The Food That Built America

Two pizza juggernauts expand their empires as a hungry new contender turns the fight into a three-way race to become America's biggest pizza chain.

Rival cereal giants race to invent the next must-have bowl, sparking a sugary arms race.

A struggling candy maker's botched experiment leads to the world's first bubble gum, its distinctive color, and a decades-long bubble gum war fueled by colorful mascots, comic strips, baseball cards, and novelty flavors — transforming gum into a pop culture powerhouse and reshaping the candy aisle.

Three burger operators race to serve a new generation on wheels, and a primitive intercom and sliding window evolve into the drive-thru — revolutionizing fast food and kicking off an industry arms race.

A chemist unlocks a chocolate syrup that transforms milk into a magic sensation, a scrappy soda shop owner cracks the code to bottling liquid chocolate for the masses, and a dairy innovator turns wartime surplus into instant cocoa gold.

A century ago, the cookie industry didn't exist, until a wave of innovators turn it into a $15 billion powerhouse.

Through a series of accidents and unexpected innovations, a struggling cheesemaker, a New York restaurateur, a small-time baker, and a determined mother-son duo transform a humble cheese pie into a decadent American dessert--turning cheesecake into a grocery staple and the star of a restaurant empire.

A keen-eyed immigrant, a candy mogul, and two pasta-making brothers reinvent rice for America's kitchens by making it faster, easier, and impossible to resist. But it'll take a massive global conflict, and a battle of innovations, to turn rice into riches.

An upstart chain innovates iconic menu items and fast food staples including a value menu and free refills, while fending off a new competitor to bring Mexican inspired fast food to the masses. Until the world's top burger chain enters the fray and turns fast food on its head.

Bold visionaries take big risks to bring Mexican food to all Americans, by creating the best-selling condiment on the planet, two of the most famous snack chip brands of all time and innovating the iconic pairing of chips and salsa. 

A struggling chocolate maker and a young theater assistant create the movie theater concession stand as we know it and launch the world's most iconic movie candies. 

A teacher turned restaurateur invents America's most popular cookie which leads to a battle of food giants, and one of the most iconic packaged cookies in history. 

The first convenience store is born, and with new innovations like late hours, to-go coffee, and America's most beloved slushy drink, it rises into an iconic chain with more locations than any other store or restaurant in the world.

Early American malls have no food court, until a cinnamon bun, a pretzel, and a panda all move in to create three of the world's most iconic food brands and transform the American Mall.

Jim Folger discovers a new way to bring coffee to the masses. Then another famous coffee brand gets its big break at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville. Plus, the creation of the iconic coffee machines that help make coffee a billion-dollar industry.

Stephen Whitman introduces Americans to chocolate candy in a sampler box, Russell Stover builds a competing company, and both iconic brands help turn chocolate from an unknown import to a boxed American staple given as a gift of love to this day.

A German immigrant looks to revolutionize the American beer industry when he's handed a struggling brewery. Destined to overcome technological drawbacks, product tampering, and the rise of temperance and prohibition in America, his signature beer will go on to amass sales of over 11 billion dollars a year.

A down-on-his-luck Japanese businessman and a Chinese immigrant and her son change the American palette when they introduce instant noodles in a cup, Peking Duck, and the biggest Chinese restaurant chain in the nation.

A farmhand named Jack Daniel and a distiller in Tennessee look to bring their quality bootleg whiskey out of the shadows and into a larger market. But against the rise of temperance and prohibition in America, a novel new recipe and Daniel's revolutionary branding tactics pave the way for the best-selling American whiskey in the world.

Imagine a world where marinara sauce isn't part of the American palate. That was true nearly sixty years ago, when food conglomerate Campbells kickstarts what will become an Italian American food staple.

A cab driver turned ice cream entrepreneur comes up with the idea to mix name brand candy into high quality ice cream to create new novel flavors. After opening an ice cream shop to share his mix-in creations, his concept skyrockets.

In the late 1800s, two pharmacists 1500 miles apart race to create healthy, non-alcoholic beverage options, kickstarting the entire soda industry with their breakout hits: Hires Root Beer and Dr. Pepper.

A scientist and businessman team up to develop a Vitamin C rich war ration for the troops fighting in World War 2, which unexpectedly leads to the development of a frozen concentrated orange juice that tastes great and allows for the widespread distribution of OJ for the first time in history. Soon after, a fruit salesman develops a process of flash pasteurizing fresh orange juice that turns the fledgling industry on its head. The two companies will go on to battle it out for domination. 

