Liquid seasoning, stock cubes, instant soups – Maggi, a success story that began over 150 years ago in the canton of Zurich, revolutionised eating habits worldwide.
When 23-year-old Julius Maggi inherited his father’s flour mill in 1869 in Kemptthal (canton of Zurich), the milling industry was in crisis. Industrialisation and the advent of steamships and railways meant that increasing amounts of cheap grain and corn were being imported to Switzerland. Forced to come up with something new, Maggi invented a range of instant soups made from protein-rich legumes. “Leguminose” was aimed at improving public nutrition and preventing malnourishment in the Swiss workforce. However, the newfangled artificial broths failed to catch on. The lower classes still preferred potatoes and ersatz coffee, while the middle classes turned up their noses at what they viewed as tasteless slop with a curious name.
The young man’s breakthrough came in 1886 with the invention of an umami-rich, plant-based liquid seasoning that immediately made the soups taste (and sell) much better. It would become world famous. Julius Maggi not only loved creating these and other products. “He also recognised the importance of marketing,” says historian Annatina Tam-Seifert, who has researched the origins of the Swiss food industry. “Customers were unable to touch or smell instant food products such as these, so packaging played an important role.” Maggi was pioneering in this regard. He designed the liquid seasoning’s iconic mini bottle with its yellow and red label himself. The design has barely changed ever since.
Maggi’s company was one of the first to set up its own advertising department, relying on new innovations such as posters, signs, bonus point schemes, collectable picture cards, and tastings. The boss also penned the slogans himself at first, before hiring the then unknown poet Frank Wedekind in 1886, who obliged with the necessary rhyming jingles. Here is an example in German: Das wissen selbst die Kinderlein: Mit Würze wird die Suppe fein. Darum holt das Gretchen munter, die Maggi-Flasche runter – which loosely translates as, “children know seasoning improves the soup, so Gretchen goes to fetch the Maggi bottle”. But the young bard quit the job after eight months because, as he wrote in a letter to his mother, he felt exploited. The collected original manuscripts of Wedekind’s ad copy are now kept at the Aargau Cantonal Library.
“Children know seasoning improves the soup, so Gretchen goes to fetch the Maggi bottle.”
Maggi was already influencing tastes back then. The liquid seasoning was soon to be found in cooking recipes, including the reference works of the iconic German cookbook author Henriette Davidis. However, the exact recipe for making Maggi remains a well-guarded company secret to this day. Its basic ingredients are vegetable protein, water, salt, and sugar. Flavourings and yeast extract are also used. No lovage is included, despite many people associating its taste with Maggi. This is why German speakers often refer to the herb as “Maggi-Kraut”.
Maggi has also been known to inspire artists. Joseph Beuys used a bottle of it for his 1972 artwork “Ich kenne kein Weekend” (I know no weekend), while painter Pablo Picasso immortalised the iconic Maggi stock cube in his 1912 “Paysage aux affiches” (Landscape with posters). Indeed, the stock cube also became a worldwide hit after being launched in 1908.
Julius Maggi not only had to make his instant food appeal to consumers, he also had to win over farmers who would supply him with his raw ingredients. “He found it difficult to find enough vegetables for his products in the vicinity,” Tam-Seifert explains. The farmers first had to be convinced of the benefits of new, mechanised growing methods. They were also sceptical of the food industry. In the end, Maggi decided to grow the ingredients himself. He bought out smallholders, whom he often then appointed to work at his rapidly growing factory in Kemptthal. With over 400 hectares of fields, Maggi went on to own more land than any other private individual in Switzerland at the beginning of the 20th century. His company, meanwhile, developed independent factories and distribution networks in Germany, Austria, Italy and France.
Julius Maggi died in 1912 aged 66, after which his firm was transformed into a holding company with branches in various countries. During the Second World War, the German subsidiary was the biggest food producer in the Third Reich and a major supplier to Hitler’s armies. Regarded as a “model National Socialist operation”, the factory in Singen also used forced labour.
Maggi has belonged to food group Nestlé since 1947, and Maggi liquid seasoning is now exported to 21 countries around the world. The company also has production plants in China, Poland, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Mexico.
