Why is Starbucks called that. And subways. And Nutella.

burger king is called burger kingbecause they sell burgers.

pizzahut serves pizza… in a hut (English: cap).

And Nest It is so called because it is the surname of the founding family.

Understandable so far. But why the hell is a restaurant chain that sells sugar-coated coffee creations called… Starbucks? And what is the meaning of this bizarre word construction move pick to do with gastronomy? Here is a selection of stories about the origins of brand names from the food and hospitality industry!

The company’s founders, Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl, had only one goal: The company name had to start with ‹St›. This is because, according to advertisers, “St” words have a lot of meaning (yes, there’s research behind that and all). So unromantic so far. And so they started combing through all the material they could find for ideas. Someone pulled out an old mining map and found a small town called Starbo. Bowker was immediately reminded of Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. In the classic book Starbucks the adamant first mate of Captain Ahab of the whaling ship pequod. This name was chosen because it evokes “the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee merchants”. The mermaid inside Starbuckslogo was designed to depict an enticing siren and emphasize the brand’s nautical theme. But she has nothing to do with the literary figure Starbucks To do.

Oh yes: the founders have thought about the name pequod to use… until they realized that “Let’s have a cup of Pequod” doesn’t exactly sound pretentious.

Actually, the nut nougat cream of the Piedmontese confectioner was initially called Ferrero Super cream gianduja. The spread had to be renamed due to an Italian law in 1962 that banned the “super-” prefix in brand names. The artificial word Nutella originated from English note (note) and the Italian feminine diminutive -ella.

No, the story that the Bernese family business Tobler wanted to make something modern and hip and English speaking and therefore their new product Tobler One (Tobler number 1) is an urban legend. The Toblerone was invented in 1908 by chocolatiers Theodor Tobler and Emil Baumann the name is a compound of Tobler And towerthe Italian name for honey-almond nougat.

subway was founded in 1965 as a partnership between 17-year-old Fred DeLuca, who needed money to fund his college education, and Peter Buck, a family friend with a PhD in nuclear physics. Buck loaned DeLuca $1,000 to open a restaurant in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The restaurant was Pete’s super submarines baptized. In North America, these sandwiches are popularly named for their length and shape submarines (submarines), short subs. Out Pete’s super submarines soon became Pete’s subway. But already 1968with the decision to franchise the restaurant, they stood up subway all around.

Yes. It’s so. In 1903, Coca-Cola’s formula actually contained cocaine. Nine milligrams per glass, it’s estimated — enough to classify it as a narcotic by its current status. Does the brand name refer to this? Yeah, sort of: The drink’s name refers to two of its original ingredients: cocaleaves and Colanuts. While the latter is a source of caffeine, it was an extract of the coca leaf that made up the cocaine portion (in 1988, The New York Times revealed that Coca-Cola still contained coca leaf extracts, although these were non-narcotic in nature). It’s important to remember that when Coca-Cola was invented in 1886, cocaine was legal and a common ingredient in medicines.

Interestingly, the drink’s development dates back to its inventor’s drug addiction: Like many Civil War veterans who suffered serious injuries, Dr. John Stith Pemberton had become addicted to morphine and was explicitly seeking a replacement for the problematic drug .

Rivella is considered a national drink of Switzerland – the number two in the country (after Coca-Cola). It has been produced since 1950 – originally in Stäfa and Uster, since 1954 in Rothrist. The company is still owned by the family of founder Robert Barth. However, the brand name is the Tessiner Dorf Riva San Vitale borrowed. From the place name and the Italian to ride (Revelation) Robert Barth developed the brand name with an advertising consultant in 1952.

When the 1940 trade embargo against Nazi Germany separated Coca-Cola Germany from its parent company in Atlanta, the ingredients for the eponymous drink quickly ran out. This is how a drink was created from leftover ingredients that were available: sugar beets, orange juice, apple fibers, whey, etc. As for the naming, Max Keith, head of Coca-Cola GmbH, asked the sales team to “use their imagination”. Fantasy… yes, hence the name.

By the way: the original war recipe had nothing to do with the taste and color of the recipe sold today fantastic To do. Today’s version is Italian: a Coca-Cola bottler in Naples had the idea of ​​making an orange-flavored soft drink in 1955, and the Coca-Cola Company used the brand name, which had not been used since 1945 fantastic excavated again.

Arlington, Virginia, 1986 – Jerry and Janie Murrell let their sons choose: “Start a business or go to college?” The family decided on the business and opened the first one Five men. Father Jerry and his then four sons were the original Five men. Later a fifth son was added, all of whom have now held a position in the company.

In 1948, the hotelier’s son, Ueli Prager, was looking for a name for his new restaurant concept – a “dining bar”, as he called it, where guests could relax and enjoy quality food at affordable prices. While walking on Lake Zurich, he watched a seagull skilfully dive to catch its food from the air. Developed for diners with little time, the logo of the first restaurant in Zurich’s Claridenhof showed a seagull, which was quickly tended “as if to be picked up in flight”.

Every parent has had to face the truth that gummy bears really do make kids happy and adults do too. There is no question that the brand name is perfect for advertising rhymes. But where does he come from? In 1920 the company became Haribo registered in the trade register of Bonn by the founder of the company, Hans Riegel. So the brand name is an acronym composed of the first two letters of its first and last name and the first two letters of its location – HaNS Rifluke, bon.

Hague Dazs was founded in 1961 by husband and wife team Rose and Reuben Mattus in the Bronx, New York. The brand name is a made-up word and should look and sound European to American consumers and be associated with European heritage and craftsmanship. The first company logos even featured an outline of the map of Denmark. This is because, according to Reuben Mattus, Denmark was the only European country to save Jews during World War II: “The only country that saved the Jews during World War II was Denmark, so I came up with a totally fictitious Danish name and registered it. […] Häagen-Dazs means nothing. But it would draw attention, especially with the umlaut.”