As North Carolinians, we enjoy shopping local and supporting homegrown North Carolina companies. When you’re looking to get your Made in NC KIX FIX, we invite to patronize these homegrown North Carolina legends:
In Winston-Salem, Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph in 1937. He rented a building in Old Salem and with a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans chef, created the original doughnuts that we now know today. Rudolph started selling the doughnuts to local grocery stores for 25 cents a dozen and the rest is history.
Peanut butter, cheese, and vanilla crème—the list goes on and on with the types available in Lance Crackers. In 1913, Philip Lance took 500 pounds of Virginia peanuts, roasted, and sold them. After the success of his peanut business took off, Lance started making peanut butter. To help people experience the full taste of the peanut butter, Lance’s wife and daughters put the food on two crackers, placed them together, and created the peanut butter sandwich. This led to the founding of the famous Lance Crackers.
Named after its location, the Mt. Olive Pickle Company was founded in 1926 in Mount Olive, North Carolina, and quickly became the largest privately-owned pickle company in the state. Today, Mt. Olive Pickles come in multiple varieties and are available in major grocery stores.
Pepsi was the brainchild of North Carolina businessman and pharmacist Caleb Bradham. Originally known as Brad’s Drink, Bradham changed the product’s name to “Pepsi-Cola” in 1898. The first Pepsi’s were available exclusively at Bradham’s New Bern, NC, pharmacy. In 1902, Bradham formed the Pepsi-Cola Company, and in 1903 he registered a patent for the cola’s recipe.