During the mid-20th century, two unlikely characters find themselves in competition to simplify the lives of homemakers across the country by creating a tasty but easy boxed cake-mix. America's sweetheart and the original foodie go head-to-head to make baking easy. 

In the early 1900s, an underestimated confectioner creates the first wrapped penny candy--the Tootsie Roll. Meanwhile, an unemployed salesman transforms medicinal hard candy into a fruit flavored, multipack designed purely for fun with Tropical Charms. The two go on to kickstart an entire industry of nationally branded candies and transform the lollipop into a global icon. 

Will Kellogg is on top of the cereal industry after beating out post, but now, the king of cereal has met his match with a young flour mill executive. A decades long war for dominance ensues as Kellogg's and General Mills battle it out with new innovative cereals, resulting in the creation of the number one cereal in the country.

After being kicked out of the family business by his father, Forrest Mars scratches and claws his way back to create a multi-sector global empire, Mars Inc. Today that empire is worth over $47 billion dollars and a family dynasty that is the 3rd wealthiest in America worth nearly $100 billion.

Lunchtime is one of the most enjoyable meals of every kid's day, but before the 1960s it was just another meal. Then, three very different food visionaries take matters into their own hands to create lunch time favorites loved by children everywhere, fromsandwiches, to fruit snacks, and a build-it-yourself pre-packaged lunch that has become a supermarket staple.

It's 1935 and a hot-headed Kentucky gas station owner named Harland Sanders develops a new method for making fried chicken, drawing customers from far and wide. Soon, tough times force him to take his secret recipe on the road, as he works to establishes franchises across the country. Over time, he builds a national fast-food  brand, becoming a cultural icon. But when his company is sold to a food conglomerate who changes his recipe for cost cutting measures, he goes to war against his own chicken empire--and wins.

In an early 20th century America where soda is synonymous with cola, small-time St. Louis soda maker Charles Leiper Grigg dares to take on corporate giants Coke and Pepsi by introducing something entirely new--a clear, lemon-lime soda he calls "7-Up." Little does he know that at the same time, two brothers in Tennessee, Ali and Barney Hartman, have concocted an almost identical soda. What started out as their personal lemon lime cocktail mixer will put them on a collision course with 7-Up when they release it to the public as "Mountain Dew." Both will evolve into something entirely different than what they began as, but together they'll crack the industry wide open.

In the 1950s, middle-aged salesman Ray Kroc is drowning in debt when he's inspired by a roadside burger stand he wants to spread nationwide--McDonald's. To buy out the business, he creates the modern model of franchising and ignites a fast-food gold rush. Over three decades, Kroc's innovation produces icons like the Big Mac and Chicken McNugget, crushing the competition to make McDonald's the biggest fast-food chain in the world.

Two heavy-hitting cereal rivals duke it out for breakfast dominance; competition heats up when an idea is stolen; the ensuing battle transforms the breakfast landscape from a labor-intensive meal at the table to a meal of convenience on the go.

The top-selling candy days of the year revolve around Easter, Valentine's Day, and Halloween. And it all started with a few bold pioneers. 

Before chicken wings were America's favorite Sunday football snack, they were considered an undesirable cut of meat. Until two restaurateurs in Buffalo, New York, reinvent the way wings are cooked. 

A cereal executive's bold idea to finance the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie will kick-off a candy revolution that produces some of the most iconic, imaginative confections in history.

Two icons compete for America's coffee drinkers and forever change a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar industry.

Eventually challenging America's burger joint heavyweights, two future fast-food kingpins find themselves on a collision course in an all-out chicken sandwich war that is still raging to this day.

Four intrepid food entrepreneurs race to harness emerging technologies like the home freezer and microwave, to bring revolutionary frozen snack icons to a waiting world, and forever change what we eat, when we eat, and how we eat.

A look at some staples of Thanksgiving dinner that weren't around until a few brands used technological advances to reinvent turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and more; food innovators made each part of the meal accessible. 

When an entrepreneur creates shelf-stable peanut butter out of his garage, it leads to the birth of an iconic sandwich; as competition heats up to be America's favorite peanut butter, three famous brands battle it out to be number one. 

Two entrepreneurs rise from the ashes of Prohibition by staking everything on two liquors - a bitter, bottom-shelf whisky, and a flavorless foreign moonshine - and go on to save an industry and create two of the most popular brands in the country. 

