Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. Quaker Oats was founded in 1901 by the merger of four oat mills:
- The Quaker Mill Company of Ravenna, Ohio, which held the trademark on the Quaker name;[1]
- A cereal mill in Cedar Rapids, Iowa owned by John Stuart, his son Robert Stuart, and their partner George Douglas;
- The German Mills American Oatmeal Company, owned by "The Oatmeal King", Ferdinand Schumacher of Akron, Ohio, of the Quaker Oat Company on [2]
- The Rob Lewis & Co. American Oats and Barley Oatmeal Corporation. Formally known as "Good For Breakfast" instant oatmeal mix.
The company expanded into numerous areas, including other breakfast cereals and other food and drink products, and even into non-related fields such as toys. In August 2001, Quaker merged with PepsiCo.
Modern history
In 1969, Quaker acquired Fisher-Price, a toy company and spun it off in 1991.
In the 1970s, the company financed the making of the film
In August 2001, Quaker merged with PepsiCo, who primarily wanted the company for its Gatorade brand of sports drink. The merger created the fourth-largest consumer goods company in the world. Though the main prize of PepsiCo was Gatorade noncarbonated sports drink, Quaker's cereal and snack food division serves as healthy complements to the existing Frito-Lay salty-snacks division.
Since the late 1980s, actor Wilford Brimley has appeared in television commercials extolling the virtues of oat consumption, typically to a young child, as to introduce the concept of oatmeal consumption as a long tradition.
History In Canada
The major Canadian production facility for Quaker Oats is located in Peterborough, Ontario. The factory was first established as the American Cereal Company in 1902 on the shores of the Otonabee River during that city's period of industrialization. In 1916, the factory all but completely burned to the ground. When the smoke had settled, 23 people had died and Quaker was left with $2,000,000 in damages. Quaker went on to rebuild the facility incorporating the few areas of the structure that were not destroyed by fire, creating what is today still the most visibly recognizable industrial facility in Peterborough. When PepsiCo purchased Quaker Oats in 2001, many brands were consolidated from facilities around Canada to the Peterborough location - which assumed the new QTG moniker (Quaker Tropicana Gatorade). Local production includes Quaker Oatmeal, Quaker Chewy bars, Cap'n Crunch cereal, Aunt Jemima instant pancake mixes and pancake syrups, Quaker Oat Bran and Corn Bran cereals, Gatorade sportdrinks and the Propel fitness water sub-brand, Tropicana juices, and various Frito-Lay snack products. Products are easily identified by the manufactured by address on the packaging. The Peterborough facility exports to the majority of Canada and limited portions of the United States. The Quaker plant sells cereal production byproducts to innovative companies that use them to create fire logs and pellets.
Controversy
In the 1950s, researchers from Quaker Oats Company, MIT and Harvard University carried out experiments to determine how the nutrients from cereals travelled through the body. Parents of mentally challenged children were asked for permission to let their children be members of a Science Club at their school. States, such as Massachusetts, also volunteered children who were wards of the state for the program. One well-known school that did these experiments was Walter E. Fernald State School. Being a member of the Science Club gave the children special privileges. The parents were told that the children would be fed with a diet high in nutrients. They were not, however, told (and the consent form contained no information indicating) that the food their children were fed was laced with radioactive calcium and iron. The information obtained from the experiments was to be used as part of an advertising campaign. The company was later sued because of the experiments. The lawsuit was settled on December 31, 1997, as chronicled in the book The State Boy's Rebellion by Michael D'Antonio.
Logo & Quakers
The monochromatic 1971 Quaker Oats Company Logo opposite was created by Saul Bass, a graphic designer known for his motion picture title sequences and corporate logos.
