The Food That Built America

In the 1950s, two enterprising brothers from Wichita, Kansas aim to build their restaurant, Pizza Hut, into a franchise empire by boldly introducing America to a little-known Italian dish: pizza.

In 1919, Milton Hershey is king of the chocolate business. But everything changes when, in a post-WWI sugar price drop, a rush of competitors spring up, including his former employee HB Reese.

In the 1950s, Ray Kroc franchises McDonald's nationwide, but right behind Kroc a wave of other entrepreneurs try to cash in on the fast food restaurant craze.

At the turn of the 20th century, James Kraft challenges thousands of years of cheese-making tradition and forever alters the dairy industry with his new cheese innovation.

In the 1970s, one major cola brand launches a blind taste test marketing plan that takes direct aim at their biggest competitor.

Herman Lay takes regional and small-time chips business to a national scale with his cutting-edge sales techniques and world-changing packaging technology.

Adolphus Green creates one of the most iconic cookie companies in history, and revolutionize packaging. But soon Green must turn to Milton Hershey for help.

When a chemist begins working at the Joseph A. Campbell preserve company, he invents a condensed soup that brings this rare luxury to the nation for the first time.

A short order chef invents the hamburger bun and engineers a new way of making a burger faster than ever before. Meanwhile, Nathan Handwerker invests his life savings into a hot dog stand.

Gilbert Swanson inherits his father's frozen turkey company and partners with a food chemist to innovate a revolutionary dinner that Americans can heat up at home.

A young boy accidentally discovers a frozen treat on a stick, and grows up to bring an endearing classic to the world. Plus, a candy store owner radically re-invents ice cream.

In the 1970s, Ray Kroc is far ahead of the competition. But when a burger chain claiming to be king poaches his third-highest ranking executive, Don Smith, it's war.

As C.E. Doolin and Herman Lay are out to prove the potential of the chips business in the 1950s, their success inspires one of the biggest companies in the world to enter the chip business.

When candy company president Charles Guth gets shafted by a Cola salesman, he decides to buy a bankrupt rival company and go to war with the supplier who wronged him and its new CEO.

William Wrigley stumbles upon a new product that will kickstart a revolution across industries, but not before sparking a life-long rivalry.

Dr. John Kellogg and his brother start a revolution in breakfast, while rival C.W. Post takes direct aim at an empire of his own. And the creation of an iconic food comes at a cost.