Junket Desserts is a dessert mix and rennet tablet brand with roots tracing to 1874, when Christian D. A. Hansen founded a laboratory in Denmark to produce rennet extract for cheesemaking. The brand’s household products, including rennet tablets, ice cream mixes, and Danish dessert mixes, have been sold under the Junket name since the late 19th century. The brand has been headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, since January 2019, when it became part of a family-owned business after decades under larger corporations. [1]
Design and History
The Junket wordmark has a long documented history as a registered trademark. The earliest known trademark registration for the Junket brand was filed by Johan D. Frederiksen, who opened the American branch of Chr. Hansen’s Laboratory in New York in 1878. A trademark registration document for “Junket” brand preparations for coagulating or curdling milk is held in the Library of Congress collection. [2]
A separate Junket trademark, registered on July 28, 1953, covers rennet preparations in powder, tablet, and liquid form for making rennet desserts. This registration was later owned by Redco Foods, Inc. [3]
Another Junket trademark registration, number 0544937, covers food colors, freezing mix for making ice cream, fudge and frosting mix, and Danish dessert and sherbet mix. This mark is currently owned by Junket Foods LLC. [4]
In November 2020, Junket Foods LLC filed a new trademark application for “JUNKET SINCE 1874,” which was registered in 2022. The USPTO record describes the mark as consisting of the stylized wording “JUNKET” over “SINCE 1874,” with the wording “SINCE 1874” appearing under the “KET.” [5] This mark covers ice cream mixes, fudge mixes, frosting mixes, Danish mixes, sherbet mixes, gelato mixes, and custard mixes. [6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The brand’s early visual identity included a character known as “Little Miss Junket,” who appeared on packaging and promotional materials offering servings of the dessert with the motto “Have Some Junket.” She represented the company for many years, including in souvenirs distributed at the St. Louis World’s Fair. [1]
Historic packaging from the mid-20th century shows a consistent color scheme. A Junket Rennet Tablets box from the Kentucky Historical Society collection is described as white with red and blue trim, with a label reading “‘JUNKET’ TRADE MARK Rennet Tablets.” [7] A similar box in the Chilliwack Museum collection is described as blue and white with red lettering. [8]
By 1963, when the brand was under Salada Foods ownership, promotional materials used a blue front panel with white and blue print, and the back panel carried both Salada and Junket logos. [9]
Typography and Design
The current registered trademark for “JUNKET SINCE 1874” is described in USPTO records as a stylized wordmark, with “JUNKET” appearing above “SINCE 1874.” The USPTO mark drawing code for this registration is not specified in available records, but the description confirms a stacked two-line layout. [5]
An earlier Junket trademark registration, number 0544937, is classified under USPTO mark drawing code 5S11, which indicates a drawing with words, letters, or numbers in stylized form. [4]
No designer or agency attribution for the Junket logo could be verified in available sources. The claim that the logo was designed by Appelbaum & Curtis in 1960 could not be confirmed through trademark records, the brand’s own history page, or other reliable documentation.
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