Lighting up the backyard grill is an American summer tradition like no other. But 100 years ago, cooking outside was not nearly as popular or accessible. Most backyard grilling essentials hadn't been invented yet, and many people didn't even have backyards, while the hot dogs we know, and love were still relatively unknown in the marketplace. It would take industry titan Henry Ford, one relentless tinkerer named Kingsford, and a passionate butcher from the Oscar Mayer family to create the most iconic brands of the Summer and change the face of American backyards forever.

Before juice was everywhere, these innovators used brilliant ingenuity to create the most nostalgic drink products and thirst quenchers of the last century, leading the charge on a new billion dollar beverage industry.

At the turn of the 20th century, Bernard Kroger and another upstart grocer come up with genius innovations that help invent the modern supermarket.

A young upstart named Oscar Mayer creates one of the most iconic meat brands on the planet; pioneer Jay Hormel invents a meat product sold the world over, which becomes part of a $20 billion food empire.

At a time when dog food is a rarity and cat food is almost nonexistent, it will take visionary innovators to invent the first dog treat, the first dry dog food, the first cat food, and many more innovations that will carve out the billion-dollar pet food industry, and solidify dogs and cats as part of the American family.

At a time when U.S. beer is dominated by the same lager style, one Milwaukee company experiments with something new. What starts as an unappealing low-calorie beer will become the number one beer in America, and a battle between two all-time titans to be the king of light beer.

The fascinating stories of the families behind the food that built America, those who used brains, muscle, blood, sweat and tears to get to America's heart through its stomach, those who invented new technologies and helped win wars.

In the late 1800s, German immigrants Joseph Schlitz and Captain Frederick Pabst find themselves in a battle for beer dominance. In their fight for one upmanship they will help create the most popular alcoholic beverage on the planet, introduce lager beer to the nation, and become two of the biggest companies on Earth for half a century.

When a commercial caterer realizes his two best selling items are donuts and coffee, he joins forces with his brother-in-law to create a revolutionary donut chain. Soon a rivalry starts with a beloved Southern-based donut shop, with both on a collision course, destined to become nationwide icons.

When his ice cream truck breaks down, Tom Carvel discovers that half-melted ice cream is a surefire hit with customers.

In a quest to dominate the growing commercial bread industry, Lee Marshall bets on a new kind of white loaf, unwittingly inspiring a homemaker named Margaret Rudkin to come up with a healthier alternative.

Hollywood agent Wally Amos transforms his professional life when he decides to make and sell his own gourmet chocolate chip cookies, and opens America's first cookie store; housewife Debbi Fields opens her homestyle cookie shop in a mall.

When Colonel Sanders sells his company to investors in 1964, the new owners identify a rising star within the organization: Dave Thomas.

Orville Redenbacher, a small town farmer who had a life long dream of developing the perfect popping corn kernel.

Restaurateur Glen Bell works to create a burger alternative for the fast-food market and after several setbacks goes on to help introduce the taco to America; two brothers look to beat the burger by betting that a roast beef sandwich can compete.

In New York City, former Olympic wrestler Rocky Aoki and a perfume salesman become the unlikely fathers of a casual dining revolution when they open wildly different establishments in the heart of the city: one of America's first Japanese restaurants, and a swinging singles bar that will go on to become one of the country's most iconic restaurant chains.

When a New York bakery owner passes away suddenly, his wife Martha Entenmann takes the reigns of the company and grows it into a national powerhouse. Meanwhile, a married couple have bankrupted one bakery, but are determined to succeed their second time around and conquer the baking world with a revolutionary way to sell snack cakes, including their iconic oatmeal creme pie.

Hector and Mario Boiardi open an Italian restaurant in Cleveland in 1924 and soon introduce Italian food to Americans; the brothers eventually find themselves in competition with James Kraft and his newest offering, macaroni and cheese.

In the 1950's, two enterprising brothers from Wichita, Kansas aim to build their restaurant, Pizza Hut, into a franchise empire by boldly introducing America to a little-known Italian dish--pizza. Americans soon fall in love with their signature, thin crust pizza, but unchecked growth and an underdog rival, Domino's, threatens to derail their first-of-its-kind pizza franchise juggernaut.

In 1919, Milton Hershey is king of the chocolate business. But everything changes when in a Post WW1 sugar price drop, a rush of competitors spring up, including his former employee HB Reese, who will go on to create the best selling candy on the planet. But Reese isn't Hershey's only rival, when a brilliant marketer soon comes up with not one, but two of the most iconic candy bars in history.

