David Michael & Co. is an American food flavor company. It produces more than 40,000 flavors, stabilizers and natural colors for customers worldwide. Founded and based in Philadelphia, the company has facilities in Illinois and California, as well as operations in Mexico, France and China.
History
In 1896, David Michael & Co. started as a partnership between Herman Hertz, an Atlantic City bar owner and David Michael, a salesman for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia. During that same period, brothers Eli and Robert Rosenbaum and Walter Rosskam formed the R&R Chemical Company, which made cigar wrappers and cigar binding fluids. In 1920, they approached Michael to purchase some guns for their cigar wrapping base. Michael had developed a product called “Michael’s Mixevan,” a vanilla powder to sell to the ice cream industry. Michael proposed that he, Rosskam and the Rosenbaums become partners. Michael died in 1935, and ownership of David Michael & Co. passed to Rosskam and the Rosenbaum brothers. Throughout the 20th Century, the company expanded its product line, moved from Center City Philadelphia to the city’s Northeast, and opened operations overseas. David Michael & Co. remains a family-owned business, with members of the Rosskam and Rosenbaum families in control of operations.
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 & Co.'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.
