Oscar Mayer is an American

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and

cold cut Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in ...

producer known for its

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

History

Early years

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrant

Oscar F. Mayer Oscar Ferdinand Mayer (March 29, 1859 – March 11, 1955) was a German American who founded the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer that bears his name. Early life and career Mayer was born in Kösingen (now part of Neresheim), in the Kingdom of ...

(1859–1955), born in Kösingen, Germany, began working at a meat market in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and later in

. In 1883, Mayer and his brother Gottfried leased the Kolling Meat Market on the near-northside of Chicago. The Mayer brothers sold

bratwurst ''Bratwurst'' () is a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal. The name is derived from the Old High German , from , finely chopped meat, and , sausage, although in modern German it is often associated with the ver ...

liverwurst Liverwurst, leberwurst, or liver sausage is a kind of sausage made from liver (food), liver. It is eaten throughout Europe, as well as North and South America, notably in Argentina and Chile. Some liverwurst varieties are spreadable. Liverwurst ...

, and weißwurst, which were 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 The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ce ...

. 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 ham Westphalian ham ( German: ''Westfälischer Schinken'') is a ham that was originally produced from acorn-fed pigs raised in the forests of Westphalia, Germany. The resulting meat is dry cured and then smoked over a mixture of beechwood and ju ...

s, soon followed by bacon and wieners. In 1906, Oscar Mayer & Co. volunteered to join the newly created federal

meat inspection Meat inspection is a crucial part of food safety measures and encompasses all measures directed towards the prevention of raw and processed meat spoilage. Relevant regulations include: * Federal Meat Inspection Act * Wholesome Meat Act Thes ...

program. In 1919, the company made its first major expansion, with the purchase of a processing plant in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. The plant was a profitable, efficient operation, and in 1957 Madison became the corporate headquarters.

Kraft ownership

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 General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by C. W. Post, Charles William (C. W.) Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, a ...

. Four years later, Philip Morris acquired General Foods, and in 1989 merged General Foods with the newly acquired

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

transforming it into Kraft General foods. Shares of Kraft Foods were first offered to the public via an initial public offering in 2001.

Altria Group Altria Group, Inc. (previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc. until 2003) is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and medical products in the treatment of illnesses c ...

(formerly Philip Morris) spun-off remaining shares of Kraft Foods to Altria shareholders in 2007. On November 4, 2015, owner Kraft Heinz announced it would move the Oscar Mayer headquarters and the company's U.S. meats business from Madison back to Chicago. The company also announced plans to consolidate its production facilities during the two following years, resulting in the shutdown of seven North American manufacturing facilities:

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

San Leandro, California San Leandro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Leander of Seville, St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland, California, Oakland to the northwe ...

Federalsburg, Maryland Federalsburg is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,739 at the 2010 United States Census. It has one high school, Colonel Richardson High School. History According to a contemporary source, the town was na ...

, St. Marys, Ontario,

Campbell, New York Campbell is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Steuben County, New York, Steuben County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,163 at the 2020 census. The name is from Robert Campbell, an early landowne ...

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

, Pennsylvania, and Madison. In August 2017,''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'' reported that the company planned to spend $10 million to reinvent the hot dog for a more health-conscious consumer.

Oscar Mayer had several

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically us ...

on TV involving young children, including the Oscar Mayer Wiener ad in 1963. The

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

shows a young girl leading a group of children, singing about what they would get if they "were an Oscar Mayer wiener". It was written by Richard D. Trentlage. A 1973 TV commercial featured four-year-old Andy Lambros holding a fishing rod and sandwich while singing, "My bologna has a first name, it's 'O-S-C-A-R'...". It became one of the longest-running TV commercials in the country. Oscar Mayer is known for its

Wienermobile A fleet of brandmobiles shaped like a hot dog on a Hot dog bun, bun, called "Wienermobiles", are used to marketing, promote and advertising, advertise Oscar Mayer products in the United States. The first Wienermobile was created by Oscar Mayer's ...

, which has toured the United States for over 80 years. The first Wienermobile was created in 1936. On May 14, 2023, it was announced that the Wienermobile would be renamed the Frankmobile; four months later, this unpopular name change was reversed. In 2019, Oscar Mayer started sponsoring Ryan Newman in the

NASCAR cup series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

in the number 6 Roush Fenway Racing car. It later announced a two-year extension to the agreement. On May 23, 2025,

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

and Oscar Mayer hosted the Wienie 500, a race between six Wienermobiles.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oscar Mayer Meat companies of the United States Brand name hot dogs Brand name meats Ham producers Sausage companies of the United States Food and drink companies based in Chicago Manufacturing companies based in Chicago American companies established in 1883 Food and drink companies established in 1883 Kraft Foods brands 1883 establishments in Illinois 1981 mergers and acquisitions General Foods

History

Early years

Kraft ownership

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References

External links