How did Fillerys become one of the largest toffee manufacturers in Britain?
Thomas Carey Fillery (1892 – 1977) was born in Hawkhurst in Kent, the son of a grocery shopkeeper. By 1916 he was sub-manager at Edward Sharp & Sons in Maidstone, one of the largest toffee manufacturers in Britain.
Fillerys Toffees was established in 1923 by a consortium of four investors led by Robert Harold Mayhew (1874 – 1965). Thomas Carey Fillery was the managing director. The factory was located on Warwick Road in Greet, south Birmingham.
The site covered four acres by 1927, and due to increasing sales, 24 hour production was introduced from 1930.
Fillerys Toffees was incorporated as a public company in 1934. Herbert E Morgan was chairman. The company had an authorised and issued capital of £100,000 by 1935. Around 300 workers were employed.
Fillerys led the toffee industry as one of the most efficient producers by 1942. Production focused on own-label manufacturing for retailers such as Woolworths.
During the Second World War, most of the factory was given over to munitions manufacturing for the war effort.
Under a Government scheme to encourage industrial efficiency, Fillerys Toffees were produced under contract by Rowntree of York between 1942 and 1946.
The company had established nationwide sales distribution by 1949.
The end of sugar rationing in 1954 saw a boom in confectionery sales. Fillerys Toffees won a prestigious and valuable contract to supply confectionery for Marks & Spencer.
The sugar confectionery boom was over by the end of the 1950s, as increasing prosperity saw consumers increasingly switch to chocolate products. As a result, the industry began to consolidate in order to reduce costs.
Fillerys was acquired by J A & P Holland of Southport in 1960 to create the largest toffee manufacturer in Britain, and possibly the world.
Cavenham Foods acquired J A & P Holland in 1965. The Fillerys factory was closed down in March 1966, and production was transferred to Southport. The reason given was that the Fillerys factory did not have room for expansion. About 230 workers lost their jobs.
H J Packer was the largest low-cost chocolate manufacturer in the world.
Packer and Burrows
Edward Packer (1848 – 1887) was a Quaker who worked for J S Fry & Sons of Bristol, a chocolate manufacturer, in the 1870s.
Edward Packer left Fry & Sons to commence chocolate manufacture for himself from 1881. He worked from his house at 11 Armory Square, and was assisted by his wife. Soon he employed eight people.
Packer entered into partnership with Henry John Burrows (born 1853). Unfortunately, trade immediately declined, and all employees other than members of the Packer family had to be dismissed.
Burrows acquired full control of the business from 1884. Burrows added his own initials to the company name, and began trading as H J Packer & Co.
Caleb Bruce Cole
Caleb Bruce Cole (1862 -1912) was a confectionery salesman in Bristol. He was impressed with his contact with H J Packer & Co, and borrowed £1,000 from his father to acquire the business in 1886. Around nine people were employed.
The business began to grow from around 1889. Cole identified a gap in the market, and began to manufacture high quality chocolate at an affordable price. The chocolates found a keen market among children.
Cole subverted the notion that low-cost food production need sacrifice standards of cleanliness or provision for the workforce.
In 1896 Cole was joined by his brother Horace, and William John Mansfield (1846 -1912) was employed as general manager.
A new factory was opened at Greenbank, Bristol in 1903. It covered four acres and was the largest low-cost chocolate factory in the world. 450 people were employed. Greenbank was situated on a major railway line, which allowed for convenient distribution.
H J Packer & Co became a limited company from 1908.
Carsons of Glasgow, with a share capital of £50,000, was acquired in January 1912. Carsons had been the first business to introduce chocolate assortment trays, and traded at the premium end of the market.
Caleb Bruce Cole died in June 1912. A progressive man, he was described as quiet and likeable. He died a wealthy man, with an estate valued at £259,937.
H J Packer & Co had a capital of £750,000 and employed 1,000 people by 1912.
A dedicated Carsons chocolate factory was established at Shortwood, Bristol, in order to supply the South and West of England markets, from 1914.
Packers was the fourth largest chocolate manufacturer in Britain by 1922, and the largest manufacturer of low-cost chocolate in the world.
The company struggled during the Great Depression.
The Carsons factory was divested in 1960 due to overcapacity.
The company name was changed to Carsons Ltd from 1962. The Carsons brand had become well-known as Britain’s largest producer of chocolate liqueurs, filled with some of the leading spirits, liqueur and fortified wine brands in the world.
Until 1961 liqueur chocolates could only be sold from licensed premises. This opening up of the market provided an opportunity.
