From the beginning, chocolate quality was a central issue for Baker’s. Even John Hannon, in 1777, advertised his product as pure along with a guarantee that “if the chocolate does not prove good, the money will be returned.” Walter Baker made the first strides to actively establish the quality of his products and to keep Baker’s reputation intact. In 1842, Baker’s began the practice of having any products that were “the worse for age” returned to the factory at the company’s expense. Walter Baker felt that if a customer's experience with his chocolate was bad, it would reflect poorly on the company, ultimately being “more injurious to me than its return.”

At the hands of one of Baker’s 19th-century presidents, maintaining quality even won over the chance to save a penny. This president (probably H. Clifford Gallagher) questioned whether or not a thin, final coating on their No. 1 Premium was really necessary and cost effective. After personally experimenting, he found the coating did not change the flavor of the chocolate and actually helped keep the product in good condition over time. He concluded that “although a great saving to the manufacturer might be made, I believe if this preparation were left off it would be a serious detriment to the good keeping qualities of the goods.”