A Note on... Ovaltine (Ovomaltine) and the First World War

Lately I've been doing research for my master thesis. This includes analyzing a medical journal from 1918. While I'am primarily looking for typical psychiatric masculinity attribution, there is always time to take a look at the advertisements. And one in particular turned out to be very memorable.

Are you familiar with Ovomaltine? It's the german labeling for Ovaltine. I've known it since I was a child. I would describe it as a different variaton of hot chocolate, because that's the way I used to drink it. But it's from Switzerland. And with malt. I had it yesterday with Bananas. It's lovely. Alright, enough of that....

Here is a 1909 advertisement:

Source: wikimedia (17.03.2015)

It is pretty much what you would expect from something we would call a nutrition supplement today. An idyllic farm, grazing cows, happy chickens. Fast forward 9 years. The Great War has ravaged Europe. Lack of food is a serious problem, especially in Central Europe and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A crisis always means a chance for someone else. So when nutriment was short, Ovoaltine/Ovomaltine's time had come.

Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift, 05.01.1918

Today Ovomaltine is the only nutriment applicable for a dietary therapy. Made of milk, eggs, diastase-malt and high quality cacao. The k.u.k. (standing for imperial and royal) minister of war has ordered Ovomaltine to be administered in every infirmary. ...

The First World War slightly changed the purpose of Ovomaltine. Today it is a lifestyle product, full of energy and sweet taste. 100 years ago it was about to become the spoon between life and death.