Acquisition by Cavenham Cavenham Foods, managed by James Goldsmith (1933 – 1997), gained control of Carsons in 1964.
Goldsmith rebuilt and modernised the Carsons plant. He then retired all of the Carsons chocolate lines except for liqueurs, the only sector of the market which was experiencing a growth in sales. The liqueur chocolate market was largely dominated by imported brands such as Lindt, Ringer, Rademaker and Trumpf.
Carsons held over 29 percent of the liqueur chocolate market by 1966. This was achieved with minimal advertising. Instead Carson’s benefited from the advertising campaigns of spirits brands that were inside their chocolates; names such as Harvey’s Bristol Cream and Hennessy cognac.
Carsons liqueurs were being marketed under the Famous Names brand by 1966.
Elizabeth Shaw, an upmarket chocolate manufacturer, was acquired in 1968.
Carsons held over 40 percent of the British chocolate liqueur market by the late 1970s.
Recent history
Cavenham Confectionery was subject to a management buyout in 1981, and the company was renamed Famous Names Ltd. It was acquired by Imperial Tobacco in 1985.
Management bought control of Famous Names Ltd in 1988, and the company was renamed Elizabeth Shaw Ltd. Elizabeth Shaw Ltd was acquired by Leaf of Finland in 1990.
Elizabeth Shaw closed its outdated Greenbank factory in 2006. Production was relocated to factories across Britain and Europe.
Epps was the leading brand of cocoa in Victorian Britain.
Dr John Epps invents an instant cocoa
Dr John Epps (1805 – 1869) was the son of a wealthy Calvinist provision merchant in London.
Dr Epps became one of the pioneers of homeopathy in Britain. He established premises at Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury. He was joined by his brother, James Epps (1821 – 1907), from 1837.
Dr John Epps (1805 – 1869) inventor of Epps’ Cocoa Powder
The almost prohibitive duty on cocoa was greatly reduced in 1832, allowing the market to grow exponentially. Easily prepared cocoa had been difficult to procure, and the fat in the raw material was unpalatable for many. Dr John Epps discovered a way to make it more appetising, mixing the cocoa with 20 percent West Indies arrowroot and 13 percent sugar.
Epps’ cocoa was first sold in 1839 for the use of patients for whom tea and coffee were restricted. It was an instant cocoa powder, made by mixing with hot water or milk.
Dr John Epps was not the first person to invent soluble cocoa powder, but James Epps was largely responsible for introducing the product to the mass market. He heavily advertised Epps’ Cocoa, and had introduced a distinctive slogan, “grateful and comforting” by 1855.
Epps’ Cocoa was initially produced under contract by Daniel Dunn of Pentonville Road, who had invented instant cocoa powder in 1819.
James Epps begins to manufacture cocoa independently
James Epps had established his own factory at 398 Euston Road, London by 1863. He installed his nephew, Hahnemann Epps (1843 – 1916), as manager.
Epps & Co had grown to become the largest cocoa powder producer in Britain by 1878, with an output of nearly five million pounds (2.3 million kg) a year. To accommodate increasing production, a new steam-powered works was established at Holland Street, Blackfriars from 1878. At its peak Epps & Co processed half of all cocoa imports into Britain.
Steam Cocoa Mills, Holland Street, London
A short and slight man, James Epps kept a low public profile, unlike his gregarious brother John. He was known only for his work in business, and had few outside interests. He allowed his portrait to be taken only once, and he never granted an interview or issued a public statement. He was a hard worker, keen on a bargain, and somewhat controlling. Despite his massive wealth he lived in an unfashionable area of London.
Epps & Co sales peaked in the early 1880s. Nearly 15 million packets were sold in 1882. Sales began to decline as rivals introduced superior products. Cadbury and Rowntree invested in Van Houten presses, which allowed the manufacturer to remove the unpalatable cocoa butter from the product. Epps neglected to respond to this change.
Epps & Co is converted into a private company; sale to Rowntree
The business was converted into a private joint stock limited company known as James Epps & Co in 1893. The directors were James Epps, Hahnemann Epps and James Epps Jr (1856 – 1905), and the company had a capital of £200,000. No shares were offered to the public, and the company remained under family control.
Epps’ Cocoa had been overtaken in sales by Dr Tibbles’ Vi-Cocoa and Rowntree by 1898.
James Epps Jr (also known as Willie James Epps), the only son of James Epps, died of a heart attack in Jamaica in 1905. His gross estate was valued at £162,422.
