Alfred Bird & Sons was one of the most successful food companies in Britain at the turn of the twentieth century. Bird’s Custard is one of the most widely recognised brands in the UK, with 99 percent customer recognition.

Alfred Bird invents an eggless custard powder
Alfred Bird (1811 – 1878) established a chemist’s shop on Bell Street, Birmingham, in 1837. He produced a baking powder, which allowed bread to be made without yeast, and then an eggless custard powder.

Alfred Bird & Sons was formed to mass produce these inventions from 1843. Larger premises were established on Worcester Street.

Alfred Bird & Sons won a contract to supply baking powder to provide fresh bread for the British troops during the Crimean War in 1855.

Alfred Frederick Bird takes over from his father
Alfred Frederick Bird (1849 – 1922) became sole proprietor of the business following the death of his father in 1878.

A large new factory was built at 35 Moor Street, Birmingham in 1886, but it burned down a year later, with thousands of pounds worth of damage. A new factory was opened on Gibb Street in the Digbeth district of Birmingham.

Sales increased by 275 percent between 1892 and 1901.

Alfred Bird & Sons became a limited company in 1900 with an authorised capital of £300,000. Profits more than doubled between 1900 and 1907. Company capital was increased to £400,000 in 1908.

Alfred Frederick Bird was created a baronet in 1922. He died shortly afterwards, and was heralded as a pioneer of modern advertising. He left an estate valued at £653,656.

Alfred Bird & Sons is sold to General Foods
Sir Robert Bland Bird (1876 – 1960) succeeded his father as chairman of Alfred Bird & Sons.

The three birds logo was introduced in 1929.

Alfred Bird & Sons (Ireland) was established in Dublin in 1934.

A five day working week was introduced from 1937.

Import restrictions in the post-war period led General Foods of America, best known in Britain for Grape Nuts cereal, to acquire Alfred Bird & Sons for £403,000 in 1947. Sir Robert Bird was retained as company chairman. The two companies shared some similarities; C W Post (1854 – 1914), who had invented Grape Nuts, had also been an extensive advertiser.

General Foods introduced its Maxwell House instant coffee to the British market from 1954.

Sir Robert Bird retired as chairman of Alfred Bird & Sons in 1956, and was the last member of the Bird family to be connected with the business. He died in 1960, and left an estate valued at £360,103.

Monkhouse & Glasscock, a rival manufacturer of custard powder, was acquired in 1958. The chairman was the uncle of the comedian Bob Monkhouse. The factory was immediately closed.

Production is relocated to Banbury; Bird’s is sold to Premier Foods
Expanding production saw the Digbeth factory become increasingly cramped. General Foods relocated Bird’s production to a new factory in Banbury, Oxfordshire from 1966. Situated across 42 acres and built at a cost of £6 million, it employed 1,300 people. It was one of the most modern food factories in Europe.

Bird’s managed to persuade 72 percent of its permanent male employees to relocate to Banbury. Cash grants were offered to negate relocation costs for workers. Workers generally found the standard of living to be higher in the new location.

Alfred Bird & Sons was formally renamed to General Foods from 1967. By this time Maxwell House was the largest brand for the business, with a 30 percent share of the British instant coffee market.

General Foods had annual UK grocery sales of £24 million by 1969, and its brands included Bird’s custard, Angel Delight, Maxwell House coffee and Grape Nuts cereal.

General Foods acquired Philip Morris in 1985 for $5 billion to become the largest consumer goods company in the United States. Kraft of Chicago was acquired in 1988, and the business became known as Kraft General Foods. The name was changed to Kraft from 1995.

Kraft sold the Bird’s Custard and Angel Delight brands to Premier Foods for £70 million in 2004. Production was transferred to a site in Ashford, Kent. Kraft retained the Banbury factory.

Kraft spun-off its global snacks business as Mondelez in 2012. Mondelez use the Banbury site to produce Kenco instant coffee.