Crosse & Blackwell
Crosse & Blackwell is a historic English food brand associated with pickles, sauces, preserves, condiments, marmalades and other preserved foods.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Crosse & Blackwell is an English food brand with roots in an eighteenth-century London colonial-produce business. The enterprise that ultimately became associated with the name was established in 1706 as Jackson's and later operated as West & Wyatt, a supplier of preserved foods, oils, salted fish, pickles, sauces and condiments. West & Wyatt held royal appointments to George III, George IV and William IV and operated from premises in Soho. Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell joined the business as apprentices in 1819. In 1830, they borrowed £600 from their families to acquire it, creating the Crosse & Blackwell name. The company expanded from a London food merchant into a large-scale manufacturer and packer of preserved foods. It received a royal warrant from Queen Victoria in 1837 and moved its offices and shop to Soho Square during the following decade. The brand became notable for combining industrial food production with product development and prominent culinary endorsements. During the 1850s it worked with the French chef Alexis Soyer on sauces and relishes, including Soyer's Sauce, Soyer's Relish and Soyer's Sultana Sauce. Crosse & Blackwell also acted as a wholesaler of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. Its manufacturing activities included vinegar brewing, pickle packing, canning and the preservation of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. A Cork plant established in 1849 produced canned salmon for the expanding market in preserved foods and provisions for long-distance shipping. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the company developed a substantial industrial and distribution network. It occupied or commissioned warehouses and other buildings around Charing Cross Road and Soho, while its products were increasingly distributed beyond Britain. The company became a limited company in 1892, established a factory in Hamburg before the First World War, and acquired several food businesses. Important additions included E. Lazenby & Son, a sauce and pickle maker, and James Keiller & Son, the Dundee marmalade manufacturer. Other acquisitions included Cosmelli Packing Company, Robert Kellie & Son, Batzer & Co, Alexander Cairns & Sons and the Irish producer Williams and Woods. Crosse & Blackwell's history is also closely connected with Branston Pickle. In 1920, it acquired a factory site at Branston near Burton upon Trent and began producing Branston Pickle there in 1922. The factory was considered uneconomic, however, and production moved to the company's Bermondsey facilities. Branston production at the original site ended in January 1925, causing substantial local unemployment and prompting a local boycott of Crosse & Blackwell products. The Branston name later became one of the company's best-known food brands, although it subsequently developed separate ownership. By 1930, the company had factories or operations in Britain, Hamburg, Baltimore, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Paris and Toronto. Its activities covered a broad range of branded and packaged foods, including condiments, marmalades, meat sauces, seafood sauces, mincemeat, mustard, pickles and pickled onions. The business was also affected by war: the James Keiller factory in Silvertown was destroyed during the London Blitz in 1940, and some confectionery and chocolate production was transferred to Dundee. Nestlé acquired the Crosse & Blackwell Group in 1960. The purchase added eleven factories to Nestlé's operations and included a major British fish-canning facility in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. At the time, the group employed approximately 4,700 production workers and a further 1,900 people in other staff and sales roles. Nestlé subsequently used Crosse & Blackwell across several food categories and markets. The brand was later divested in 2002, after which ownership became geographically divided. The brand remains active in selected markets, with product portfolios and manufacturing arrangements varying by country.
History
The commercial lineage of Crosse & Blackwell reaches back to 1706, when Jackson's was established as a London colonial-produce business. It later became West & Wyatt, whose activities included the sale and preparation of oils, salted fish, crystallised fruits, preserves, pickles, sauces and other foods. The firm operated from Soho and held royal appointments to three Georgian and early Victorian monarchs. Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell entered West & Wyatt as apprentices in 1819. Eleven years later they purchased the business with a £600 family loan and established the Crosse & Blackwell name. Their company expanded rapidly, moving to Soho Square and securing a royal warrant from Queen Victoria in 1837. It developed a reputation for packaged preserved foods and for working with culinary personalities. Its collaboration with Alexis Soyer in the 1850s produced several named sauces and relishes, an early example of chef-led food promotion. Manufacturing grew alongside the company's trading activities. Crosse & Blackwell operated a vinegar brewery, packed pickles and acquired the Bermondsey canning business Gamble & Company. It opened a salmon-preserving plant in Cork in 1849 and supplied preserved fruit, vegetables and meat for domestic and maritime markets. During the later nineteenth century, the company developed warehouses and offices around Charing Cross Road. Some of these premises survived into the twentieth century; archaeological remains recovered during the redevelopment of the former Astoria site included thousands of Victorian jars and pots associated with the company's historic operations. The company incorporated as a limited company in 1892 and pursued expansion through acquisitions and overseas manufacturing. It acquired E. Lazenby & Son in 1919 and James Keiller & Son in 1924, while also taking over or incorporating several other food businesses. In 1928 it acquired Williams and Woods, an important Irish jam and confectionery producer. Before and after the First World War, it established or operated facilities outside Britain, including in Hamburg and, by 1930, in Baltimore, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Paris and Toronto. The Branston episode illustrates both the scale and risks of this expansion. Crosse & Blackwell purchased a large site at Branston in 1920 and began producing Branston Pickle there in 1922. The factory proved uneconomic, so production was transferred to Bermondsey. Closure of the Branston plant in January 1925 caused major local unemployment and led some residents to boycott the company's goods. Production and related operations continued at Bermondsey for decades. The company's other businesses faced wartime disruption. The James Keiller factory at Silvertown, rebuilt after an earlier fire, was destroyed in the first daylight raid on London in September 1940. Chocolate and confectionery production moved to Dundee, while preserves manufacture was eventually restored and later consolidated there. The group entered the postwar period as a diversified international food producer. Nestlé's 1960 acquisition marked the principal corporate turning point of the modern brand. The transaction added eleven factories and included a large fish-canning operation in Peterhead. Crosse & Blackwell employed about 6,600 people across production, administration and sales at the time. Under Nestlé, the name was extended across multiple food categories and countries. Nestlé eventually sold the operations in 2002. Since then, ownership has been fragmented by territory: the J.M. Smucker Company has held North American rights, Princes Group European interests and Tiger Brands South African interests, while Nestlé has retained production of certain Japanese food-service curry-powder formats. As a result, the contemporary range and corporate affiliation of Crosse & Blackwell depend on the market in which the product is sold.
