazy, acquiring brands like Red Baron. After Marvin’s death in 1993, his brother Alfred took over operations. He stepped down in 2009; the company is now run by president Bob Waldron and CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios.The Drama: An intensive search reveals Schwan’s to be pretty squeaky-clean. Although once a company truck caught fire?Didja Know? That bright yellow of the Schwan’s delivery trucks is actually trademarked—the color is called Inca Gold.
The Bellon Family(08 of10)
The Business: SodexoThe Fortune: Founder Pierre Bellon is worth $4.3 billion (or 1,822,033 cafeteria meal plans at NYU).A Brief History: In 1966, Pierre Bellon founded the Société d’Exploitation Hôtelière—Sodexho—in Marseilles, France, as a catering company inspired by his career in maritime catering. Sodexho expanded to Paris in 1968, focusing on food service for “staff restaurants, schools and hospitals” and later expanding globally into what it calls the ”quality of life” business: concierge services, senior living, and in-home care. Bellon remains involved with operations, serving as chairman of the board since 2005; in 2016, his daughter Sophie will replace him.The Controversy: Some colleges and universities, like American University, have boycotted Sodexo for its alleged low wages, poor working conditions, and bias toward minorities.Didja Know? In 2008, Sodexho dropped the “h” to become Sodexo, in favor of a rebranding that also included “simpler, livelier typography.”
The McIlhenny Family(09 of10)
The Business: Tabasco hot sauceThe Fortune: The family’s historian, Shane Bernard, estimates the company’s net worth at $2 billion to $3 billion. (At $2.5 billion, that’s 626,566,416 five-ounce bottles of original Tabasco).A Brief History: In 1868, Edmund McIlhenny of Avery Island, Louisana, crafted a sauce made from salt-fermented tabasco peppers to pep up “bland” Southern food. Two years later, he received a patent and began expanding the business, focusing on restaurants and “men’s clubs.” The fact that there were few competitors at the time helped Tabasco gain ground quickly. The company has stayed within the family for five generations.Amateur Hour: Consumers originally complained that McIlhenny’s sauce was too hot, because they applied it “liberally,” like ketchup—that’s why the bottle is fitted with a slotted slow-release top.Didja Know? A “Sweet and Sour” version of Tabasco was nicknamed “Sweet and Soapy” during testing because coconut oil in the sauce wasn’t aging well.
The Tyson Family(10 of10)
The Business: Tyson FoodsThe Fortune: Before his death in 2011, patriarch Don Tyson‘s net worth was over $1 billion (227,790,432 12.5-ounce cans of premium chunk chicken in water).A Brief History: During WWI, John W. Tyson of Arkansas began grinding feed and raising chicks for poultry farmers. In 1952, John’s son Don dropped out of college to join the company; the two worked closely together, steadily growing until the 1980s when Tyson experienced massive expansion throughout the country because of a streamlined focus on cheaply raised commodity chicken. In 2000, John’s son John H. was named CEO, but longtime Tyson employee Donnie Smith replaced him in 2009.
See more from Bon Appetit:
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.