The History of Clabber Girl

The Hulman brothers came to America from Germany in the 1840s. They established a wholesale grocery business, which imported goods and delivered them to the old “mom and pop” stores of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The wholesale grocery business founded by Herman Hulman and his brothers in 1850 was an important player in both the regional and national economies. Hulman & Company would eventually grow into a manufacturing facility, serving several states and eventually distributing products nationwide.

In 1879, through the talents and determination of founder Herman Hulman, the company produced a formula for the production of baking powder. This product evolved through many refinements into the Clabber Girl brand.

The Clabber Girl brand became a household name in the 1920s when the company embarked on the first-ever national advertising campaign for a baking powder product. Teams of men went out into the countryside to post large signs on barns and along roadways, advertising the company’s claim, “Never fails on baking day!”

Clabber Girl Baking Powder, still the leading brand in the United States today, is manufactured in a historic facility at the corner of 9th & Wabash in this west central Indiana city, located at the crossroads of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 41. There is a museum adjacent to the manufacturing facility in a building that houses the company’s general offices. It is one of the oldest companies in Indiana, and is still a family owned business.

You may also recognize the Hulman name in connection with racing, because it was Herman Hulman’s grandson, Anton “Tony” Hulman, Jr. who purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. in 1945 and transformed it into the home of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” the Indianapolis 500.

Whether it is racing or baking powder, the Hulman family has made a significant contribution to the history of Indiana. Clabber Girl Baking Powder is known worldwide, and with new products like the multi-purpose baking mix, there will continue to be new chapters added to the story of this 156 year old company.