The Food That Built America

The HISTORY® Channel

It takes bold visionaries risking everything to create some of the most recognizable brands on the planet. The Food That Built America, based on the hit documentary series from The HISTORY® Channel, tells the extraordinary true stories of industry titans like Henry Heinz, Milton Hershey, the Kellogg brothers and Ray Kroc, who revolutionized the food industry and transformed American life and culture in the process.

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32 episodes
Updated May 12, 2025

Episodes32

Newest first

Introducing: Hope, Through History Season 2
Welcome back to a new season of the C13Originals critically acclaimed Hope, Through History documentary limited series. Narrated and written by Pulitzer Prize Winning and Best Selling Historian, Jon Meacham, Season Two explores some of the most histori...
Jun 30, 2021 · 1 min
Colonel Sanders’ First Stand
During the Great Depression, a Kentucky businessman named Harlan Sanders started selling fried chicken out of the tiny kitchen inside his gas station. He launched a product that would become an American staple and make him a brand icon: Kentucky Fried ...
Apr 8, 2021 · 29 min
The Great Chocolatiers
With his iconic milk chocolate bar, Milton Hershey transformed an exotic luxury into an affordable indulgence for millions of Americans. Then he went to war with an upstart rival - Frank Mars, creator of legendary bars like the Milky Way, Snickers and ...
Apr 1, 2021 · 31 min
The Chips That Took Over the Snack World
In different corners of the country in the 1930s, ambitious entrepreneurs Charles Elmer Doolin and Herman Lay launched two products — Fritos corn chips and Lay’s potato chips — that would revolutionize the way Americans snack.
Mar 25, 2021 · 34 min
Frozen Flavored Icicles
In 1905, an 11-year-old boy named Frank Epperson left a stirring stick in a cup of soda out in the cold overnight. The next morning, he discovered the Popsicle, an icy treat enjoyed by millions today.
Mar 18, 2021 · 36 min
The 57 Varieties of Henry Heinz
After suffering through bankruptcy and imprisonment in his early 20s, a young entrepreneur named Henry Heinz made his own version of a popular sauce known as ketchup. His tasty brand would change Americans’ food preferences for generations.
Mar 11, 2021 · 29 min
For the Love of Pizza
In two different Midwestern cities, two pairs of Irish-American brothers turn a little-known Italian dish into the single most popular food in the world. The franchises they start will change their lives, along with the American diet - Pizza H...
Mar 4, 2021 · 31 min
Underneath the Golden Arches
Dick and Mac McDonald created a ground-breaking innovative restaurant in San Bernardino, California. But it took an ambitious salesman named Ray Kroc to turn McDonald’s into a fast food empire.
Feb 25, 2021 · 25 min
Cereal Part Two: The Poster Boy of Industrial Espionage
As Corn Flakes take over the world, brothers Will and John Harvey Kellogg do battle with a former patient-turned-rival, C.W. Post. Eventually, they go to war with each other. Part two of a two-part series.
Feb 18, 2021 · 32 min
Cereal Part One: The Brothers of Battle Creek
The first part of a two-part exploration of the two great American breakfast cereal dynasties, Kellogg’s and Post, and the eccentric sanitarium where they began. 
Feb 11, 2021 · 27 min
America’s Home Brew: The Addict and the Promoter Who Built Coca-Cola
The story of Coca-Cola is the tale of a chemical genius and morphine addict, John Pemberton, and a brilliant pharmacist-turned-promoter, Asa Candler, who transformed an obscure soda tonic into one of the most recognizable brands on the planet.
Feb 4, 2021 · 29 min
INTRODUCING: The Food that Built America
It takes bold visionaries risking everything to create some of the most recognizable brands on the planet. The Food That Built America, based on the hit documentary series from The HISTORY® Channel, tells the extraordinary true storie...
Jan 31, 2021 · 4 min

The Food That Built America

Introducing: Hope, Through History Season 2

Colonel Sanders’ First Stand

The Great Chocolatiers

The Chips That Took Over the Snack World

Frozen Flavored Icicles

The 57 Varieties of Henry Heinz

For the Love of Pizza

Underneath the Golden Arches

Cereal Part Two: The Poster Boy of Industrial Espionage

Cereal Part One: The Brothers of Battle Creek

America’s Home Brew: The Addict and the Promoter Who Built Coca-Cola

INTRODUCING: The Food that Built America