Dr. Oetker

Formation

The company was founded by August Oetker in 1891. The first product developed was Backin, a measured amount of baking powder that, when mixed with 500 grams (18 oz) of flour and other ingredients, produced a cake.

First World War

Oetker's son Rudolf and his wife Ida had two children, Rudolf-August and Ursula. The senior Rudolf was later killed in the First World War. His widow Ida remarried Richard Kaselowsky, and they had four more children with Kaselowsky raising Rudolf-August and Ursula as his own. Kaselowsky became the manager of the company from 1920 to his death.

Second World War

During the 1930s and 1940s, Rudolf August Oetker was an active member of the Waffen-SS of the Third Reich. The company supported the war effort by providing pudding mixes and munitions to German troops. The business used slave labour in some of its facilities. A bronze bust of Richard Kaselowsky still sits within the company headquarters in Bielefeld. Kaselowsky was killed during an air raid on Bielefeld in 1944. The Oetker family is among those that have profited most from their close relations to the Nazi regime.

International expansion

Rudolf August Oetker, the grandson of August Oetker, led the company between 1944 and 1981 when it achieved its highest growth. The Oetker family's private bank also employed as a director Rudolf von Ribbentrop (1921–2019), son of Joachim von Ribbentrop and Anna Elisabeth Henkell of the Wiesbaden wine family and, like Oetker, a wartime Waffen SS officer. The company expanded its presence internationally, acquiring many companies around the world. When Rudolf Oetker stepped down from his leadership position, the fourth generation of the Oetker family took over from him. The family ownership established a management principle that prioritized the company's interests over those of the family.".

August Oetker, the great-grandson of the founder, led the company from 1981 until 2010. Under his tenure, it expanded further in all areas, including shipping, food, and brewing.

Richard Oetker, August Oetker's brother, took over as CEO in 2010.

Portfolio

The portfolio includes more than 300 individual companies in five different businesses, among them food (including Dr. Oetker GmbH and Coppenrath & Wiese KG), breweries (Radeberger Group), sparkling wine and spirits (Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei), banking (Bankhaus Lampe), and "further interests" (among them chemicals, financing, and a number of high-class hotels in Europe).

Exit from the Russian market

On 8 April 2022, Dr. Oetker Group issued a press release in which it officially announced its complete withdrawal from the Russian market. The company stated that it was suspending all investment and marketing activities due to Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. Also, Dr. Oetker is selling all shares and rights to a new plant that was built in Belgorod, Russia, shortly before the war started to Russian managing directors. "Dr. Oetker strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine and calls on the Russian government to immediately end the war and restore peace." the company said in a statement.