Having started in the cereal business as a sweeper at Quaker Oats, Stuart always paid attention to details and to the efficiency with which his father managed the company. His first major task at Quaker Oats was to create a more effective inventory management system, which he followed with a wave of diversification, purchasing pet foods companies and other household brands, the most notable of which is the Aunt Jemima line. In 1918, the firm had sales of $123 million, but by the end of Stuart’s tenure, sales reached $277 million on revenues from 200 different products.