The story behind the “Made in Germany” label

If you ask anyone around the world what the “Made in Germany” label represents, the common answers will be: High quality, Durability, Precision, Trust, Innovation. Whilst these are accurate representations of German made products today, this was not the intention when this was introduced, quite the opposite in fact…

Why Britain started the “Made in Germany” labelling

Yes, it says Britain, and no, it’s not a mistake. Introduced in Britain 130 years ago by Merchandise Marks Act 1887, it was intended to mark foreign produce more obviously. At this time, foreign manufactures had been making their own cheaper copies, which of course were not of a good quality as the better known domestic brands. Many goods were marked with the labels of British manufacturing companies, prior to importing them into the UK (very naughty). Most of these were found to be originating from Germany.

Britain introduced this label/stamp/tag as a requirement for all goods imported from Germany, with the aim of warning consumers of potentially bad quality products. Other countries around the world shared the same opinion of German goods, being described as “tending to be cheap and of low quality” at the World-Expo in Philadelphia in 1876.

This didn’t last long though, in the space of 10 years Germany flipped this on its head. Upset at being insulted for poor quality, the German manufacturing industries invested heavily in machinery and better trained staff, which improved quality rapidly and at a huge scale. German manufacturers recognised the opportunity, and by the time the law had been passed introducing the label and it became well-known, the perception had already changed to what we know today.

Made in Germany – the Most popular label across the globe.

Germany leads the way in the categories “Quality” and “Safety” *²

German Brands

As a world leader in exporting goods, German brands have been able benefit from having the “Made in Germany” stamp of quality to boost their reputation. Just think of some of the well-known German brands, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Bosch, Braun, Siemens, Adidas, Hugo Boss, there’s a long list.

WMF is proud to be a German made company, founded in Geislingen an der Steige in Germany way back in 1853. We pride ourselves on innovative products of the highest quality, with sophisticated design and outstanding functionality.

Our machines are manufactured in Germany, to an excellent build quality standard. Not only are they designed to look great - they are built to last. All our customers can be assured they are investing in their future with a product that has longevity. The “Made in Germany” label sits proudly on our machines.