Archway Cookies. Archway Cookies is an American cookie manufacturer, founded in 1936 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Since December 2008, it has been a subsidiary of Lance Inc., a snack-food company, who in turn merged with Snyder's of Hanover to form Snyder's-Lance. Archway is best known for its variations of oatmeal cookies.
In October 1998 Archway was sold to Specialty Foods Corporation of Deerfield, Illinois, in a deal reportedly worth close to $100 million. Archway joined the Oakland, California-based Mother's Cake & Cookie Co. in the Specialty Foods portfolio, making Specialty Foods the third largest cookie baker in the United States.
In 1954 the Swansons changed the brand and company names to Archway Cookies, as the name Swanson was already recognized nationally in association with a popular brand of frozen dinners. Growth continued throughout the 1950s.
By the late 1990s only four franchise bakers were left, with two company-owned bakeries supplying the bulk of the country. In 1998 Archway was purchased by Specialty Foods Corporation, which also owned California-based Mother's Cake & Cookie. The combined companies made Specialty Foods the number-three cookie maker in the country.