James Epps (1821 – 1907), date unknown
James Epps died in 1907 and his gross estate was valued at £735,387. This was a larger estate than contemporaries in the food industry such as the mustard magnate Jeremiah James Colman (1830 – 1898), instant custard producer Alfred Bird (1849 – 1922) or James Horlick (1844 – 1921).
The estate was inherited by his nieces and nephews, principally James Washington Epps (1874 -1955), who became managing director of James Epps & Co. Hahnemann Epps became chairman.
Taylor Brothers Ltd, a London cocoa manufacturer, was acquired in 1907. Taylor’s cocoa was an economy offering, made with up to 20 percent cocoa shell, whereas Epps was a premium product, and contained no shell.
Epps’ Cocoa powder had been reformulated to include 44 percent sugar, 40 percent cocoa and 16 percent West Indies arrowroot by 1924.
Rowntree of York acquired James Epps & Co for £70,000 in 1926.
The Epps factory was closed in 1930, and the manufacture of Epps products was transferred to Whitefields Ltd of Plaistow.
R S Murray & Co introduced American-style caramels to Britain, but remains best-known for Murray Mints.
R S Murray introduces caramels to Britain
Robert Stuart Murray (1854 – 1912) was a confectionery salesman from Chicago, Illinois. He relocated to London where he introduced imported American-style caramels, made from milk or cream and sugar, to the British market.
Encouraged by strong demand, Murray formed a partnership with Charles Hubbard (died 1911) and Walter Michael Price (1826 – 1919), and established a confectionery factory at 67 Turnmill Street in Clerkenwell from 1882. Caramel producing machinery to the value of £8,000 was imported from America.
The factory employed 300 workers, and had a daily production output of five to six tons of confectionery.
R S Murray & Co was registered as a limited company with a capital of £50,000 in 1900. R S Murray & Co was probably the third largest sugar confectionery manufacturer in London by this time, behind Clarnico and Barratt.
R S Murray & Co had diversified into chocolate manufacturing by 1906.
The workers at R S Murray & Co went out on strike, demanding higher pay, in 1911. The largely female workforce were supported by Mary Macarthur (1880 – 1921), the prominent women’s rights campaigner. The campaign ended with a largely positive result for the workforce.
Robert Stuart Murray died in 1912 with a net personalty valued at £20,169 (around £19.3 million in 2020 prices).
H J Norton establishes overseas subsidiaries
Herbert John Norton (1874 – 1958) was nominated managing director in 1912, following the death of Robert Stuart Murray.
The factory site covered over three acres by 1914, and employed 1,500 to 2,000 people.
H J Norton was nominated chairman after the First World War.
A chocolate manufacturing subsidiary in Australia was established at De Carle Street, East Brunswick, a suburb of Melbourne, from 1920.
R S Murray formed a joint venture with Clarnico to establish an Irish manufacturing presence, Clarnico Murray, from 1927.
The Australian factory employed over 300 people by 1931. Rowntree of York and R S Murray merged their Australian interests into a joint venture from 1934.
R S Murray & Co is acquired by C & E Morton
R S Murray & Co was acquired by C & E Morton, a tinned food manufacturer, in 1936.
The Turnmill Street factory was closed in the late 1930s, and R S Murray production was transferred to the C & E Morton site at Lowestoft, Suffolk.
R S Murray sold its stake in the Australian subsidiary to Rowntree in 1942.
Murray Mints, caramels flavoured with molasses and peppermint, were introduced from 1944. They soon became the best known R S Murray product.
C & E Morton was acquired by Beecham, a consumer goods manufacturer, for £180,000 in 1945.
Murray Mints were advertised on British television from 1955. They were promoted as, “the too good to hurry mint”. Murray Mints became one of the most extensively advertised sugar confectionery lines, and sales soared.
Other Murray products sold throughout the 1950s included Murray Fruits, the Regent assortment, and Murray Caramels.
Beecham acquired James Pascall, in an attempt to build scale in confectionery, in 1959. Following the takeover, Beecham focused its marketing efforts on Pascall products, rather than the Murray range.
Pascal Murray is acquired by Cadbury Fry
Beecham were successful marketers, but they struggled with the highly competitive confectionery industry, and Pascall Murray was sold to Cadbury, a large chocolate manufacturer, in 1964.
Clarnico Murray had around ten percent of the Irish confectionery market by 1969. The Irish factory was closed in 1974, and the market was thereafter served by imports from Britain.
Cadbury was acquired by Kraft of Chicago in 2010. Kraft spun-off its global snacks business, including Cadbury, as Mondelez in 2012.
