The History of Stroehmann
Bread Company
Frederick G. Stroehmann learned the baking trade at a young age in Germany. At 16, he immigrated to Wheeling, West Virginia, and
took a job in a small, local bakery. Five years later he wed the owner's daughter and in 1892 took over the family business producing
and selling under the label, "Mothers Made Bread."
From the beginning of his career, Frederick took pride in baking bread the old-fashioned Pennsylvania Dutch way: using simple, pure
ingredients to create delicious and nutritious bread. The Stroehmanns’ five children expanded distribution by delivering their
fresh-baked goods by horse and carriage. Business skyrocketed.
With the onset of World War I, Frederick began supplying bread from his second bakery to an Army training camp. The demand soon
exceeded the bakery's capacity, and a third bakery was purchased in Ashland, Kentucky. By the end of the war, Stroehmann was a
household name.
By 1922, Frederick sold all but one of his bakeries to a company that would later be called “Wonder Bread.” Not willing to completely
give up the family heritage, Frederick's sons purchased the remaining bakery in 1924 and renamed it "Stroehmann Brothers Company."
Then in 1927, the Stroehmann brothers produced a radically new product – sliced white bread – and introduced it with strong
advertising. This is where the lovable “Grampa Stroehmann” icon was born – and soon Stroehmann was the most popular brand in
the marketplace.
Today, Stroehmann is part of the Bimbo Bakeries USA family, the home of all the fresh-baked brands America has loved for generations.
Grampa Stroehmann
Frederick Stroehmann put his family values into baking bread the old-fashioned, Pennsylvania Dutch way: packing it with freshness, great
taste and nutrition. These Stroehmann standards have been passed down to generations of proud bakers who continue to bake in this tradition.
In his later years, Frederick was fondly referred to as "Grampa Stroehmann." This is where the lovable packaging and television icon was
born and is now the official trademark for Stroehmann Brothers Company.