Crosse & Blackwell is an English food brand. The original company was established in London in 1706, then was acquired by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell in 1830. It became independent until it was acquired by Swiss conglomerate Nestlé in 1960 and sold in 2002.

Products branded by Crosse & Blackwell include condiments, marmalades, meat sauces, seafood sauces, mincemeats, mustard, pickles and pickled onions, among others.

History

Early history

Jackson's, a colonial produce business, was established in London in 1706, later becoming West & Wyatt and specialising in pickles, sauces and condiments, plus salted fish, and it held royal appointments to George III, George IV and William IV. Described as "oilmen and salters", West & Wyatt had factory premises at 11 King Street (now Shaftesbury Avenue) in Soho in 1818, packaging and supplying sweet oils, foods preserved in oil, and crystallised fruits and preserves.

In 1819, the company was joined by two apprentices: Edmund Crosse (1804–1862) and Thomas Blackwell (1804–1879). In 1830 they borrowed £600 from their families to buy the business, which became known as "Crosse & Blackwell".

thumb|150px|[[Piccalilli label as used by Crosse & Blackwell around 1867]]

By 1839, the company had expanded and moved its offices and shop to 20–21 Soho Square. During the following decade, it pioneered the use of celebrity chefs as endorsers and collaborators, working with Alexis Soyer from 1850 to create the tangy Soyer's Sauce, Soyer's Relish and Soyer's Sultana Sauce products. to produce preserved fruit, vegetables and meat to supply long-distance vessels. From 1888 until the 1920s, Crosse & Blackwell also had offices at 114–116 Charing Cross Road, again designed by Roumieu & Aitchison.

Branston

In 1920, Crosse & Blackwell made a successful £612,856 bid to acquire a factory site in Branston, just outside Burton upon Trent, which they pledged to turn into the largest and best-equipped food preserving plant in the British Empire.

In 1922, the company started to produce Branston Pickle, to a recipe attributed to Mrs Caroline Graham and her daughters Evelyn and Ermentrude, Production at Branston ended in January 1925, leading to large scale local unemployment, and many local people boycotted Crosse & Blackwell products as a result. and developed the name across a number of food categories worldwide. The acquisition increased Nestlé's output, adding 11 factories and included the largest fish-canning factory in the UK (located in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire). At the time of the acquisition, Crosse & Blackwell employed 4,700 workers in production and 1,900 other employees and salespeople. For a while, its head office was in Crown House, Morden, south-west London. The brand was later owned by Premier Foods.

A prominent member of the founder's family is Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records.

21st century

Nestlé divested the Crosse & Blackwell operations in 2002. Today ownership of the brand is divided between The J.M. Smucker Company in North America, Princes Group in Europe and Tiger Brands in South Africa. In Japan, the company's curry powder is still manufactured by Nestlé for food service packages of 400 g, 2 kg and 10 kg each.

See also

  • List of brand name condiments
  • Major Grey's Chutney

References

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