Murray Mints are still sold in Britain by Mondelez under the Maynard Bassett brand. Murray Butter Mints are also available as part of a mint assortment.
Clarnico was the largest sugar confectionery manufacturer in Britain during the interwar period. The Clarnico Mint Cream continued to be produced until 2019.
Establishment of Clarnico
Clarke Nickolls & Co was established as a jam and marmalade manufacturer at Hackney Wick in East London in 1872. There was an initial workforce of ten people.
Robert Coombs (1836 – 1919) joined the business as a partner from 1875, and developed a sugar confectionery manufacturing subsidiary called Clarnico.
George Mathieson (1844 – 1940) and Alexander Horn (1851 – 1923) joined the business as partners soon afterwards, and were instrumental in its subsequent expansion. Mathieson and Horn both came from the village of Insch in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The growth of the sugar beet industry in Britain, with a consequent reduction in ingredients costs, allowed Clarnico to enter into rapid growth. Clarke, Nickolls & Coombs employed 300 people by 1881.
Clarke, Nickolls & Coombs is established as a public company; a profit-sharing scheme is introduced
Clarke, Nickolls & Coombs was incorporated as a public company with a share capital of £80,000 in 1887. It was one of the largest confectionery companies in Britain. Control of the business was in the hands of George Mathieson and Alexander Horn by this time, and Mathieson was appointed managing director.
Mathieson and Horn introduced a profit-sharing scheme for the workforce from 1890. After paying a six percent dividend, the company split the remaining profit equally between the shareholders and the workforce. 840 people shared a total of £1,700 in 1893. The scheme gave staff the incentive to work harder, and enhanced employee retention levels.
The business grew rapidly throughout the 1890s. 1,000 men were employed in 1891. Around 1,300 people were employed by 1892, around 1,500 in 1896, and 2,000 by 1899. The factory site covered five acres by 1896.
Clarnico becomes the largest sugar confectionery manufacturer in Britain
Clarnico Caramels became the best known product, and Clarnico was the largest producer of unwrapped caramels in Britain.
The Hackney Wick site had over ten acres of floorspace by 1908. Over 3,000 people were employed by 1911.
The Clarnico Mint Cream had been introduced by 1912.
Clarnico was the largest sugar confectionery company in Britain during the interwar period. Over 700 different varieties of sweets were produced. The Clarnico site was the largest sugar confectionery factory in Britain.
Clarnico formed a joint venture with R S Murray & Co to establish an Irish factory from 1926.
The Clarnico factory suffered significant bomb damage during the London Blitz in 1940.
An overhead view of the Clarnico Works in 1921. Image used with kind permission of Britain From Above.
Clarnico distributed £700,000 in profits to its workforce between 1890 and 1944, a figure beaten only by J T & J Taylor of Batley and Reckitt & Colman.
Clarnico Murray held around ten percent of the Irish confectionery market by 1969.
Clarnico is acquired by Trebor
The sugar confectionery market had become stagnant by the end of the 1960s. Competition was further hampered by the emergence of larger rivals. Clarnico became loss-making and was sold to its London-rival Trebor for £900,000 in 1969. The merged business was the fourth largest confectionery manufacturer in Britain.
The Clarnico factory in London was closed down in 1973. Clarnico products continued to be sold, including Mint Creams, fudge, Fruit Jellies and Chocolate Peppermint Creams.
The Irish manufacturing presence was closed down in 1974, and the market was thereafter served by imports from Britain.
Trebor was acquired by Cadbury for £120 million in 1989.
The product range was pared down until only the Clarnico Mint Cream remained. Manufacturing was relocated to France and the product was sold under the Maynards Bassetts brand. The sweet was discontinued in 2019, after over 100 years in production, thus ending the Clarnico link to confectionery.
How did A J Caley of Norwich become one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in Britain?
A J Caley establishes the business
Albert Jarman Caley (1829 – 1895) was born in Windsor, the son of a silk merchant. After attending Eton School he established a chemist’s shop on High Street, Windsor in 1853.
Caley relocated to London Street, Norwich, where his brother already lived, from 1857.
A J Caley began to manufacture soft drinks from 1862. Soft drink manufacturing was Caley’s largest branch of trade by 1881.
Due to the seasonal nature of the soft drinks trade, Caley began to produce drinking chocolate from 1883, followed by eating chocolate from 1886.
Caley was possessed of a retiring disposition. He was considered a kind and considerate employer who took a keen interest in the welfare of his employees. He was a religious man, and in later life was affiliated with the evangelical Plymouth Brethren.
