The Beginnings of an Alchemy

In 1877 a small mill called Quaker Mill Company was a producer of milled oats. Oats were a commodity and had always been a bulk purchase.   No one was selling oats in less quantities.  Then Quaker Oats had, what was at the time, a brilliant idea. They devised a tube-shaped package that could fit on a pantry shelf. What’s more, Quaker Oats also created something else that no one had ever done before. They created a label that has remained relatively the same for over 100 years. It was the emblematic Quaker Man that stood for wholesomeness, honesty, simplicity and integrity.  They unknowingly created what’s known today as brand identity

Soon Quaker Oats was nearly every cupboard in America.

A major long-standing alchemic ingredient of the Quaker Oats chemistry was how the brand mirrored back qualities that Americans either saw or wanted to see in themselves. But even more importantly, Quaker Oats was consistently authentic and lived up what it said about itself.

Finding Oatmeal Love

Quaker Oats endeared themselves by creating an easier way to cook Instant Oatmeal by packaging it in individual pouches.  Now people could take Quaker Oats with them and include it in their daily lives. Next Quaker Oats realized people loved to add additional ingredients to their oatmeal. So, they began making their instant oatmeal with the favorite things that people liked to add.  Then, with the emergence of the microwave came a unique opportunity to further cement their bond with American.  It was through this series of planned and unplanned events that Quaker Oats became a quintessential American breakfast.

Repurposing Creates Alchemy

The Quaker Oats man had become one of the most recognized brand image in the country.  But more importantly, Quaker Oats had developed an alchemy with Americans.  However, while 7 out of 10 people were eating 10 or more portions of Quaker Oats a week, the slew of new breakfast foods was changing the breakfast food landscape.   Quaker Oats wanted to make sure it maintained its alchemy in the face of these new challenges. But how?

Because of the pandemic, people were cooking at home.  As the pandemic wore on, and monotony set in, they began creating ways change the humdrum.  People were fascinated by cooking shows and their creative combinations fueled creativity in the kitchen and the popularity of cooking shows skyrocketed.   Quaker Oats and the kitchen share a strong association with comfort, security, and family.  Which make Quaker Oats a prime candidate for creativity and invention.

Through qualitative research, Quaker Oats discovered this repurposing of their product. They saw the many different ways in which people were preparing and using Quaker Oats. People were discovering and inventing recipes using Quaker for lunch, snacks, appetizers, desserts and dinners.   Not only that,  they were sharing their recipes through social media on an extraordinarily mass scale. All Quaker Oats had to do was give people free rein with their brand and cheer them on.

With the wind of alchemy at its back, Quaker Oats harnessed the momentum with a highly successful campaign. It was a brilliant move that handed ownership of Quaker Oats to people across the country.

The “Bring Your Best Bowl” campaign consisted of a contest for people to enter their creations with a total of $250,000 awarded to the top three winners. In addition, the winning recipes would be packaged and sold in stores across the U.S. The “Bring Your Best Bowl” campaign became a hugely successful platform for people to discover and share their recipes.  The beauty of this campaign was that it interacted with a massive swath of the population from all walks of life and cultures.  The submissions poured in and ultimately Quaker Oats received xxxx,oooo entries.

Magic Comes From People

Quaker Oats realized they could ride on their alchemy with people forever.  Maintaining an alchemy requires remaining aware of how people are repurposing and how it coincides with cultural shifts.  The key concept that was not lost on Quaker Oats is “repurposing”. They understood that culture can’t be chased, but that people change how they used them through the influence of change.  Which is easier?  Inventing an idea or people inventing it for you?  The former is a guess, the latter is a sure thing.

Alchemy was created by letting people steer.  It gives people ownership of what is being created.  When people experience the magic of creating something, that magic belongs to them.  And when that happens, it’s nearly impossible to let it go.