Baxters Food Group Limited, also known as Baxters of Speyside or Baxters, is a food processing company, based in Fochabers, Scotland. It produces foods such as canned soups, canned meat products, sour pickles, sauces, vinegars, antipasto, chutneys, fruit preserves and salad and meat condiments.
Products are sold under the Baxters brand as well as a variety of brands owned, or licensed, to the group. Baxters has remained a private family company for four generations, during which time it has expanded significantly by acquiring other business within the United Kingdom and internationally. Baxters holds a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty the Queen as purveyors of Scottish specialities.
The company was known as W.A. Baxter & Sons Ltd. prior to 21 December 2006.
History
Origins and early to mid-20th century
Baxters was founded in 1868 by 25 year old gardener George Baxter when he borrowed £100 from family members and established a grocery shop in Fochabers, Moray. George's wife Margaret Baxter supported her husband by making jams and jellies using local fruit.
In 1916, George and Margaret's son, William Baxter, purchased land from the Duke of Richmond and Gordon and with his wife, Ethel Baxter, built a factory adjacent to the River Spey, to the east of Fochabers. The Baxters shop became known for supplying jams and jellies and began preparing their own beetroot, and selling it to other grocers. Ethel concentrated on jam making, while William promoted the business throughout Scotland.
A canning machine was hired by Ethel in 1923 in order to can local fruit in syrup, such as strawberries, raspberries and plums, with Baxters becoming one of the first companies in Scotland to do so. Ethel started creating a variety of soups using local produce in 1929, the first being Royal Game using venison from Upper Speyside. The packaging artwork features a derivative of the painting The Monarch of the Glen, an oil-on-canvas painting of a red deer stag completed in 1851 by the English painter Sir Edwin Landseer. Before long the Baxter family were supplying upmarket department stores in London such as Harrods and Fortnum & Mason.
During the Second World War, the company survived principally by producing jam for the armed forces.
Mid to late 20th century
Ena and Gordon Baxter joined the company in 1952. Ena, an artist and cook, helped expand the range of Scottish soups on offer to include traditional Scottish recipes such as Cock-a-leekie, Scotch Broth and Chicken Broth. In 1955, Baxters was granted royal warrants of appointment by HM Queen Elizabeth II, The Queen Mother and HM Gustav VI, King of Sweden for the manufacturer of Scottish food specialties.
In the 1960s, Baxters was supplying its products internationally and in 1962 it was the first company in the United Kingdom to introduce twist-top caps to 12oz jars for preserves. By the 1980s, Baxters had become a leading premium soup brand and began promoting more exotic soup flavours. Despite the increasing size of the company, Baxters maintained an image as a "family business", with a series of advertisements showing the Baxter family heavily involved in the preparation of their products.
Gordon Baxter's daughter Audrey Baxter became managing director in 1992, who along with her brother Andrew Baxter developed a range of new products. The company's other major shareholder is James Baxter, Andrew Baxter's son. Gordon Baxter died in 2013 (aged 95), and Ena Baxter in 2015 (aged 90).
21st century
In the 21st century, Baxters commenced a strategy of significant expansion by acquiring rival food manufactures in order to double in size and increase annual turnover to in excess of £100 million. Its first acquisition was in July 2001 when Garner Foods Ltd., a producer of a pickles, chutneys and salad dressings was purchased. Garners was established in 1989 and employed 40 people at its base in Pershore, Worcestershire.
In 2001, a new factory for the manufacturing of chilled soups was built for Baxters in Grimsby, northeast Lincolnshire.
CCL Foods PLC was purchased by Baxters in July 2003. The firm employed 50 people at its plant in Earls Colne near Colchester in Essex and produces pickles and condiments under the Mary Berry, Peppadew, Pizza Express, Olivaise and Simply Delicious brands and for supermarkets such as Safeway (now Morrisons) and Waitrose. CCL Foods operates as a subsidiary of Baxters and is now known as Baxters (Earls Colne) Ltd.