Fred Usinger Revenue and Competitors

Usinger "wurstmachers" are still located on Milwaukee's Old World Third Street, the site of the original store, where they adhere strictly to the original family recipes. Unchanged since 1880, these recipes are never altered in order to meet a competitive price. To the Usinger sausage makers, it is a matter of pride to maintain their tradition of excellence. Even among members of the meat industry, the superlative quality of Usinger's Sausage is recognized. The Usinger Family success story is the classic American Dream. In the late 1870's a young German immigrant, Fred Usinger, arrived in Milwaukee with $400 in cash and his favorite sausage recipes, which he had learned as an apprentice "wurstmacher" (sausage maker) in Frankfurt. He had ambition, dreams of a better life and the willingness to work hard for it. He went to work for Mrs. Julia Gaertner, a widow who operated a small butcher shop on Third Street. Within a year or so, Usinger had bought out Mrs. Gaertner, married her niece Louise and moved into living quarters above the store.