boite de collection Ovomaltine

Ovaltine, Switzerland, 1865.

Evolution of the packaging of the box from 1904 to the present day

 

 

 

 

Story

1865: the beginnings

It all started in 1865 in a laboratory in the old town of Bern. Dr. Georg Wander, chemist, is looking for a way to fight against malnutrition, a widespread phenomenon at the time.

As a basis for his research work, he chooses a natural product that has been used as a remedy for more than 2000 years and is made from sprouted barley seeds: malt.

Georg Wander is the first to succeed in preserving malt wort using a specific vacuum process. He thus developed a malt extract that has become, over the decades, an often vital fortifier for many young children and sick people.

 

 

1897: father and son

Georg Wander died in 1897. At the turn of the century, his son Albert, also a chemist and pharmacist, continued to develop his father's fortifying food by refining its taste and enriching it with other natural energy components.

His brilliant idea is, even today, the basis of the famous Ovo recipe: barley, which germinates in the ground and ripens in the sun, as the raw material for malt, the egg which symbolizes fertility, milk, the first complete food for young children and a little cocoa, to perfect the taste.

 

 

1904: medical preparation

Ovaltine appears on the market in 1904. This is where the official story of Ovaltine begins. When launched, Ovo is still sold as a medical preparation. However, active and healthy people quickly discover the fortifying effect of this revolutionary drink. Athletes particularly appreciate Ovo as a tasty snack.

 

 

Ovaltine tin on sale at The Vintage Tin Box Company
For sale at The Vintage Tin Box Company

 

Source: www.ovomaltine.ch

 

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