Six years after buying Drake’s cakes to expand its food lines and presence in the Northeast, McKee Foods today acquired a similar-sized bakery based in suburban Chicago to help enlarge its convenience store business and further expand its snack food lines.
The Collegedale-based McKee Foods, maker of the Little Debbie brand of snack cakes, said today it has purchased Prairie City Bakery, the maker of more than 125 varieties of individually-wrapped and bulk food service products, including Big Cinnamon Rolls, danish, Down Home Cookies, Classic and Premium Donuts, Donut Holes in a Cup and Ooey Gooey Butter Cakes.
“We sought to acquire Prairie City Bakery because they built a great brand with quality, innovative products that satisfy specific retail customer needs,” said Mike McKee, president and CEO of McKee Foods, the nation’s biggest privately owned bakery. “We want to continue that success by following the same great strategy with the same great management team. We are excited to continue building on this success.”
McKee Foods will continue using the Prairie City Bakery brand name and the company’s existing distribution channels. Additionally, McKee Foods will retain all 14 of the Prairie City Bakery employees and existing offices in Vernon Hills, Illinois, company spokesman Mike Gloekler said.
Prairie City Bakery was co-founded by Bill Skeens more than 25 years ago making Muffin Tops as its first product. The company got a huge boost in 1997 in an episode of the comedy TV show “Seinfield” that made muffin tops instantly famous across the country when Elaine tells her ex-boss she only eats the tops of muffins and the boss steals the idea to open a business called “Top of the Muffin to You!”