“What was being announced?” people wondered in Buenos Aires. Melville Sewell Bagley had the cobblestone sidewalks of Buenos Aires painted with the name “Hesperidina” in black letters. This was part of a clever advertising campaign to publicize his product. Let me tell you about the fascinating story of Bagley, a company with deep roots in Argentina.
Bagley Argentina S.A. is an Argentine food company. Its main plant is in Buenos Aires. U.S.-born entrepreneur Melville Sewell Bagley founded it in 1864. Since 1994, the French multinational Danone has owned the company.
Melville Sewell Bagley was born in Bangor, Maine, in 1838. Before arriving in Buenos Aires, he lived in New Orleans. He experimented with different formulas to create a digestive beverage. Oranges became the main ingredient. Hesperidina was born from those tests. Hesperidina is a famous apéritif.
Bagley entered the food market in 1875. The company began producing biscuits. The Argentine government exempted the company from custom duties. This allowed them to import the necessary machinery to produce food. Before then, cookies and biscuits came from the United Kingdom. The first biscuit was named Lola. It became an immediate success. Hospitals used the biscuit as food for patients.
Bagley died in July 1880. He was only 42. His wife Mary Hamilton took over the business. Other partners handled administration. In 1901, the company became a sociedad anónima. They invested in machinery and opened new plants. Horse-drawn carts delivered merchandise. One year later, the company launched Mitre cookies. The cookies were named after former president Bartolomé Mitre. Variedad, Tertulia and Soda cookies followed.
Bagley was the first Argentine company to produce wafers in Argentina. The wafers were named Opera in 1908. This celebrated the reopening of Teatro Colón. The four-act opera Aida was performed for the occasion. From 1924, Bagley added preserved goods, vinegar and Jelina desserts. Employees enjoyed medical coverage and paid vacation before the law required it.
The Criollitas cracker launched in 1943. It became an immediate success. That same year, Bagley started packaging its products. Before then, stores sold biscuits individually from tins. Canned dulce de membrillo and dulce de batata joined the product line.
In the 1960s, Bagley expanded its range with filled biscuits. Merengadas, Sonrisas, Mellizas, Amor, Rumba, and Rex crackers were introduced. Rumba soon led the chocolate-flavored biscuit market. In 1975, Chocolinas launched. This chocolate-flavored biscuit became a historic landmark for the brand.
During the 1980s, Bagley added Porteñitas in 1980. Tentaciones, a premium product with flavored jelly, followed in 1985.
French conglomerate Danone acquired Bagley Argentina in 1994. Five years later, the group increased its ownership to 91%.
In 2004, Arcor partnered with Danone to take over Bagley. Arcor owned 51% of Bagley. Danone owned 49%. This alliance focused on the cookies market. Both companies continued their other businesses separately. They joined forces to sell cookies in Argentina, Brasil and Chile. Their estimated production reached 385,000 tons of cookies per year.
Bagley sold the rights to the Hesperidina brand in 2004. “Tres Blasones” took over production until 2018. “Grupo Cepas S.A.” acquired it then. They have been producing the beverage since.
Kraft Foods acquired most of Danone’s biscuit division in 2007. Danone retained its shareholding in Bagley.
Bagley and Grupo Arcor became owners of 43% of Mastellone Hermanos in 2019. They increased their part in the business.
Bagley is known for its wide variety of cookies and crackers. Renowned brands include Criollitas, Rumba, Opera, Sonrisas, and Chocolinas.
The chocotorta uses Chocolinas cookies as its main ingredient. Marité Mabragaña invented it in 1982. She mixed dulce de leche with cream cheese for the filling. This created one of the most popular cakes in Argentine pastry.
The chocotorta had a TV advertising spot. It featured Mendicrim cream cheese and Bagley’s Chocolinas. Bagley included the cake recipe on Chocolinas packages.
In 2020, TasteAtlas website chose the chocotorta as “the best dessert in the world”. It ranked first above Belgian waffle and Hungarian zserbó.
The Bagley company has left an indelible mark on Argentina. From its innovative beginnings with Hesperidina to its iconic cookies, Bagley has become a part of Argentine culture.