Willoughby M. McCormick (1864–1932) started the business in Baltimore at age 25 in 1889. From one room and a cellar, he sold his initial products door-to-door which included root beer, flavoring extracts, fruit syrups and juices. Seven years later, McCormick bought the F.G. Emmett Spice Company and entered the spice industry. In 1903, Willoughby and his brother Roberdeau incorporated the company in Maine; they reincorporated in Maryland in 1915. Most of the company's assets and records were destroyed in the Great Baltimore Fire of February 1904. However, they constructed a new five-story building on the same site within 10 months in 1905.
