Burry's

History

Burry Biscuit traces its origins to 1888, when Christina Burry began making cookies in Toronto. George W. Burry later restructured the business into the Burry Biscuit Corporation in 1933, initially based in Chicago before moving to Elizabeth, New Jersey. The company produced Girl Scout cookies under the name Plantation cookies, originally packed in sealed cardboard cylinders and later in cans. It started manufacturing Girl Scout cookies in 1936. In 1944, Burry's offered varieties including Thin Mints, Scot-Teas (a sugared shortbread cookie), and Savannahs (an oatmeal sandwich cookie with peanut butter filling). That same year, Burry Biscuit expanded into cleaning and hygiene products. By 1946, the company was making pretzels and had pioneered a machine-made pretzel to automate production. In 1950, Burry's purchased Independent Biscuits Inc. of Davenport, Iowa for $125,000, operating it as a division. On March 29, 1954, it bought LeRoy Foods of Brooklyn and also acquired Empire Biscuit around the same time, doubling its sales. Around 1960, Burry Biscuit purchased Cal-Ray Bakeries, a Western U.S. baking corporation. In January 1962, the company became a division of Quaker Oats Company in a takeover valued at about $25,000,000; at that time it had 1,600 employees, profits of roughly $730,000 on revenue of $22,525,874, and offered over 40 products. Burry's was then the largest U.S. producer of Girl Scout cookies. Marketing manager J.R. McAllister Borie is credited with popularizing the Thin Mint Cookie. In 1980, the food division was sold to Générale Biscuit and renamed Burry-Lu, reflecting LU, Générale Biscuit's international brand. In 1985, Burry-Lu merged with the Salerno-Megowen Biscuit Company to form General Biscuit Brands, which produced 13,000 tons of food and 30% of Girl Scout cookies. In 1989, ABC Cookie Bakers purchased Burry's Girl Scout cookie division. The remainder of the company was bought by Sunshine Biscuits in 1991.