Dr. Oetker Stories
Always at home in the world – Part 1
Dr. Oetker is an international company, of course. But how long we have been active worldwide is perhaps less known.
25.8.2022 • History
At the beginning of the 20th century, Dr. Oetker products were already being exported to other countries. The starting signal for foreign production was given on February 4th in 1908, when the Baden plant near Vienna in Austria went into operation. Many more locations are to follow. In this article we review the development of our foreign business in the first decades.
Dr. Oetker was already exporting products abroad in the early 1900s.
In 1908, the first foreign production was set up in Austria. The photo dates from 1930.
Poster advertising for Austria from 1920. Dr. Oetker is a established player on the Austrian market.
First exports and a plant in Austria
At the beginning of the 20th century, Dr. Oetker grows rapidly, with consumer demand increasing many times over every year. Hundreds of millions of packets of powder products are sold by the end of the 1900s. So, it's clear that Dr. Oetker quickly sets its sights on foreign markets as well. Many of the neighbouring countries are supplied with products from Bielefeld. However, transport and customs costs reduced profits. This is one of the reasons why a branch office is set up in Aussig, Bohemia, in 1905. Costs are to be saved. In 1908, this operation moves to Baden near Vienna, where it is expanded with a fully functional production facility. The company is managed under licence by Gustav Hornberg, a Dr. Oetker employee from Bielefeld. The start of the First World War means that further expansion of the foreign business has to be halted.
European expansion during the interwar period
After the end of the war, Dr. Oetker can once again take care of the further development of foreign markets. New independent branches are now set up in quick succession to serve the markets directly. In 1919, for example, Dr. Oetker district representative Adolphe Ancel founds his company in Strasbourg and produces Dr. Oetker products. In Alsace-Lorraine and Luxembourg the products are marketed under the Dr. Oetker name. In the rest of France, however, they are henceforth marketed under the Ancel brand.
Poland is one of the oldest markets in which Dr. Oetker is active. The poster was used by an importer in Warsaw in 1908.
After the Great War, Dr. Oetker's third foreign production facility is set up in Gdansk.
In 1927, the Gdansk plant is further expanded.
Photographs from the Gdansk production in 1930. A wide variety of powder products are also produced here.
The packaging department of the Gdansk plant.
Flavourings are an incremental part of the polish assortment.
In 1921, a production facility is set up in Gdansk in present-day Poland, which successfully produces and distributes Dr. Oetker products and is still used by the company today. One of the next establishments is Budapest, the capital of Hungary. In 1924, the factory starts operations here. Other European foundations take place in Belgium (1929), Denmark (1929), the Netherlands (1931), Italy (1933) and Norway (1935). Due to the Second World War, however, some of the national companies were initially unable to survive and often had to be rebuilt decades later.
In 1924 the fourth foreign production plant starts ist operations. The site is Budapest, the capital of Hungary.
As in Germany, baking events are also held abroad. This demonstration takes place in Hungary in the 1930s.
Localized recipe books are produced as well in Hungary.
The Belgian branch opens in 1929. The classic Dr. Oetker range is also available here.
Dr. Oetker delivery vehicles on the streets of Brussels in the 1930s.
The danish plant, situated in Copenhagen. The photo was taken in 1932.
Dr. Oetker overseas
The European market is rapidly becoming a success story for Dr. Oetker. So it makes sense to try it "across the pond" too. In fact, an import base is set up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as early as 1928. In 1954 this is expanded into a national company. However, due to the long transport route, production was already being carried out under licence locally in 1928.
A shot from production in Brazil. Jello in particular is fast becoming a consumer favourite.
Dr. Oetker products are also available in the USA through importers. Here you can see a shop in New York City in 1932, which prominently displays Dr. Oetker products.
Dr. Oetker products also find their way to North America. In the USA and Canada, Backin, pudding powder or Jell-O are already available in shops in the 1930s. Today, our products are present in many countries worldwide, be it with a very long tradition in Brazil or, more recently, in South Korea.
Learn more about the history of Dr. Oetker.
For more information please contact:
Claus-Carsten Andresen
Media Spokesperson History & Archive