Swiss Review / February 2022 / No.1 ment, 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 inGerman: Das wissen THEODORA PETER 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 1886with 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 historianAnnatina 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 iconicmini bottlewith its yellowand red label himself. The design has barely changed ever since. Advertising slogans written by a poet Maggi’s company was one of the first to set up its own advertising departHow Julius Maggi took kitchens by storm 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. Economy 10 Still an iconic design – Maggi isn’t Maggi without the bottle. Photo: Archives Historiques Nestlé, Vevey
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