About Sara Lee Desserts

Our Heritage

The Sweet Beginnings

Sara Lee was 8 years old when Charlie Lubin, a bakery entrepreneur, decided to name his new line of cheesecakes after his daughter, Sara Lee. His company was purchased in 1956 by Consolidated Foods, where Mr. Lubin continued to serve as a senior executive for many years. In 1985, Consolidated Foods changed its name to Sara Lee Corporation. Over the years, Sara Lee has appeared in various television advertisements for our bakery products. In her words, her father told her the product “had to be perfect because he was naming it after me.

Our History

How it all started

1935

1949

1951

1952

1953

1954

1956

1960

1964

1965

1972

1976

1978

1985

1988

1993

2018

Pointer

1935

Sara Lee’s founder, Charles Lubin, at the age of 32, and his brother-in-law, bought a small chain of neighborhood bakeries called Community Bake Shops. Working together, the business grew in popularity and success and the original three stores increased to seven.

Photograph of 1935

1949

Charlie had strong entrepreneurial desires, so he parted ways with his brother-in-law. He named his first product, a cream cheesecake, after his then eight year old daughter and changed the name of the business to Kitchens of Sara Lee.

Photograph of 1949

1951

Charlie was always working on new products to market. Since he was a man who took great pride in the quality and taste of his products, it wasn’t until 1951 that the soon-to-be famous All Butter Pound Cake was introduced.

Photograph of 1951

1952

A buyer from Texas, on a visit to Chicago, was so impressed with the Sara Lee products that he asked Charlie to ship them to him in Texas. Lubin knew he couldn’t ship fresh product that far and his fresh product didn’t freeze well.

Photograph of 1952

1953

Charlie perfected a reformulated frozen line of products, which met his extremely high standards for taste and quality. By 1953, Sara Lee led the food industry by developing a process for freezing baked goods that retained product quality while offering mass distribution capabilities. This same year, he designed foil baking pans. Using this type of packaging to bake, freeze, and distribute the product to consumers in the same pan, both reduced production costs and costs to the customers. This was a revolution in the food industry.

Photograph of 1953

1954

Lubin franchised fresh routes to a 300-mile radius of Chicago. The demand for Sara Lee products was increasing and the ability to ship frozen was about to make its mark. One year later, Kitchens of Sara Lee expanded its delivery to 48 US states.

Photograph of 1954

1956

As the Sara Lee name grew, other corporations were taking interest in frozen products. Kitchens of Sara Lee was becoming so well known that Consolidated Foods Corporation acquired it in 1956 and Charlie continued on as the Chief Executive Officer. This same year, another company, destined to become a major part of Sara Lee, opened its doors. Chef Pierre, Inc., founded by Peter C. Dendrinos in Muskegon, Michigan, was the makers of high-quality frozen pies.

Photograph of 1956

1960

By the late 1950s television had proven to be an effective advertising medium and in 1960 Charlie started using it. As people were made more aware of the high quality that went into the making of Sara Lee products, the business continued to grow.

Photograph of 1960

1964

The Deerfield plant began production in 1964. As imagined in Charlie’s vision, there were extensive research and development labs, a test bakery, complete machine shop, and a beautiful Home Ec kitchen complete with all types of home-cooking and baking equipment to test in-home preparation and cooking times.

Photograph of 1964

1965

On May 12th, 1965, Factory Magazine (a McGraw-Hill publication) named the Sara Lee Deerfield facility one of the ten top new manufacturing plants in the United States. The Deerfield facility was the largest and most modern bakery in the world. That year, Sara Lee decided to expand further. That decision led to the development of the Food Service Division, initially targeted to service airlines, larger restaurants, and institutions, such as hospitals and colleges. On August 15, 1965, after a long career filled with innovation and many successes, Charlie Lubin retired.

Photograph of 1965

1972

Sara Lee presented a cake to the City of Chicago to commemorate the 100th birthday of the Chicago Public Library. The cake was in the form of an enormous book with the Chicago Public Library emblem on the cover.

Photograph of 1972

1976

On July 4th, 1976, Sara Lee presented the United States with its bicentennial birthday cake. The cake was approximately four stories tall and filled Freedom Hall in Philadelphia.

Photograph of 1976

1978

Chef Pierre, Inc. was acquired by Consolidated Foods Corporation in 1978.

Photograph of 1978

1985

In 1985, Consolidated Foods Corporation was renamed Sara Lee Corporation. In conjunction with this, Kitchens of Sara Lee was renamed Sara Lee Bakery.

Photograph of 1985

1988

Chef Pierre and Sara Lee merged together in 1988, combining Sara Lee’s technological leadership in laminated doughs with Chef Pierre’s expertise in fruit-based technologies.

Photograph of 1988

1993

A line of Sara Lee fresh-delivered products was introduced in 1993, first to the California markets. These baked good items can now be found in about one-third of the country. It is from these locations, scattered across the world, that our company continues to grow, prosper and carry on the high ideals set forth by Charles Lubin. Ideals that require us to rise above all others to produce the highest-quality product possible.

Photograph of 1993

2018

Sara Lee Frozen Bakery is formed. For the first time in over 60 years, Sara Lee desserts operates under independent ownership, bringing flavors you love, and new delights to the table. Headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, the team at Sara Lee is passionate about helping to make life’s moments a little sweeter.

Photograph of 2018