Fast facts about Little Debbie

Little Debbie Brand
Little Debbie Brand

* Namesake: The Little Debbie brand, which is better known than the McKee Foods Corp. that makes the snack cakes, was launched in 1960 and named after then 4-year-old Debbie McKee, one of the grandchildren of the founders of McKee Foods. The original smiling photo of Little Debbie photo that has adorned millions of snack cake cartons was created from a black-and-white photo enhanced in color by Atlanta artist Pearl Mann

* Company: McKee Foods Corp., headquartered in Collegedale, Tenn., where it has been based since 1957, is America's largest privately owned snack cake bakery with annual sales of more tthan $1.4 billion and more than 6,300 employees at facilities in Tennessee, Arkansas, Virginia and Arizona. In 2013, McKee acquired the regional Drake's snack cake brand from the bankrupt Hostess Brands. McKee Foods also produces baked goods under the Fieldstone Bakery, Heartland Brands, and Sunbelt Bakery labels.

* Leadership: McKee Foods was founded by O.D. and Ruth McKee in 1934 when they bought Jack's cookie Co., a small bakery in Chattanooga, and started making small cakes. Today, one of their grandsons, Mike McKee, is president and CEO of the family-owned company.

* Products: McKee ships more than 900 million cartons of Little Debbie products a year, including the top-selling varieties of Swiss Cake Rolls, Nutty Bars, Oatmeal Creme Pies and Cosmic Brownies.

* Company motto: Find a better way

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