[17] In 1974, Keebler was acquired by United Biscuits,[18] a British multinational food manufacturer, headquartered in West Drayton, Middlesex, England.

In 1995, United Biscuits announced plans to spin off the snack chip business,[20] but ended up selling the entire company to a partnership between Flowers Industries and Artal Luxembourg, a private equity firm.

[23] In 2000, the Keebler Company acquired a license to produce snacks based on the popular children's show Sesame Street.

[25] On April 1, 2019, Kellogg announced that it was selling Keebler cookies and other related brands to Ferrero SpA for $1.3 billion.

The acquisition is a part of Ferrero's strategy to buy brands which have been neglected within broader food companies' portfolios.

[29] The elves have appeared in countless television advertisements throughout the years (most of them animated at FilmFair), shown baking their unique products.

Leo Burnett Worldwide, an advertising agency, created the elves in 1968, calling the bakery "The Hollow Tree Factory.

[32] White-haired Ernie wears a green jacket, a white shirt with a yellow tie, a red vest, and floppy shoes.

[33] Other elves were Fryer Tuck (who promoted "Munch-ems"), Ernie's nephews Zoot and J.J. (known for Pizzarias Pizza Chips), Ernie's mother Ma Keebler, young Elmer Keebler, Buckets (who threw fudge on the cookies), Fast Eddie (who wrapped the products), Sam (the peanut butter baker), Roger (the jeweler), Doc (the doctor and cookie maker), Zack (the fudge shoppe supervisor), Flo (the accountant), Leonardo (the artist),[19] Elwood (who ran through the dough),[32] Professor, Edison, Larry and Art.