Oscar Mayer
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| Subsidiary of Kraft Heinz | |
| Founded | 1883 |
| Founder | Oscar F. Mayer |
| Headquarters | Madison, Wisconsin, United States |
| Website | www |
The Oscar Mayer Company is an American meat and cold cut production company, owned by Kraft Heinz. It is known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham and Lunchables products.
German immigrant, Oscar F. Mayer (1859–1955), born in Kösingen, Germany, began working at a meat market in Detroit, Michigan, and later in Chicago, Illinois. In 1883, Oscar and his brother Gottfried, leased the Kolling Meat Market on the near-northside of Chicago. The Mayer brothers sold bratwurst, liverwurst, and weißwurst which was popular in the predominantly German neighborhoods around their Chicago meat market.
As the meat market's popularity grew, it expanded its storefront and participated in sponsoring local events including the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. By 1900, the company had 43 employees and Chicago-wide delivery service. In 1904, Oscar Mayer began branding its meats to capitalize on their popularity, beginning an industry-wide trend. Early company specialties were "Old World" sausages and Westphalian hams, soon followed by bacon and wieners. In 1906, Oscar Mayer & Co. was among the first to volunteer to join the newly created federal meat inspection program. In 1919, the company made its first major expansion, with the purchase of a processing plant in Madison, Wisconsin. The plant quickly proved to be a profitable, efficient operation and in 1919 Madison became the corporate headquarters.
For nearly a century, Oscar Mayer remained an independent company owned primarily by descendants of the Mayer brothers who started it. In 1981, Oscar Mayer stockholders elected to sell the company to General Foods. Four years later, Philip Morris acquired General Foods, and in 1989 merged General Foods with the newly acquired Kraft Foods Inc.
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