Caley retired in 1894 and control of the business passed to his only son, Edward James Caley (1862 – 1938), and two nephews.
A J Caley died in 1895 with an estate valued at £22,000.
A J Caley is converted into a limited liability company
The business was converted into a private limited liability company, A J Caley & Son, in 1898, with a capital of £120,000.
Christmas cracker production was introduced from 1898. The manufacture of milk chocolate commenced from 1901.
700 workers were employed by 1904. This had risen to 1,200 by 1912.
A J Caley & Son supplied the armed forces with ration chocolate during the First World War.
Acquisition by Lever Brothers
A J Caley & Son was acquired by the Lever Brothers-controlled United Africa Company in 1919. The United Africa Company was motivated by the opportunity to have an outlet for its large purchases of raw cocoa.
A J Caley & Son saw its capital increased from £120,000 to £1 million. Four new factories were completed at a cost of around £500,000 in 1920, which trebled productive capacity.
Chocolate, especially Easter eggs, was the most important product by this time. Christmas cracker production was also important, and the division employed hundreds of people year round.
Sale to John Mackintosh & Sons
A J Caley & Son had become loss-making by the early 1930s. John Mackintosh & Sons of Halifax acquired A J Caley & Son for £138,000 in 1932. Mackintosh was motivated by the opportunity to increase its productive capacity, which had outgrown their own Halifax site.
Mackintosh expanded the Norwich site. In order to render A J Caley profitable, hundreds of product lines and several departments were discontinued.
There were nearly 1,500 employees at Norwich by 1935, more than ever before. A J Caley sales grew eightfold between 1933 and 1938.
A J Caley expertise in chocolate manufacturing allowed Mackintosh to introduce new product lines such as Rolo and Quality Street.
A J Caley initially operated under independent management, but control was brought under the Mackintosh umbrella from 1939.
The Norwich factory was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War in 1942, and had to be rebuilt.
The Caley’s brand name was phased out in the early 1960s.
John Mackintosh & Sons employed 2,000 people at Norwich by 1962.
John Mackintosh & Sons merged with Rowntree in 1969 to form Rowntree Mackintosh. Rowntree Mackintosh was acquired by Nestle of Switzerland in 1988. The Norwich factory was closed in 1994, and demolished ten years later.
How did Barker & Dobson become one of the largest confectionery manufacturers in Britain?
Origins
Joseph Dobson (1801 – 1864) established a grocery shop on Henry Street in Liverpool from 1834. He was declared bankrupt in 1841.
Using the maiden name of his wife, he commenced trade as Barker & Dobson from 1844 and the business was relocated to Paradise Street.
Dobson was declared bankrupt again in 1861. One of the trustees of the estate was George Bassett (1818 – 1886), confectioner of Sheffield.
Barker & Dobson had relocated to 6 Duke Street by 1870. The main business was in imported French confectionery.
Jacobson era
The business was taken over by Henry Dobson Jacobson (1867 – 1961), grandson of Joseph Dobson, in 1889.
Jacobson was to prove the impetus behind the subsequent growth of Barker & Dobson. He relocated the business to Hope Street and entered into confectionery and chocolate manufacturing. Over 100 people were employed in sweet and chocolate manufacture by 1897. The leading product line was Walnut Toffee, with sales of over 900 kg a week.
Barker & Dobson operated three confectionery shops which specialised in the sale of imported confectionery from France, Germany and America.
Jacobson was a great believer in the power of advertising, and bought space in newspapers, and invested in enticing product labels and packaging.
A 1929 advertisement for the Barker & Dobson Verona chocolate assortment from Britannia & Eve.
Barker & Dobson established a factory and head office at Franklin Place, in the Everton district of Liverpool, in 1906.
Barker & Dobson was incorporated as a public company from 1919 in order to fund expansion.
Premises had been established at London as well as Liverpool by 1924.
A disused tram depot on Whitefield Road, Liverpool was acquired and converted into a factory in 1926. The new factory adjoined the Franklin Place site.
Barker & Dobson had a authorised share capital of £500,000 by 1928. The business employed over 1,200 people.
H D Jacobson became chairman, and appointed his brother, Percy Isidore Jacobson (1873 – 1961), as managing director.
Sale to Scribbans-Kemp
Barker & Dobson was one of the largest manufacturers of chocolate and boiled sweets in Britain by the post-war period. Following the Second World War the company began to struggle to meet demand for its products, and required an increase in capital.
Barker & Dobson was acquired by Scribbans-Kemp of Birmingham, a large cake and biscuit manufacturer, in 1952. Scribbans-Kemp established a new sugar confectionery factory and offices in 1955.
