August Oetker
Dr. August Oetker (January 6, 1862 – January 10, 1918) was born in Obernkirchen, Germany and died in Bielefeld, Germany. He invented baking powder, although Alfred Bird of England is also credited with inventing baking powder in 1843. In 1891, he bought the Aschoffsche pharmacy in Bielefeld and developed a baking agent, which was designed to ensure the success of the baking process.
From 1893, Oetker distributed his invention under the brand name Backin, thus laying the basis for the family-owned company, called Oetker-Gruppe. This company still uses the very same recipe to produce baking powder. On September 21, 1903, Oetker filed a patent for his Procedure for making long-lasting baking powder or ready-to-bake flour.
Due to successful marketing, Oetker's products sold quite well and soon the old pharmacy had turned into a successful company. In 1900, Oetker built his first manufacturing plant and by 1906 had sold 50 million packages of Backin.
Prior to Oetker, Justus von Liebig and his American student, Eben Horsford, had already discovered baking powder. However, Oetker targeted mainly private households with his products whereas Horsford targeted bakeries.
Later, Oetker's grandson Rudolf August Oetker took over the company.
Motto: "Ein heller Kopf nimmt stets Oetker." ("Bright minds always use Oetker.").
