I Just Learned Why Quaker Oats Are Called That, And I Feel Hoodwinked

via Associated Press

There’s often a lot more to a brand’s name than first meets the eye.

For instance, the Toblerone and Marmite branding both hide visual references to their history in plain sight, while the name Bisto is actually an acronym.

Others, like Twix, Haribo, and Hovis are clever portmanteaus.

But what about Quaker Oats, the iconic porridge brand?

I’d always assumed the black-clad guy on the front of the box had some bearing to the brand ― but alas, like Mr. Kipling, he didn’t exist.

What?

Hey, don’t shoot the messenger ― I’m just parroting the information seen on Quaker Oats’ site.

The brand, which was first trademarked in 1877, “was registered with the U.S. Patent Office as “a figure of a man in ‘Quaker garb‘,” Quaker Oats’ site says.

“Both former owners, Henry Seymour and William Heston, claimed to have selected the Quaker name as a symbol of good quality and honest value,” they add.

Neither Henry Seymour nor William Heston were Quakers themselves.

Only later, in 1881, did the company buy the bankrupt Quaker mill in Raveena that the product would end up being processed in, “and its most important asset – the brand name Quaker”.

That’s right ― they picked the brand first, then found an old Quaker mill later to fit into their trademarked image.

By 1901, the company formerly known as American Cereal changed it to the Quaker Oats Company.

Er... anything else?

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Quaker Guy is known as “Larry” to insiders.

He’s had a lot of different looks over the years, somehow getting younger and slimmer in his most recent update (there’s a horrid-looking painting of Larry in some attic somewhere, I’m sure).

Some people think “Larry” is based on the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, who was a Quaker.

But PepsiCo, who now owns Quaker Oats, says that’s not true.

“His image is that of a man dressed in the Quaker garb, chosen because the Quaker faith projected the values of honesty, integrity, purity and strength,” their site reads.