Dr. Oetker

COMPANY DR. AUGUST OETKER KG

BRAND VALUE: US$610 million

HEADQUARTERS Bielefeld

INDUSTRY Food and Dairy

YEAR FORMED 1891

Dr. Oetker is a range of food products with a focus on home baking that dates back to 1891, when the first product in the range – Backin baking powder – was launched. Backin is still available and the brand enjoys a reputation for consistency not just because many of its products have been around for so long, but also because the company has remained under the control of the Oetker family since it was founded by August Oetker in 1891. After World War II, the founder’s grandson, Rudolf-August Oetker, pushed for the expansion and diversification of the business, which has grown into a group with total sales in 2016 of €10.9 billion. The food division accounted for about a quarter of that, and Dr. Oetker is the leading German brand of frozen pizza, desserts and baking products, and its best-known drink product is Henkell sparkling wine. Dr. Oetker is now heavily focused on developing the brand in Asia and the Americas. A white head in the brand’s logo relates to their long-established slogan ““A clever head uses Dr. Oetker.” The broader company owns a stake in around 400 companies around the world. One of its largest divisions was its fleet of ships in

Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft (HSDG), however this was being sold to Danish shipping line Maersk in 2017.