Recommended reading (in German):
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Comments
Comments :
Vor zirka dreissig Jahren arbeitete ich in einer Kupfermine und Raffinerie in Nacozari de Garcia in den Bergen im Norden von Mexico. An meinem ersten Wochenende lud mich ein mexikanischer Mitarbeiter ein zum Nachtessen in einer kleinen Dorfbeiz. Das Essen war ganz anders als das übliche mexikanische im Westen Amerikas oder in Mexico City, ziemlich fad mit einer weissen Sauce über alles. Mein Mitarbeiter erklärte mir, dass dies typisch sei in der Gegend und fragte mich ob ich es gerne etwas schärfer möchte was ich bejahte. Er rufte dann den Kellner zum Tisch und flüsterte ihm etwas zu, und teilte mir mit, dass sie hier etwas ganz spezielles hätten das jedes Essen köstiger mache. Kurz darauf kam der Keller stolz zu unserem Tisch mit einem Fläschli Maggi.
Nos gustaría conseguirla en Argentina!! Podrá ser posible?
Lo puede pedir por Amazon!
Es ist notwendig, ihm für seinen Beitrag zur weltweiten Esskultur zu danken. Beeindruckende Erzählung.
Merci !
Article vraiment très intéressant et une "belle histoire industrielle". Il est souvent remarquable de constater que des concepts comme le marketing, les influenceurs et nombre d'autres mentionnés existaient déjà.
Ce qui change c'est qu'entre temps le marketing a été conceptualisé et il est devenu presque une science.
Merci pour l'effort.
Maggi reste un de mes condiments préférés et est à disposition lors de tous nos repas.
Au Canada très peu de gens utilisent les cubes Maggi compte tenu son contenu de MSG. On vous demande d'enlever l'MSG des cubes pour l'Afrique.
Ich habe als kleines Kind meine Mutter oft verärgert, weil ich einfach an ALLES auch noch hektoliterweise Maggi drauftat! Auch heute steht Maggi immer noch bei meinen Gewürzen und kommt regelmässig zum Einsatz - bin ich jetzt deswegen ein schlechter Koch?
Im ganzen Land der Dominikanischen Republik gibt es Maggi-Häuschen. Jeder kennt Maggi.
I grew up with Maggi Flaschen im Esschrank und Maggi Suppen mit einem Wienerli und Stück gesundes Schweizer Brot war ein lieblings Mallzeit. Auch jetzt in America ist eine Flasche Maggi immer zur Hand. Die Geschichte von Julius Maggi ist sehr Interessant und inspirierend das mit Wille, Verstand und Arbeit viel möglich ist.
Maggi ist beliebt auch be meinen Kindern und Gross Kinder. Habe eine grosse Flasche im Schrank damit ich ein kleines Flaeschli wieder fuellen kann.
I don't think that I ever made a salad, a soup or a stew without Maggi. I have always carried Maggi with me on my travels, if it was through the wet tropical rainforests of Papua New Guinea or the bush here in Australia. Maggi is still being sold in big bottles in many Asian grocery stores. Some of it is made in China and some in Germany. I can buy small bottles and the product originates either from Switzerland or Germany.
Das erinnert mich an das dicke, blaue Kochbuch, welches meine Grossmutter immer brauchte Wenn ich mich recht erinnere hiess es: Mit Gretchen in der Küche, oder so ähnlich! Ich brauche immer noch gewisse Rezepte draus.
Wusste nicht, dass "Maggikraut" nicht in der Würze ist...
Wirklich eine Erfolgsgeschichte im kommerziellen Sinn. Schade, dass der Artikel nicht darauf hinweist, dass die schmackhafte Maggiewürze heutzutage nicht unbedingt gesunde Zutaten enthält. Heute mehr denn je ist es wichtig, dass die Konsumenten darauf aufmerksam gemacht werden, was sie konsumieren. Der anfängliche Skeptizismus der Leute deutet meiner Meinung darauf hin, dass die Leute dazumal sahen, dass gesundes Essen nicht aus einer Flasche kommt, welche in einer Fabrik hergestellt wurde.
Unverträglich für mich! Immer wenn ich irgendwo essen gehen wo Maggi verwendet wird habe ich danach Magenbeschwerden. Bei den Knorr-Produkten nie. Komisch oder?
Ihr discomfort ist ziemlich das Resultat von dem Geschmacksverstärker (MSG). Ich brauch Maggi aus diesem Grund nicht mehr.
What a fantastic article! I have been the cook in our family since 1970 and I could not possible exist without Maggi Seasoning. Years ago we went through a period here in Brisbane when you couldn't get Maggi. Talking to a Swiss friend, a Chef, he suggested just using Soy sauce. It's just not the same. I was so glad when the famous bottle appeared once again on our supermarket shelves. These days, ours is made in China with the label saying: Maggi, Original Seasoning for an authentic Asian flavour. Luckily the flavour is still the same.
Toll, dass Ihr unsere Pioniere ausgiebig kommentiert. Ich freue mich jetzt schon, von Chevrolet zu erfahren.