Schwebel's Bakery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Schwebel's Bread | |
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| Type | Breads and baked goods |
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| Founded | 1906 |
| Founder | Joseph and Dora Schwebel |
| Headquarters | Youngstown, Ohio, United States Youngstown, Ohio |
| Slogan | Youngstown Born, Youngstown Bread |
| Website | http://www.schwebels.com/ |
Schwebel's Bakery is a major regional producer of bread and other baked goods that was established in Youngstown, Ohio, in the early 20th century.
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History
The Schwebel's brand was created by Joseph Schwebel and Dora Schwebel, a married couple that started baking bread in Campbell, Ohio, in 1906. In time, the Schwebels began to sell bread to customers in nearby Youngstown, an event which marks the official beginning of the Schwebel's Bakery.
Eventually, Schwebel's expanded its distribution to areas beyond Youngstown and relied on horses and wagons to transport their products.
In 1914, Schwebel's entered into agreements with several stores throughout Ohio. These agreements benefited both area market owners and the Schwebel's Bakery, given that customers would no longer have to wait for their purchases to arrive but simply procured Schwebel's bread at their local market. By 1923, Schwebel's secured its first fleet of trucks, with six vehicles on hand. That same year, Joseph and Dora Schwebel decided to invest $25,000 dollars to build an operations center from which they could sell and distribute Schwebel's bread.
Joseph Schwebel died in 1928, leaving Dora Schwebel as the sole owner and president of Schwebel's Bakery.
Crisis and triumph
Dora Schwebel faced many challenges during the late 1920s and 1930s. Some of these owed to stereotypical perceptions about a woman's ability to lead a growing company. But, she was also forced to deal with the economic difficulties that came in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash. With six children to raise, Dora Schwebel made deals with other companies and struggled to keep Schwebel's alive.
In 1936, she added a second production and sales center.
The 1940s were a productive period for Schwebel's Bakery. Women served as substitutes for male workers, who were drafted into military service during World War II, and found themselves with less time to prepare meals for their children. Hence, Schwebel's bread became increasingly popular among women in the Midwest. When American men returned from the war in great numbers, they fueled the growing market for Schwebel's products.
In 1951, Dora Schwebel and her children opened what they called their million dollar bakery, in Youngstown.
Expansion
By 1967, Schwebel's introduced its Golden Rich Bread brand, which was copyrighted and licensed to be sold across the nation. The 1970s saw Schwebel's production centers open in Canton, as well as in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, the latter becoming the first Schwebel's production center located outside of Ohio.
Beginning in 1982, Schwebel's became the official bread company of Disney World's Epcot Center. Other important customers added during that decade were Stouffer's and Pillsbury. Meanwhile, operation centers were opened in Columbus and Buffalo.
Currently, Schwebel's continues to distribute bread from operation centers in Youngstown and elswhere to supermarkets and other outlets across the country. The company has a marketing agreement with the Ertl company to produce Schwebel's die cast trucks.