In the 1950s, Ray Kroc franchises McDonald's nationwide, but right behind Kroc a wave of other entrepreneurs try to cash in on the fast food restaurant craze. Two Florida visionaries start up what will become Kroc's biggest rival, by re-inventing their kitchen's equipment into the pioneering "flame broiler." Over the next two decades the two iconic restaurants battle it out over burgers, launching signature sandwiches that will become staples all over the world.

At the turn of the 20th century, James Kraft challenges thousands of years of cheese-making tradition and forever alters the dairy industry with his new cheese innovation. Meanwhile, the Pabst brothers are desperate to keep their successful beer empire solvent through Prohibition, and introduce a shelf-stable cheese of their own, putting them on a collision course with James Kraft's flourishing cheese juggernaut.

In the 1970s, one major cola brand launches a blind taste test marketing plan that takes direct aim at their biggest competitor. As a new era of competition heats up between the behemoth brands, each side selects a new leader who takes the companies to battle in a rivalry that will birth countless iconic soda products and memorable marketing stunts.

Herman Lay takes regional and small-time chips business to a national scale with his cutting-edge sales techniques and world-changing packaging technology, while a rival innovator invents a new kind of snack chip that will challenge Lay's crown. And when the empires meet, they will have to strike a deal...or go to war.

A business partnership gone wrong leads Adolphus Green to create one of the most iconic cookie and cracker companies in history, and revolutionize packaging. But when his former partners strike back with their signature invention, the chocolate sandwich cookie, Green retaliates with the help of milk chocolate titan Milton Hershey, and rolls out the biggest selling cookie of all time.

When a chemist begins working at the Joseph A. Campbell preserve company, he invents a condensed soup that brings this rare luxury to the nation for the first time. But as they try to get the word out to Americans who aren't yet accustomed to soup, it also attracts the attention of Henry Heinz, who becomes a bitter competitor in a race for revolutionary innovation and nationwide soup sales dominance.

A short order chef invents the hamburger bun and engineers a new way of making a burger faster than ever before; Nathan Handwerker invests his life savings into a hot dog stand at Coney Island.

Gilbert Swanson inherits his father's frozen turkey company and partners with a food chemist to innovate a revolutionary dinner that Americans can heat up at home.

A young boy accidentally discovers a frozen treat on a stick; a candy store owner reinvents ice cream and launches the first ever ice cream truck; when two men own a patent on the same thing, a battle erupts.

In the 1970's, Ray Kroc is far ahead of the competition. But when a burger chain claiming to be king poaches his third-highest ranking executive, Don Smith, it's war. Smith re-engineers the emerging rival, using the best ideas of his former franchise to modernize the brand. In an unprecedented move, Ray Kroc brings on a world renowned chef to develop the chicken nugget, breakfast, and try to crush the would-be king once and for all.

As C.E. Doolin and Herman Lay try to control the chips business in the 1950s, their success inspires one of the biggest companies in the world to design a strong, saddle-shaped chip and a revolutionary container to ship them in.

In the 1970s, one major cola brand launches a blind taste test marketing plan that takes direct aim at their biggest competitor. As a new era of competition heats up between the behemoth brands, each side selects a new leader who takes the companies to battle in a rivalry that will birth countless iconic soda products and memorable marketing stunts.

William Wrigley stumbles upon a new product that will kickstart a revolution across industries, but not before sparking a life-long rivalry.

Dr. John Kellogg and his brother start a revolution in breakfast, while rival C.W. Post takes direct aim at an empire of his own. And the creation of an iconic food comes at a cost, as the brothers' relationship reaches a boiling point under the weight of their success.

In the wake of the Civil War, a revolution is taking place on the backs of visionary entrepreneurs of industry. Before they become brand names, budding innovators like Henry Heinz, John and Will Kellogg, and C.W. Post push the limits of ingenuity to launch businesses that will revolutionize industry, and change the landscape of the nation forever.

A new breed of innovator rises up to expand American industry and push the limits of new technology; a father-and-son duo named Mars start on a path to challenge the chocolate throne.

As the Great Depression hits, the titans of food push the envelope of innovation to feed a hungry nation. Then WWII sees competing industrial empires joining the war effort in a united front to fuel the forces fighting for freedom abroad. And in Post-War America, visionaries like Harland Sanders, the McDonald brothers and Ray Kroc battle to revolutionize the restaurant industry, and pave the way for the golden age of the American dream.