Fred Walker (entrepreneur)
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n businessman and founder of Fred Walker & Co. The company is best known for creating Vegemite
Vegemite
Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
, a food paste and Australian cultural icon
Cultural icon
A cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group...
.
Walker was born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and won a scholarship to attend Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield began admitting girls exactly one hundred years later...
. He worked in the food import and export industry, and founded Fred Walker & Co in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1903. He served in the Australian Military Forces
Australian Military Forces
The Australian Military Forces was the official name of the Army of Australia from 1916 to 1980. This encompassed both the "regular army", and the forces, variously known during this period as the Militia, the Citizen Military Forces and the Australian Citizen Military Force .Initially this...
from 1908 to 1918, before returning to his business. The company began manufacturing canned foods and bonox
Bonox
Bonox is a beef extract. It is primarily a drink but can also be used as stock in cooking. It was invented by Camron Thomas for the Kraft Foods in 1918, and entered large scale production the following year. It is still produced by Kraft.-External links:*...
, a beef extract product still produced today, and grew to operate around Australia and in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
In 1923, Walker hired chemist Cyril P. Callister
Cyril P. Callister
Cyril Percy Callister was an Australian chemist and food technologist. He is credited with the invention of Vegemite.-Early life:...
to develop a yeast extract
Yeast extract
Yeast extract is the common name for various forms of processed yeast products made by extracting the cell contents ; they are used as food additives or flavourings, or as nutrients for bacterial culture media. They are often used to create savory flavors and umami taste sensations. Monosodium...
product that he believed could become successful. Vegemite
Vegemite
Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
was first sold in 1924http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2144031 after Walker's daughter Sheila selected the winning entry from a public competition to name the product. After poor sales performance, Walker changed the product's name to Marmite and Parwill before returning to Vegemite. In 1935, customers were given a free jar of Vegemite with every Fred Walker & Co product purchased, and the popularity of the spread grew steadily after this promotion.
Walker began a partnership with American businessman James L. Kraft
James L. Kraft
James Lewis Kraft was a Canadian-American entrepreneur and inventor. Born near Stevensville, Ontario in Canada to Mennonite parents, George and Minerva Tripp Kraft, he was the first to patent processed cheese...
to manufacture processed cheese in 1925, and by 1930 was chairman of Kraft Walker Cheese Co, a separate company from Fred Walker & Co but managed by the same staff. He was also successful at attracting staff by offering workers social club, allowing for morning tea breaks from manufacturing, providing first aid and canteen facilities, and modern work systems that increased employee productivity.
From 1933 to 1934, Walker served as the president of the Melbourne Rotary Club
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, and he was also a director of the local YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. He was married and had one daughter, Sheila.
Walker died of heart disease in 1935. Fred Walker & Co was eventually purchased by Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
following Walker's death.