Drake's Cakes

What Drake's Cakes does

Drake's Cakes is an American heritage snack cake brand that manufactures and sells individually wrapped packaged cakes under product lines including Devil Dogs, Ring Dings, Yodels, Funny Bones, Yankee Doodles, Coffee Cakes, Boston Creme Yodels, Mini Pound Cakes, and Apple and Cherry Fruit Pies. The underlying technology is conventional large-scale snack cake manufacturing and baking, with all products Kosher-certified by the Orthodox Union. Core recipes have been maintained for between 60 and 100 years, and several product names are registered trademarks, including Devil Dogs (1926), Ring Dings (1958), Funny Bones (1961), Yodels (1962), and Yankee Doodles (1928); the brand also maintains a registered mascot, Webster the Duck. Drake's has operated under McKee Foods Corporation, a fourth-generation family bakery headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee, since McKee's 2013 acquisition after 117 years of independent family and corporate ownership.

The business generates revenue through one-time retail product sales of low-unit-price packaged snack cakes, distributed via supermarkets, convenience stores, and independent grocers across the Northeast, East Coast, upper Midwest, and Southeast, supplemented by a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront (shop.drakescake.com). Pricing is set at typical snack cake category price points and is not publicly disclosed. Customers are mainstream U.S. consumers and families using the products for everyday snacking, lunchbox treats, and casual dessert occasions, with marketing concentrated on Instagram, an email newsletter, an extensive recipe content library ('Fabricaketion'), and seasonal promotional campaigns such as the 2026 130th-anniversary activation.

The brand's strategic posture in 2026 reflects a centennial-driven reinvestment cycle: three limited-edition Devil Dogs flavor variants (Mochaccino, Salty Caramel, Sunny Doodle Dogs), a new Bigger Pack family-format, refreshed packaging, and an updated tagline ('Life's Better With Cake'). Brand-level headcount is reported at 11–50, though operations are conducted within McKee Foods' larger enterprise infrastructure; revenue is not separately disclosed. Drake's website is operated under McKee Foods Corporation, with customer service, careers, and legal terms all routed through McKee Foods channels.

Name

Drake's Cakes

Legal name

McKee Foods Corporation

Website

https://drakescake.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1896

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Drake's Cakes is a 130-year-old American snack cake brand owned by McKee Foods Corporation, selling individually wrapped packaged cakes such as Devil Dogs, Yodels, Ring Dings, and Funny Bones through regional grocery and convenience retail channels and a direct-to-consumer e-commerce store, primarily serving mainstream U.S. consumers in the Northeast, East Coast, upper Midwest, and Southeast.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Packaged Baked Goods (Snack Cakes)

NAICS

Baked Goods Retailers (445291)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Pastry, Cakes & Desserts Wholesale (AFAIAFAB)

Keywords

• Snack cake products
• Packaged baked goods
• Cream-filled cakes
• Individually wrapped cakes
• Fruit snack pies

Headquarters

HQ city

Collegedale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail product sales: Drake's Cakes generates revenue through the sale of packaged snack cakes via retail channels including supermarkets, convenience stores, and independent grocers, as well as direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales through their online store.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Drake's Cakes manufactures and sells a portfolio of classic American packaged snack cakes, including Devil Dogs, Yodels, Ring Dings, Funny Bones, Yankee Doodles, Coffee Cakes, Mini Pound Cakes, Boston Creme Yodels, and Apple and Cherry Fruit Pies. Products are sold as individually wrapped cartons in supermarkets, convenience stores, and through a direct-to-consumer online store.

Product overview

Drake's Cakes is a regional snack cake brand owned by McKee Foods, offering a portfolio of classic American snack cakes. The product lineup consists of core products including Devil Dogs (the flagship since 1926), Yodels, Ring Dings, Yankee Doodles, Funny Bones, Coffee Cakes, Apple Fruit Pies, Cherry Fruit Pies, Boston Creme Yodels, and Mini Pound Cakes. For 2026's 100th anniversary of Devil Dogs, the brand has introduced limited-edition flavor variants including Mochaccino Devil Dogs, Salty Caramel Devil Dogs, and Sunny Doodle Dogs. Products are available in various packaging formats including standard cartons (6-10 individually wrapped cakes) and the new Bigger Pack format with twin-wrapped portions. All products are Kosher certified by the Orthodox Union. The brand operates primarily in the Northeastern US, East Coast, upper Midwest, and Southeast regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Apple Fruit Pies

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• McKee Foods CorporationcoreOthersMcKee Foods, a fourth-generation family bakery, acquired Drake's Cakes in 2013 after 117 years of independent operation, returning the brand to family ownership. McKee Foods manufactures and distributes Drake's products and maintains Drake's as a distinct brand within its portfolio. The company headquarters is in Collegedale, Tennessee.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hostess Brands: Hostess (Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, CupCakes) is the national category leader in packaged snack cakes with directly overlapping SKUs (cream-filled chocolate cakes are head-to-head with Drake's Devil Dogs and Yodels). Same product format, same retail channels, same consumer occasions; the historical category benchmark.
• Famous Amos: Famous Amos is a heritage U.S. cookie brand (now Ferrero) targeting the same snacking occasions as Drake's with individually-wrapped cookie packs. Similar heritage positioning, similar mass retail channel, and overlapping value-snack consumers.
• Little Debbie: Little Debbie is McKee Foods' flagship snack cake brand and Drake's direct sibling within the same parent company. Both target the same occasions (lunchbox, on-the-go, value snacking) with similar individually-wrapped, multi-pack snack cake formats, making Little Debbie the most directly comparable peer in product, customer, and channel terms.
• Tastykake: Tastykake is a regional U.S. snack cake brand with strong Mid-Atlantic roots and a comparable product mix (cream-filled cakes, cupcakes, rolls, fruit pies). Like Drake's, it competes primarily through regional distribution and heritage brand affinity, making it the closest peer on a regional-brand basis.
• Mrs. Freshley's: Mrs. Freshley's (Flowers Foods) is a value-tier snack cake brand competing head-to-head with Drake's in the same retail channels and price points. Directly comparable product mix (cream-filled cakes, cupcakes, donuts) and value-snack positioning.
• Voortman: Voortman is a North American packaged baked-snack brand specializing in cookies, wafers, and crackers sold through retail grocery. Comparable business model (packaged baked-goods brand, mass-channel distribution) with adjacent (rather than identical) product categories to Drake's.
• Dolly Madison (Flowers Foods): Dolly Madison is a heritage American snack cake line owned by Flowers Foods, offering cream-filled cakes, cupcakes, and iced cakes that directly overlap Drake's portfolio. It shares Drake's regional-brand positioning and mass-channel retail footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Pepperidge Farm: Pepperidge Farm (owned by Campbell Soup) is a packaged baked-goods brand spanning cookies, crackers, breads, and frozen pastries. Overlaps Drake's in packaged sweet snacks but at much larger scale and across a broader portfolio.
• Entenmann's: Entenmann's (owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA) is a national packaged baked-goods brand spanning donuts, snack cakes, and cookies. It overlaps Drake's in individually-wrapped snack cake formats but operates at much broader scale and a wider product portfolio.

Regional players

• Arnott's Biscuits: Arnott's is Australia's dominant packaged biscuits/snack cakes brand and the regional equivalent of Drake's heritage snack-cake positioning in another geography. Operates the same packaged-baked-snack model but in a different country, providing a useful regional-players analogy.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/drakes
• Xx.com/drakes
• Facebookfacebook.com/Drakes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drakes-bakeries

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Drake's Cakes