Type Privately held company Area served Worldwide Founded 1896 | Industry Food Development Website www.dmflavors.com Number of employees 250 | |
Founder David Michael and Herman Hertz Products Custom Food Flavors Organic Flavors Flavor Modifiers
Texture Modifiers Headquarters Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Parent organization International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. | ||
David Michael & Co. is an American food flavor company that employs flavor chemists to sell a line of more than 40,000 flavors, stabilizers and natural colors to customers around the world. Founded and based in Philadelphia, the company has facilities in Illinois and California, as well as operations in Mexico, France and China.
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History
David Michael & Co. has its roots in a partnership that began in 1896 between two men: Herman Hertz, an Atlantic City bar owner and David Michael, who was working as a salesman for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company, now known as Fleer, in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, three men – brothers Eli and Robert Rosenbaum and Walter Rosskam, a college classmate of Eli – had formed the R&R Chemical Company, which made cigar wrappers and cigar binding fluids. In 1920, they approached David Michael to purchase some guns for their cigar wrapping base.
Michael developed a product called “Michael’s Mixevan,” a vanilla powder he hoped to sell to the ice cream industry to the burgeoning ice cream industry. He proposed that he, Rosskam and the Rosenbaums go into business together.
David Michael died in 1935, and ownership of the company passed to Rosskam and the Rosenbaum brothers. Throughout the 20 th Century, the company expanded its product line, moved from Center City Philadelphia to the city’s Northeast, and opened operations overseas.
The company remains a family-owned business, with members of the Rosskam and Rosenbaum families in control of operations.
Corporate Overview
David Michael & Co. is run by the descendants of its founding partners. Corporate leadership includes President and COO Skip Rosskam, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Stuart Rosenbaum and Executive Vice President Steve Rosskam.
Events
Since 2003, David Michael & Co. has hosted an annual event known as the Innovation Roadshow. This industry event offers potential customers from the food industry the opportunity to learn about food flavor trends and the latest products from the company.
Brands & Innovations
David Michael’s first product, Old Time Body and Age, is a flavor used to give an aged, mellow taste to newly distilled whiskey. Developed in 1896, this product is still being sold today.
In 1965, the company developed Vanguard, a mix smoothener originally created in response to a worldwide vanilla shortage.
In 1971, they developed Butter Plus, a natural liquid replacement for butter. One pound of butter plus equals 50 pounds of actual butter.
In 2003, David Michael & Co. launched both Cocoa-Mate and Honey-Mate, designed to offer savings in times of high cocoa or honey prices.
The company’s other brands include Biovan, Supervan, DMChoice, Mixevan, Michtex, MichaelLite and Michaelcap.