Ovaltine (Ovomaltine originally and in foreign markets) is a brand of milk flavoring product made with

malt extract (except in the blue packaging in the United States), sugar (except in Switzerland), and whey.
Some flavors also have cocoa. Ovaltine, a registered trademark of Associated British Foods, is made by
Wander AG, a subsidiary of Twinings, which acquired the brand from Novartis in 2002,[1] except in the
United States, where Nestlé acquired the rights separately from Novartis in the late 2000s.

Contents

1 History

2 In popular culture

3 Acquisitions

4 International appeal

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

History

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Ovaltine advertisement in a medical journal, 1909

A mug of Ovaltine made with hot milk and a tablespoon of the powder

Ovaltine was developed in Bern, Switzerland, where it is known by its original name, Ovomaltine (from
ovum, Latin for "egg", and malt, which were originally its key ingredients). Soon after its invention, the
factory moved out to the village of Neuenegg, a few kilometres west of Bern, where it is still produced.

Ovomaltine was exported to Britain in 1909. A misspelling of the name on the trademark registration
application led to the name being shortened to Ovaltine in English-speaking markets.[citation needed] A
factory was built in Kings Langley, which took it to the United States as well. By 1915, Ovaltine was being
manufactured in Villa Park, Illinois, for the U.S. market. Ovaltine was later manufactured in
Peterborough, Ontario, for distribution in Canada. Gerald Ethelbert Goldsmith was the president of the
Ovaltine Foods at this time.[2][3]

Originally advertised as consisting solely of "malt, milk, eggs, flavoured with cocoa", the formulation has
changed over the decades, and today several formulations are sold in different parts of the world. In
India[4] and the UK, it no longer contains eggs.[5]

The popular chocolate malt version is a powder which is mixed with hot or cold milk as a beverage. Malt
Ovaltine (a version without cocoa) and Rich Chocolate Ovaltine (a version without malt) are also
available in some markets. Ovaltine has also been available in the form of chocolate bars, chocolate
Easter eggs, parfait, cookies, and breakfast cereals.

Ovaltine also manufactured PDQ Chocolate Flavor Beads, PDQ Choco Chips, and Eggnog Flavored PDQ,
which are no longer available. These drink mixes were very popular from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Ovaltine discontinued the PDQ products around 1996.

In popular culture

The U.S. children's radio series Little Orphan Annie (1931–1940) and Captain Midnight (1938–1949), and
the subsequent Captain Midnight TV series (1954–1956), were sponsored by Ova