Eggo brand evolved from mayonnaise to frozen waffles

Eventually, every conversation about the modern history of waffle making circles around to the inventions that were engineered by master tinkerer Frank Dorsa of San Jose, Calif.

 

To begin, Frank Dorsa was the brains behind a successful business that was created in the basement of his parents’ home. Frank Dorsa developed a mayonnaise product in 1932 that was rich, creamy and tasty.

The recipe contained “100% fresh ranch eggs” and used more eggs than any competing brand. Frank leveraged those claims by naming the mayonnaise brand “Eggo.”

 

Frank soon branched out into waffles, producing a dry mixture that could be delivered fresh by his younger brothers Anthony and Sam to restaurants and homemakers. All the customer needed to do was add milk.

Student dining halls at Stanford University in nearby Palo Alto became the first major account to buy the Eggo line of waffle mix.

Next, the Dorsas bought a potato chip factory in 1938. Frank invented a continuous potato peeler machine, which made hand-peeling obsolete. Eggo potato chips entered the market. (Tony Dorsa made it a family tradition to pass out bags of Eggo potato chips to trick-or-treaters on Halloween instead of candy.)

 

By the early 1950s, frozen foods were an emerging trend. In 1953, with the help of a merry-go-round engine, Frank invented and built a giant, 30-foot-wide rotating contraption equipped with a slew of waffle irons.

The waffles cooked as the carousel rotated, and strategically placed employees could flip each waffle at just the right time. The machine enabled Frank Dorsa to crank out thousands of waffles an hour. And they were flash frozen to preserve their goodness.

For some reason, the new product was termed “Froffles” (a made-up word from FROzen waFFLES). They were well-received. But when Frank Dorsa came to his senses and changed the name to Eggo waffles in 1955, sales skyrocketed.

No more fuss and muss in the morning. Families could just pop Eggos into the kitchen toaster; they would be ready to eat in a jiffy. The previously laborious breakfast meal was now a snap.

 

It was often a race to see which family member could nab the freshly toasted Eggo. Surely, the appeal of “It’s mine, I was here first; let go of my Eggo” was frequently heard.

Breakfast cereal giant Kellogg’s acquired the Eggo brand in 1970. Kellogg’s tasked its advertising agency – Leo Burnett Company of Chicago – with development of an advertising campaign to promote sales of Eggo waffles in 1972.

 

The Burnett creative staff hit the ball out of the park. When “L’Eggo My Eggo” debuted, everyone in America was instantly onboard. Jeff Sexton of Wizards of Ads in Austin, Texas, said “L’Eggo My Eggo” was and still is “one of the greatest advertising slogans – and campaigns – of all time.”

“And if there was any doubt, note that Eggo has 73% of the frozen waffle market locked up. Share of market pretty much always follows share of mind,” Sexton said.

“So, instead of telling you that Eggos are delicious,” Sexton said, the first commercial showed a “magic and boom” moment – a father-son squabble and tug-of-war over a waffle: “L’Eggo my Eggo.”

 

The dad was played by the late Gordon Jump, who would become famous on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati,” and the son was played by Ricky Powell.

 

The “L’Eggo Anthem” commercial debuted in 2021. It’s a hoot and pays tribute to the morning ritual of getting kids – and parents – out the door with a substantial breakfast in their tummies. (The kitchen seems to be self-cleaning.)