Seven people knew the recipe for a half-a-billion dollar muffin. Then, one of them tried to leave. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What is the mystery behind the half-a-billion dollar muffin?
The key to English muffin supremacy comes down to the balance of nooks, which catch and pool the melted butter, and the thin, crisp walls of the crannies. But somehow, nooks and crannies are now lawyer shorthand for trade secret. Why?
Thomas' The Nooks and Crannies Muffin. Making breakfast better for over 100 years.
In 1876, a baker named Samuel Bath Thomas left England for the United States. Little's known about his life before he lands in New York, but he arrived with a recipe in his pocket for what typically would be called Welsh muffins or crumpets. He cooked them on a griddle so they'd be crisp on the outside and doughy yet pockmarked in the inside in a way few other breads were.
Thomas's nooks and crannies took New York by storm. Demand skyrocketed. He opened another bakery. Then it became a corporation. Eventually, the words Nooks and Crannies became a registered trademark of Thomas's English muffins. You will note if you look at the bakery shelves at your local grocery store that other English muffin brands live in fear of this fact.
Dave's Killer Bread boasts of butter-catching flavor craters. Trader Joe's has pockets and crevices. Bay's has raised the white flag and left the field entirely with a claim about packaging, now resealable. Because all of them know better than to cross the entity that now owns Thomas'. Grupo Bimbo.
Did you know that your bread is owned by Mexico? CNBC's Michelle Caruso Cabrera caught up with the nation's largest bakery, Grupo Bimbo.
Grupo Bimbo, international baking conglomerate.
Entenmann's, owned by a Mexican bread company. Sara Lee, bought by a Mexican bread company. Grupo Bimbo isn't just the biggest baker in the United States, it is the biggest baker in the entire world. Wow.
Bimbo is everywhere. They've taken over half the bread brands you've heard of and 50% of the rest. They've swept through the U.S., acquiring one bakery after another.
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