August Oetker was born 150 years ago

Company founder and pharmacist Dr August Oetker develops Germany’s first storable and tasteless baking powder in Bielefeld in 1891. “Backin” revolutionises baking thanks to its guarantee of perfect results and its high quality.

Dr August Oetker dies in 1918. In 1920 Dr Richard Kaselowsky, whom the widow of the founder’s son had married following the latter’s death in the First World War, takes over management of the company. Dr Kaselowsky continues the founder’s success, also expanding production and distribution outside Germany: sister companies are established in France, Poland, Belgium, Denmark and Italy.

After the death of his second father, Dr Kaselowsky, the founder’s grandson, Rudolf-August Oetker, takes over the running of the company. He starts to rebuild it very soon after the Second World War. New markets are opened up in the food sector, more ranges launched. In 1970 Dr. Oetker puts the first frozen pizza on the German market.
The post-war years see the formation of the Oetker Group with six different
business divisions.

In 1981 Dr hc August Oetker, great-grandson of the founder, joins the company.
New business fields, such as the muesli market, are successfully developed for the
Dr. Oetker brand. At the same time, in the 1980s, a start is made on organising the product range, which has experienced strong growth, and integrating it under the overall management of Dr. August Oetker Nahrungsmittel KG. The company focuses on core competencies and further expands the internationalisation of the food business.

Since the beginning of 2010, Richard Oetker, the younger brother of Dr hc August Oetker, has been general partner of Dr. August Oetker KG (the Oetker Group’s holding company) and chairman of the executive board of Dr. Oetker GmbH. He continues to pursue the owner family’s path of entrepreneurial success. Richard Oetker had previously worked successfully in the Oetker Group and, from 1996 to 2009, was a member of the executive board of Dr. August Oetker GmbH. His successes include, in particular, building up the eastern European markets since the mid-1990s. Richard Oetker is further elaborating the focus on core ranges and strengthening the company’s international alignment.