Gaines-Burgers was a brand of dog food that was introduced in 1961 by General Foods, and production ceased in the 1990s. The product consisted of individually wrapped patties of moisturized dog food that resembled a hamburger. Unlike hamburgers, the Gaines-Burgers could be stored at room temperature for long periods of time. The technique was later used for human foods.
History
Gaines-Burgers was named after the former Gaines Food Company of Sherburne, New York, a major pet food company acquired by General Foods in 1943.[1] In November 1982, General Foods introduced "Improved Gaines-Burgers Cheese", advertised as made with cheddar cheese.[2] The "improved" reference relates to an earlier version of the product "with cheese" marketed in the early 1970s.
In 1984, General Foods sold Gaines to Anderson, Clayton and Company.[3] In 1986, Quaker Oats Company bought Anderson, Clayton to acquire Gaines for its pet food division; Quaker sold the remainder of Anderson, Clayton to Kraft.[4]
Present day
As of 2017, the trademark for North America belongs to dVour Brands Corporation based in Chicago Ill. Limited edition premium brand offerings of small batch fresh, slow cooked USDA-approved meat protein patties form were offered in 2020.[5][6] The product was made available for consumers in limited batches in February 2020 [7]
In popular culture
In 1972, National Lampoon's Deteriorata (a spoof of Desiderata, then enjoying a measure of popular attention thanks to a spoken word recording) singled out Gaines-Burgers "with cheese" in order to poke fun at modern product advertising using the line "Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese".[8]
Footnotes
- ^ Phillips, Tim (October 24, 2007). "Learn from the Past". Petfood Industry. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ Pace, Eric (November 29, 1982). "Dog Food Campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
- ^ "General Foods To Sell Off Gaines". The Gainesville Sun. April 17, 1984. p. 7B.
- ^ Phillips, Stephen (May 29, 1987). "Kraft Is Acquiring A Quaker Division". The New York Times.
- ^ Trademark Status & Document Retrieval
- ^ "Gaines Burgers". dVour Brands. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^ Limited availbility now!
- ^ Dundes, Alan; Pagter, Carl R. (1987). "The Writing on the Walls: Notices, Mottoes, and Awards". When You're Up to Your Ass in Alligators: More Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire. Wayne State University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0814318676.