Inventor Lively Willoughby

Refrigerating Biscuit Dough In Tubes

A digital drawing of a man with short dark hair, glasses, and an open mouth wearing a white shirt and black tie.

L.B. “Lively” Willoughby developed the concept of refrigerated biscuit dough and patented the process in 1931. Willoughby joined forces with Ballard & Ballard Co. and developed a line of products including biscuits. In 1951, @pillsburybaking bought Ballard & Ballard.

Pillsbury was looking for a packaging solution to ship its dough across the country. Tubes were practical, air-tight, and easy to stack and ship. The tubes were sealed by metal ends and were difficult to remove. Customers struggled to remove dough from long tubes.

In 1958 John Erdie, Wilbur G. Fienup and John W. Adams would arrive at a design that we know and love today: the breakable tube. The patent was filed on May 6th, 1958, and officially granted on March 14th, 1961.

Source, progressivegrocer.com and erdie.com

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