Bensons, a sweet manufacturer based in Bury, Lancashire, was acquired in 1956-7.
P I Jacobson died with a gross estate of £353,003 in 1961. H D Jacobson also died in 1961 with a gross estate of £865,359.
Fryer & Co of Nelson, Lancashire was acquired for £1.2 million in 1965. The company had invented the jelly baby, and produced the Victory V cough sweet.
Scribbans-Kemp changed its name to S K Holdings in the early 1970s.
Waller & Hartley of Blackpool, with the Hacks cough sweet brand, was acquired for £4.7 million in 1972.
18 percent of production was exported to 86 different countries in 1972. The principal foreign markets were North and South America. The Everton Mint remained the highest-selling product line.
S K Holdings changed its name to Barker & Dobson from 1973.
The five confectionery factories in Lancashire employed over 2,000 people by 1974. The Liverpool factory produced 250 tons of sweets per week.
The Blackpool and Southport factories were closed with the loss of 450 jobs in 1974.
Barker & Dobson distributed Ferrero products such as Tic-Tacs for the British market from 1974.
Financial difficulties
Barker & Dobson suffered heavy losses in the mid-1970s. A stake in Hacks Malaysia was divested in 1976.
Barker & Dobson was forced to remove the 0.2 percent chloroform component from its Victory V sweet recipe from 1981, due to a change in the law. Sales of their highest-selling product immediately slumped by 25 percent.
The Barker & Dobson factory in Dublin was closed in 1982.
The Whitefield Road factory was closed with the loss of about 360 jobs in 1983. The sugar confectionery market was in decline, and the ageing factory would have needed extensive repairs in order to remain operational. 200 administrative staff remained at the Whitefield Road offices.
Only Bury and Nelson remained as large factories within the company. There were also smaller factories in Dundee and east London.
Barker & Dobson held the British distribution rights for Marabou products, such as the Daim/Dime chocolate bar, by 1984.
Barker & Dobson sold its newsagents business, with 150 outlets, to Guinness for £10 million in 1985. A high-class chocolate shop on Bond Street, London was retained.
Keiller, the butterscotch and marmalade manufacturer, was acquired for £4.9 million in 1985.
The highest-selling product lines in 1985 were Hacks, Victory V and Everton Mints.
The Whitefield Road offices were closed in 1985, and headquarters were relocated to Bury.
Barker & Dobson acquired Budgens supermarkets, with 148 outlets, from Booker McConnell for £80 million in 1986.
Subsequent owners
Alma Holdings acquired the heavily loss-making confectionery subsidiary of Barker & Dobson for £10 million in 1988. The deal created the fourth largest sugar confectionery manufacturer in Britain.
Alma entered into receivership in 1992, and Hacks and Victory V were sold to Cadbury for £3.1 million, with production relocated to their Trebor Bassett factories. Barker & Dobson and Keiller were acquired by Portfolio Foods for £3 million.
The Barker & Dobson brand was withdrawn in 2008 alongside the Pascall and Sharp’s names, with traditional sweets consolidated under the Taveners brand.
Hacks remains a leading confectionery brand in Malaysia.
Trebor is best known today for its Extra Strong and Softmints. It also introduced Refreshers, Fruit Salad and Black Jack sweets. Trebor was the largest sugar confectionery manufacturer in Britain when it was acquired by Cadbury in 1989.
Establishment
Robertson & Woodcock was established when William Woodcock (a sugar boiler), Robert Robertson (a grocer), Sydney Herbert Marks (a salesman) and Thomas King (a grocer) invested £100 each in a partnership to manufacture boiled sweets from 1907.
There was a factory at Forest Gate, London, called the Trebor Works. Confectionery was sold under the Trebor brand.
A view of the Trebor factory at Forest Gate
Horse-drawn vans were replaced by motor vehicles for distribution purposes from 1915.
Two popular chew sweets, the Fruit Salad and the Black Jack, were introduced in the 1920s.
Sydney J Marks (1900 – 1980), the son of S H Marks, was sent to Germany to learn the latest production methods in 1925. Information he acquired on powdered sugar enabled Robertson & Woodcock to introduce its two most famous products. Refreshers were introduced from 1935, and Extra Strong Peppermints were launched in 1937.
A new factory was established on a five-acre site in Chesterfield from 1939. The site was chosen as it lowered distribution costs for the Midlands and the North of England. Initially around 300 people were employed.
S J Marks became managing director in 1941. By this time the company was controlled by the Marks family. S J Marks was a brilliant but autocratic businessman.
