Did you know that we have had someone very special working behind the scenes for over 50 years to bring you high quality bread and rolls and help to make Martin’s bakery a fun place to work? She not only enhances both our product packaging and transportation vehicles, but she also makes her appearance at various corporate events and often pops up in person or on social media to say “hi!”
No, she’s not an employee… She’s our mascot, Frannie!
She’s gone by different names over the years, but she’s probably most well known as “the little girl on Martin’s packaging.” And although Frannie has been around for quite some time, we wanted to take this opportunity to officially introduce you to this important member of the Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls & Bread team!
Keep reading to explore a historical timeline of Martin’s mascot over the years, along with special behind-the-scenes pictures!
1968 – Martin’s Family Restaurant
From the years of 1968 through 1986, the Martin family owned a small restaurant, out of which the bakery was run before moving to our current headquarters on 1000 Potato Roll Lane. Around 1971, a large red roof was added to the top of the restaurant, decorated with Martin’s logo and…you guessed it…Frannie. You can also find her on the pages of the restaurant’s menu!
Fun Fact: This original design of Frannie came from a hand-drawn sketch by Martin’s co-founder, Lloyd Martin.
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1970s – Martin’s Packaging
Frannie’s picture graces the packaging of several of Martin’s products—Dinner, Party, Slider, and Hoagie Rolls—where she has remained more or less unchanged since the 1970s when our products first started being sold in farmer’s markets and local grocery stores in Pennsylvania.
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1980s – Transport Vehicles
You can also find Frannie on our fleet of transportation vehicles, such as our light blue step vans which include various food photography and Frannie’s “It’s the Fun Bakery” logo towards the very front.
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1999-2021 – Martin’s Company Picnic
Every three years, Martin’s hosts a large company picnic that is almost like a carnival. Frannie has been known to make an appearance in various fashions, including live and in person (wearing a custom costume), as a photo cutout backdrop, and even as part of the event logo!
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Frannie & Gilbert
You may have noticed in some of the picnic photos that Frannie often appeared alongside another mascot—a young boy wearing a red hat and a striped shirt. This was her friend, Gilbert—the former mascot for Gibble’s Potato Chips, which Martin’s used to sell prior to .
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2019 – Miscellaneous Uses
Occasionally, Frannie has taken on other designs and unique styles to accommodate special use cases. In 2019, she got a temporary new look—as a cartoon-style character in a bright blue dress—to present a special Poetry Contest for school-aged children. Later that same year, she graced one of the pages of our limited-edition coloring book!
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2024 – Social Media and Beyond
Today, Frannie can still be found on our packaging and transportation vehicles, but she has also made her way online through the use of social media! You’ll find her popping up now and then on Martin’s Facebook and Instagram posts to say “hello” or to introduce new initiatives such as holidays, promotions, or new sweepstakes campaigns.
This year, we also have a new Frannie mascot costume. This means that Frannie gets the chance to walk around the Martin’s corporate office in person, spreading fun and cheer! She even made her official public debut at the Chambersburg New Year’s Eve Martin’s Potato Roll Drop where she interacted with fans from the local community!
Bonus: Watch until the end of our new Sweet Rolls commercial to see a special animation of Frannie!
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Video: Frannie Around the Office
Check out this special video of our new Frannie mascot in action!
Frannie Through the Years
As you can see by the above photos, Frannie has had many different looks since her inception more than 50 years ago. The original logo drawn by Lloyd Martin in 1971, which first appeared on the Martin Family Restaurant’s roof and menu, depicted a young girl with black hair in pigtails and red bows wearing a red, flower-patterned dress. She is seen holding a fork, as if she were sitting down to enjoy a nice meal.
Some number of years later, the logo was converted into a vector-style graphic using computer software. In the earliest version, Frannie is all in red and she is wearing a PA Dutch-style hat (paying homage to her heritage). The fork in her hand is now accompanied by a freshly baked donut, a subtle nod to one of the company’s original offerings, back when it sold a selection of pastries in addition to bread and rolls.
Eventually, the fork and donut were removed from Frannie’s hand and she was converted to a two-color logo in Martin’s signature colors of red and yellow. This is the most commonly used, classic version of the logo, and can frequently be seen encircled by Frannie’s favorite saying, “It’s the Fun Bakery.”
In the early to mid-2000s, Frannie adopted a temporary new look with the help of new computer software and technology. In these versions, her hair is now brown with enhanced texture and detail, she has blue eyes and red hairbows, and her dress is now a red-to-yellow gradient color with a white collar and the Martin’s tulip border (seen on our packaging) along the bottom edge. She once again is holding a donut on a stick, and she is also shown in full with her legs and feet visible, wearing classic Mary Jane style shoes.
Note: This version of Frannie is what inspired our first mascot costume and picnic logos, shown above.
The current rendition of Frannie (just recently redesigned within the past year) takes her back to basics, but adds a little extra refinement. She is now a three-color logo with red hair and outlines, yellow hairbows, a white hat, a yellow dress with red flowers and an M-shaped collar, and a light beige skin tone. She has additional detail on her face, including eyebrows, a nose, and blushed cheeks, and her hands were redrawn to show a more well-defined shape.
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Frannie’s Custom Styles
In addition to the classic styles of Frannie shown above, she has also adopted other limited-time looks for special occasions. For example, at the 2021 company picnic, she is seen in her retro gradient dress with a reddish-orange hat, sunglasses, a suitcase, and a passport, to illustrate the “Around the World” theme of the event.
Looking ahead, you can be sure to see Frannie in a variety of other outfits and accessories to fit the occasion and season. In January, she helped to introduce our “It’s All About the Bun” theme for the upcoming year, and you’ll see her soon for two upcoming campaigns: Martin’s Mania (coming March 2024) and Summer Fun Season (May-July 2024)!
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Infographic: The History of Frannie
We hope you enjoyed this in-depth look at our beloved mascot, Frannie!
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