Margaret Rudkin
Born
Margaret Fogarty

September 14, 1897
New York City, US
DiedJune 1, 1967(1967-06-01) (aged 69)
New Haven, Connecticut, US
Other namesMargaret Fogarty, Margaret Fogarty Rudkin
Occupation(s)baker, businesswoman
Known forFounder of Pepperidge Farm, First woman as member of the board of director at Campbell Soup Company.
SpouseHenry Albert Rudkin
Children3

Margaret Loreta Rudkin (née Fogarty, 1897 –1967) was an American businesswoman who founded Pepperidge Farm and first female member of the board at the Campbell Soup Company.

Early life

On September 14, 1897, Rudkin was born as Margaret Loreta Fogarty in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Rudkin's parents were Joseph J Fogarty, an Irish clerk, and Margaret Healy. Rudkin was the eldest of her four siblings.[1] Rudkin had reddish hair and green eyes.[1] Rudkin learned cooking from her grandmother, who started her off with cakes and biscuits. At 12, Rudkin moved to Long Island. Rudkin graduated valedictorian from her high school.

Career and Innovations

In the infancy of her career, she was a bank teller where she would grow to work at the company McClure Jones and Co. She would then meet her husband, Henry Rudkin, a Wall Street stock broker. She would eventually quit this job at the beginning of the Great Depression and moved to a farm in Fairfield, Connecticut. Despite having no knowledge of what would be needed for her to live on a farm, skills that included bread-making.[2]

Rudkin grew up baking with her grandmother, who would teach her the basics of cakes and biscuits. These skills she would go on to hone when she would begin her break-making journey. The true reason for her creating the band of Pepperidge Farms remains a highly debated topic, however, as of the Pepperidge Farms’ own website page.[3] It states that she founded the brand Pepperidge Farm and baked whole wheat bread in order to aid her son’s asthma. A doctor has previously attributed her son’s illness to the over-processed food and preservatives. Therefore, his suggestion was a diet of fruits, vegetables, and other minimally processed foods. She sought to find a better solution and decided to make a bread out of stone ground whole wheat bread which would prevent nutrient loss of the typical bread. She proudly showed the doctor her creation and he began to recommend the bread to his various patients. She then began to try create a deal with grocers in the area and it is rumored she convinced one grocer by allowing him a taste.[4] The bread did come at a steeper cost at 25 cents compared to the 10 cents of the run of the mill bread. Eventually she outgrew her kitchen and then her garage and bought her first factory in 1940. She had managed to create a whole business based on healthy eating and is hailed as being a leader in that movement as many people had not considered the importance of healthy eating.[5]

Not only that, but she was also known for being a feminist. She paved the way for women in the workforce and believed women to be the ideal workers because of demonstrated abilities of the upkeep of a household. She would go on to hire many women, married or unmarried. Rudkin has personally stated that she believed there was no job a man could do that a woman could not. For her efforts, she went on to win the Medallion of Honor at the Women’s International Exposition in 1955.[6]

Due to her massive success as an entrepreneur, this led her to many travels in 1950. Which in turn would inspire many products such as Milanos®, Brussels®, and Goldfish®.[7]

The brand was bought by Campbell for $28.2 million worth of Campbell’s stock in 1961. She was then able to gain the title of first woman on the board of Campbell.[8]

She is still considered to be a leader in many industries and her legacy lives on through Pepperidge Farms. The company continues to thrive and is considered a household name. Her achievements were unheard of and the average annual growth rate of the company was 53% even 26 years after its initial founding.[9]

Personal life

On April 8, 1923, Rudkin married Henry Albert Rudkin, a Wall Street stockbroker. They had three sons. In 1929, Rudkin moved to a property named Pepperidge Farm in Fairfield, Connecticut.[1] On April 22, 1966, Rudkin's husband died at the age of 80. On June 1, 1967, Rudkin died of breast cancer at Yale-New Haven hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. She was 69.[10][11]

Rudkin is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. Her son Mark became a landscape architect known for working on famous gardens in France, such as the Jardins du Nouveau Monde.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Our Story - Margaret Rudkin". Pepperidge Farm. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Mothers of invention: Margaret Rudkin". Color Powder Systems. Custom Powder Systems. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Our Story". Pepperidge Farm. Pepperidge Farm. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ↑ Much, Marilyn. "How Margaret Rudkin used a loaf of bread to turn Pepperidge farm into an industry dynamo". Investor's Business Daily. Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Business: Margaret Rudkin". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Mothers of invention: Margaret Rudkin". Custom Powder System. Color Powder System. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Our Story". Pepperidge Farm. Pepperidge Farm. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Much, Marilyn. "How Margaret Rudkin used a loaf of bread to turn Pepperidge farm into an industry dynamo". Investor's Business Daily. Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Our Story". Pepperidge Farm. Pepperidge Farm. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Papazian, Rita (2007). Remembering Fairfield: Famous People & Historic Places. The History Press. p. 70. ISBN 9781596292390.
  11. ↑ "Mrs. Margaret Rudkin is Dead; Founder of Pepperidge Farm; Home-Baked Business Grew to $50-Million Yearly and National Distribution". The New York Times. June 2, 1967. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.