Sugar was rationed during the Second World War, so a sugar and lard mixture was used to make the product go further.
Control of Jamesons Chocolates was acquired in 1959.
Trebor Sharps Edward Sharp & Sons of Maidstone, a toffee manufacturer, was acquired in 1961.
Sharps and Trebor were merged in 1968 to form Trebor Sharps, a mid-sized confectioner based at Woodford Green, Essex.
An overseas trade flourished, and by the late 1960s, the company was the largest exporter of sugar confectionery in Britain, sending 15 percent of production to nearly 70 countries. More mints were sold in Nigeria than in the domestic market, and the United States was the largest export destination.
Clarnico, the confectionery subsidiary of Clarke, Nickolls & Coombs, was acquired for £750,000 in 1969. The acquisition made Trebor the fourth largest confectionery company in Britain.
Sydney J Marks became president of Trebor from 1970, and his son, John Marks (1930 – 2012), became chairman.
Trebor was the leading sugar confectionery manufacturer in Britain by 1978. Led by its Extra Strong brand, the company held 30 percent of the mints market.
Guided by his Christian convictions, John Marks developed a paternalistic relationship with his workforce. The business banned night shifts from 1981, in the belief that it was disruptive to domestic life.
The loss-making confectionery arm of Maynards, best known for wine gums, was acquired for £8.1 million in 1986.
Trebor was the leading sugar confectionery manufacturer in Britain by 1986, with a twelve percent market share, including 50 percent of all hard mint sales. It was the market leader in boiled sugar sweets and branded mints.
Trebor is sold to Cadbury
Unfortunately the business found itself under increasing pressure from the bigger confectionery firms, with larger marketing budgets. Trebor was sold to Cadbury for £120 million in 1989. The Marks family gifted 15 percent of the sale value to their workforce.
Many of the 3,000 strong workforce were to lose their jobs. Redundancy costs were low, as many workers were only employed on three-month contracts.
Cadbury recouped some of its takeover costs by divesting Trebor House, the head office and factory in North London.
Trebor Extra Strong was the second-highest selling sugar confectionery line in Britain by 1997, behind only Polo mints. Trebor Softmints were the third-highest seller. Maynards Wine Gums were the fourth best-seller.
The Chesterfield factory was closed with the loss of 245 jobs in 2005. The closure was blamed on an outdated plant and declining sales of Fruit Salads and Black Jacks.
George Payne & Co became the largest tea merchant firm in the world. The business is best-known today for Poppets, a chocolate-coated toffee confectionery.
Largest tea merchants in the world
George Daniel Payne (1845 – 1927) was a tea buyer and blender for Brooke Bond. He was recognised as a forthright figure.
Payne established George Payne & Co, tea and coffee blenders, from 1896. The factory was at Queen Elizabeth Street, Tower Bridge, Bermondsey. James Finlay & Co, a Scottish tea merchant, held a 30 percent stake in the venture.
George Payne & Co blended and packed own-label tea for J Sainsbury, a grocery chain, under the Red Label name, from 1903. George Payne & Co was the largest tea merchant business in the world by 1910.
George Payne & Co expanded into cocoa production from 1905, and this led to their entrance into the confectionery market from 1910. The Tower Bridge factory was extended to five storeys to accommodate increasing production.
Payne’s enters into mass production of confectionery
A new confectionery factory was opened at Croydon Road, Beddington in 1919. Built across one storey on a 55-acre site, it produced cocoa, chocolate and confectionery. It prospered by concentrating on a limited number of product lines.
The Croydon Road, Beddington site, c.1991
George Daniel Payne died in 1927 and left a gross estate valued at £81,491. Management of the business was taken over by Robert Henry Payne (1892 – 1946).
The Tower Bridge factory was rebuilt following a destructive fire in 1929.
One of the most popular product lines was the dragée, a bite-sized sweet with a chocolate coating, based on a confection popular in Vienna. The name was eventually anglicised to Payne’s Poppets, and the trademark was registered in 1936.
Poppets quickly became a leading product for the business. They were popular with cinema and theatre-goers as their cardboard-box packaging made them less noisy and more convenient to handle. Also, the “polished” chocolate coating did not readily melt, which reduced mess.
George Payne & Co employed 500 people by the late 1930s.
Robert Henry Payne died with an estate valued at £163,567 in 1946. Management of the business was taken over by his brother, Ronald George Payne (born 1910).
By the mid-1950s Poppets were available in a variety of flavours: Milk and Plain assortment, Brazils, Hazelnut, Almonds and All Nut assortment and Vanilla and Peppermint Creams.
