He started the cereals turnaround in 1854 with a hand grains grinder in the back area of his not so large store, which produced 20 180-Ib barrels of oatmeal daily with a water-powered stone mill. His plan was to introduce steel-cut oats to the American diet at a time when oats were considered inappropriate for anything but horses.
His German Mills American Oatmeal Company was the nation’s foremost profit-oriented gruel producer. Sales were brisk, particularly to cities with large immigrant populations so Schumacher opened additional mills to meet the increasing demand in 1883.
In 1877, Schumacher embraced the Quaker sign the foremost recorded brand for a morning meal breakfast food.
In 1878 Schumacher imported porcelain rollers from England to manufacture rolled oats.
In the early of 1860s, during the Civil War, the government found oats to be relatively inexpensive, accessible and nourishing and ordered hundreds of barrels from him to fortify the Union troops.
When the war ceased in 1865, oats were becoming an increasingly familiar commodity on American breakfast tables. German Mills American Oatmeal Company would later merge several times with other companies, with the result being the Quaker Oats Company.
German Mills American Oatmeal Company
