The Food That Built America — Season 4

Aired 19 February 2023 • 43 min

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.

Aired 26 February 2023 • 43 min

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.

Aired 5 March 2023 • 43 min

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.

Aired 12 March 2023 • 43 min

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.

Aired 19 March 2023 • 43 min

Coffee's quality and popularity wane by the 1960s, until a handful of visionaries turn the industry on its head. First, three college friends create an iconic brand of revolutionary gourmet Coffee. Then, this now-iconic chain creates an entirely new category of restaurant.

Aired 26 March 2023 • 43 min

A devout Georgia diner owner stumbles into the chicken game when he develops a unique fried chicken sandwich with a batch of cast-off filets. The unique sandwich he creates will become the menu centerpiece at one of the most popular fast-food chains in the world.

Aired 2 April 2023

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.

Aired 9 April 2023

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.

Aired 16 April 2023 • 42 min

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.

Aired 23 April 2023 • 42 min

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.

Aired 11 June 2023 • 43 min

A century ago, most backyard grilling essentials were not yet invented; Henry Ford, a tinkerer named Kingsford, and a passionate butcher created recognizable summer brands and changed the face of American backyards.

Aired 18 June 2023

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.

Aired 25 June 2023

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

Aired 9 July 2023

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.

Aired 16 July 2023

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, dry food, the first cat food, and many more innovations that will carve out the billion-dollar pet food industry.

Aired 23 July 2023

At a time when U.S. beer is dominated by the same lager style, one Milwaukee company experiments with something new.