Despite the success of Poppets, George Payne & Co continued as one of the largest tea blenders in Britain.
James Finlay & Co increased its stake in George Payne & Co to take overall control of the business in the 1950s.
The Tower Bridge site was closed in 1990 and tea processing was relocated to a new site at Elmsall, near Pontefract in Yorkshire.
Just Brazils was a top ten boxed chocolate by 1996, and Poppets was the eighth highest selling children’s confectionery.
Subsequent ownership
James Finlay & Co decided to focus on their tea and coffee interests. The George Payne & Co confectionery business was sold to Northern Foods for £10 million in 1998.
George Payne & Co was the 48th largest confectionery manufacturer in the world in 2000. It had an annual turnover of $120 million, and employed 500 people.
The Beddington factory had become outdated, and offered limited potential for expansion. It was closed with the loss of 157 jobs in 2002, and production was relocated to Leicester.
Northern Foods sold its confectionery arm, including Fox’s glacier mints as well as Payne’s, to Big Bear for £9.4 million in 2003.
The Leicester factory was closed in 2019, and production of Poppets was relocated to York.
Needler’s was one of the largest regional confectionery firms in Britain.
Fred Needler
Fred Needler (1865 – 1932) was born in Arnold, a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, about nine miles outside Hull.
Needler became general assistant to a small confectioner on Osborne Street, Hull from 1881. His employer was an alcoholic, an unreliable, blustering and bullying man. Conditions were bad, and the hours were long.
The business failed in 1886, and Needler borrowed £100 to buy the equipment and establish his own confectionery business at nearby Hanover Square. Needler manufactured chocolate and boiled sweets, and initially worked 15.5 hour days.
A Needler’s delivery van
Needler relocated to larger premises on Brook Street in 1890. By this time around ten people were employed.
The growing business removed to a larger site at Spring Street from 1896.
The business was registered as Fred Needler Ltd in 1902. The company directors were recruited from Needler’s staff of 50.
The company relocated to a new factory on Sculcoates Lane from 1906, and changed its name to Needlers Ltd.
Fred Needler was a charming man, and highly principled and scrupulous. He was a staunch Primitive Methodist, and was guided by three principles: honesty, quality and fair treatment of his workforce. From the beginning there was an extensive profit-sharing scheme for staff. The company also covered sick pay and early retirement due to illness. Two holiday homes were established in seaside resorts. Newly-wed female employees were awarded a “dowry”.
The company employed over 1,400 people by 1924. The Prince of Wales toured the factory in 1926. Sales outlets were opened in Newcastle and London in 1929. Needlers opened a 6.5 acre recreation ground adjacent to its works for the use of its staff in 1930.
Fred Needler died in 1932 with an estate valued at £147,596. He had donated generously to local charities throughout his life. By this time Needlers was one of the largest businesses in Hull, with 2,000 employees.
Arthur and Raymond Needler
Fred Needler was succeeded by his son, Arthur Percival Needler (1900 – 1976). The company struggled during the Great Depression.
Needler chemists discovered a method to produce clear (or glace) fruit drops by adding lactic acid in 1938. The glace drop was to prove a major success for the company.
A P Needler retired in 1970 and was succeeded by his son, Raymond F Needler. Needler immediately acquired Batger & Co, a London toffee manufacturer, and centralised all production at Hull. Following the acquisition, Needlers employed 750 people.
Needlers experienced mixed success throughout the 1970s, and was steadily loss-making by the early 1980s. The problems were blamed on a shift in public taste from sugar confectionery to chocolate, and the decline of the traditional corner sweet shop due to the growth of the supermarkets. In order to reduce costs, a large number of low-margin, low-volume product lines were discontinued in 1977, and the workforce was downsized from 750 to 400.
Increased exports and private-label contracts allowed Needler to re-enter profitability in 1984.
Loss of independence and closure of the factory
Needler was acquired by Hillsdown Holdings for £3.4 million the following year.
Needler failed to invest in modern machinery, and entered a period of steady decline.
Needler was acquired by Blue Bird Confectionery for £3.85 million in 1996.
Blue Bird Confectionery had an annual turnover of $66 million and 120 employees in 2000.
Ashbury Confectionery of Corby, a leading own-label chocolate manufacturer, acquired Blue Bird in 2001. The Hull factory was closed the following year.
Ashbury Confectionery entered administration in 2015, and was acquired by Baronie, a Belgian chocolate manufacturer.
Needler branded chocolates are still produced as of 2018.
