The uncle and friend left the business and John and Charles assumed charge. The Arbuckle Brothers coffee company packaged Yuban for wealthy urban people and Ariosa for rural markets and poor urban ones.
In 1864 Jabez Burns invented the self emptying roaster. The brothers John and Charles Arbuckle, bought a Burns machine and began to sell pre-roasted coffee in one-pound paper bags.
Arbuckle Brothers owned patent for machine capable of measuring a pound of roasted coffee, putting it in a paper bag, and sealing it.
By 1868, John Arbuckle’s formula for a tasty roasted coffee and his keen business expertise had revolutionized the coffee industry.
A good cup of coffee meant daily roasting until 1868, when Arbuckle perfected a glutinous mixture made of Irish moss, gelatin, isin-glass, white sugar and eggs for preserving the freshness of roast coffee.
Because Arbuckle’s coffee could be packaged and shipped, it was popular with campers and Westerners.
To persuade consumers to purchase his brand, Arbuckle hired an army of agents to write orders. The coffee was published with colored folksy handbills, trading cards and coupons redeemed for premium.
Arbuckle Brothers main coffee brand, Ariosa was wildly successful. In 1871, Arbuckle, opened a branch in New York.
In the 1880s, the company established branches in Kansas City, Missouri and Chicago. Customers could clip Arbuckle Brother’s coupons and redeem them for everything from guns to jewelry.
Arbuckle Brothers became the leading coffee provider to the West by creating fresh, easy to use coffee products with strong brand recognition. The 1873 trademark for the brand that Arbuckle targeted in the West, Ariosa, featured a flying angle.
Toward the end of the century Arbuckle’s included a stick of peppermint candy in each package and in 1893, collector’s trading cards featuring animal, cities of the word, US states and recipes.
In the Roaring Twenties, Prohibition advanced coffee as a nonalcoholic alternative and coffeehouses proliferated in American cities. Those brands that advertised widely did well, but Arbuckle Brothers refused to amount a national campaign and went into decline.
In 1937, the General Foods Corporation acquired a number of Arbuckle Brothers brand names, including Yuban, which had been served only to dinner guests by John Arbuckle.
Arbuckle Brothers