The current logo was painted by Haddon Sundblom in 1957. There is a common
misconception that the smiling person featured is
The "Quaker man" or "Q.O.G." is not an actual person. His image is that of a man dressed in the Quaker garb, chosen because the
Quaker faith projected the values of honesty, [and] integrity
Contrary to popular belief, the company has no ties with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). When the company was being built up, Quaker businesspeople were indeed known for their honesty (Truth is often considered a Quaker Testimony). The Straight Dope tells us that
"According to the good folks at Quaker Oats, the Quaker Man was America's first registered trademark for a breakfast cereal, his registration taking place on September 4th, 1877. "The name was chosen when Quaker Mill partner Henry Seymour found an encyclopedia article on Quakers and decided that the qualities described -- integrity, honesty, purity -- provided an appropriate identity for his company's oat product."
This is why the company continued to link themselves with Quakers. H2g2 tells that part of the company began trading with the name Quaker Mill because of a link with Pennsylvania - 'the Quaker State', however the Mill was based in Ohio and no such link has been revealed.[5]
In the 1900's, when the company was formed, Quakers did wear clothes similar to those shown in the picture. This was because of their testimony to simplicity - they did not want to show off their wealth with expensive clothing. Nowadays Quakers do not tend to dress at all like the one depicted - they might instead express the testimony by avoiding clothing with brand names advertised, but there is no specific protocol.
Some Quakers are uncomfortable about the company's use of their name, as the Quaker Oats brand is, in general, better known than the Society of Friends. This leads to confusion, with many members of the public assuming that Quakers have a link with oats, or dress as shown on the company's logo. In addition, it could be argued that the company's use of the Quaker name is dishonest because of the lack of any real link with Quakerism; if Quakers were involved they would probably follow their testimonies by pushing for fairer trading and ethical checks.
Trivia
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under
Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- In the animated TV show Rugrats, the character Chuckie Finster is afraid of the Quaker Oats man, referred to in the show as "the guy on the oatmeal box".
- On Night Court, Dan Fielding is surprised during his parent's visit when he realizes his prized toy drum was actually a round Quaker Oats box.
US Brands
As of 2005, these are the product brands marketed under the Quaker Oats name in the
Breakfast cereals
- Cap'n Crunch
- Life cereal
- Quisp
- Mother's Natural Foods
- Quaker 100% Natural Granola
- Kretschmer Wheat Germ
- Muffets ("The round shredded wheat")
- Quaker Oatmeal Squares
- Quaker Toasted Oatmeal
- Quaker Oh's
- King Vitaman
- Sugar Puffs
- Quaker Corn Bran
- Quaker Oat Bran
Other breakfast foods
- Quaker Oatmeal
- Quaker Oatmeal To Go (re-branded from Breakfast Squares in 2006)
- Quaker Grits
- Aunt Jemima
- Quaker Breakfast Cookies
- Instant Quaker Oatmeal
Snacks
- Quaker Rice Cakes (known as Snack-a-Jacks in the UK)
- Quakes Rice Snacks
- Quaker Soy Crisps
- Quaker Snack Bars
- Chewy Granola Bars
Mixes
- Quaker Tortilla Mix
- Rice-A-Roni
- Pasta Roni
- Near East
Drinks
- Milk Chillers
UK Brands
As of 2006, these are the product brands marketed under the Quaker Oats name in the UK[6]:
Hot Cereals
- Quaker Oats
- Oatso Simple (various flavours)
- Scott's Porage Oats
- Scott's So Easy
(the Scott's brand, previously a rival, is now also owned by Quaker)
Ready to Eat Cereal
- Sugar Puffs - Since sold off
- Harvest Crunch
Cereal Bars
- Oat Bars (Original with golden syrup or Mixed berry flavours)
Chewy Bars
- Toffee
- Milk Choc Chip
- White Choc Chip
References
- ^ Adams, Cecil. The Strait Dope Mailbag - Is the guy on the Quaker Oats Box John Penn?. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ the company website (www.quakeroats.com). Accessed 28 July 2006.
- ^ Quaker Oatmeal -Frequently Asked Questions. The Quaker Oats Company. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ Adams, Cecil. The Strait Dope Mailbag - Is the guy on the Quaker Oats Box John Penn?. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ BBC - h2g2 - The Religious Society of Friends - The Quakers in Britain. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ Official UK web site Accessed 10 August 2006
- D'Antonio, Michael. The State Boys Rebellion. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