- 2002
Nestlé divestment
[1]Nestlé sells the Crosse & Blackwell operations, beginning the brand's geographically divided ownership period.
- 1960
Nestlé acquisition
[1]Nestlé acquires the Crosse & Blackwell Group and its network of factories and food brands.
- 1925
Branston factory closes
[1]Production at Branston ends and is transferred to the company's Bermondsey facilities.
- 1922
Branston Pickle production begins
[1]Production of Branston Pickle starts at the newly acquired Branston site.
- 1892
The business becomes a limited company
[1]Crosse & Blackwell adopts limited-company status as its industrial and international expansion continues.
- 1849
Cork salmon-preserving plant opens
[1]The company establishes a Cork facility producing canned salmon.
- 1837
Royal warrant from Queen Victoria
[1]The company becomes one of the early food businesses to receive a royal warrant from Queen Victoria.
- 1830
The Crosse & Blackwell name is created
[1]Crosse and Blackwell acquire the business and begin operating under their combined name.
- 1819
Crosse and Blackwell join West & Wyatt
[1]Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell enter the predecessor business as apprentices.
- 1706
Jackson's is established in London
[1]The business lineage later associated with Crosse & Blackwell begins as Jackson's, a London colonial-produce enterprise.
Products and positioning
A heritage preserved-food and condiment brand built around British food traditions, long industrial experience, broad international distribution and dependable shelf-stable products.
Preserved vegetables
Pickles and pickled onions
Pickles and pickled onions are central to the brand's historic identity. The company developed large-scale pickle packing in London and marketed preserved vegetables as durable accompaniments and pantry products. The range reflects the brand's origins in nineteenth-century British preserving and condiment manufacture.
Pickle and chutney · 1922
Branston Pickle
Branston Pickle was produced by Crosse & Blackwell from 1922. Although its original factory at Branston was closed in 1925 and manufacture moved to Bermondsey, the product became one of the best-known names associated with the wider Crosse & Blackwell group. Its later ownership is separate from the historical production story described here.
Fruit preserves
Marmalades and jams
Marmalades and jams formed an important part of the company's preserved-food portfolio, strengthened by the 1924 acquisition of James Keiller & Son and the 1928 acquisition of Williams and Woods. The category connected Crosse & Blackwell with British and Irish traditions of fruit preservation and packaged breakfast foods.
Sauces and condiments
Table, meat and seafood sauces
Crosse & Blackwell has marketed a broad family of sauces, including meat sauces, seafood sauces and table condiments. Historical examples include products developed with Alexis Soyer during the 1850s. The category demonstrates the company's long-standing emphasis on ready-to-use flavorings for domestic cooking and serving.
Condiment
Mustard
Mustard is among the condiment categories associated with the Crosse & Blackwell name. It sits within the brand's broader portfolio of sauces, pickles and preserved accompaniments sold through different regional owners.
Fruit preserve and baking ingredient
Mincemeat
Mincemeat is part of the brand's traditional preserved-food range. It reflects Crosse & Blackwell's historical expansion beyond savory sauces and pickles into fruit-based preserves and products used in British baking and seasonal food preparation.
Canned foods
Canned and preserved foods
The company historically produced and packed preserved fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. Its acquisition of Gamble & Company and establishment of a Cork salmon plant supported supply to domestic consumers, commercial customers and long-distance vessels. This industrial canning capability was a major part of the group acquired by Nestlé in 1960.
Brand decisions
2002
Divestment and geographic separation of ownershipM&ABackground
Nestlé ended its ownership of the Crosse & Blackwell operations.
Action taken
The operations were sold, with subsequent rights and ownership distributed among different companies by territory.
Aftermath
The J.M. Smucker Company became associated with North American rights, Princes Group with European interests and Tiger Brands with South African interests. Nestlé continued producing certain Japanese food-service curry products under the name.
1960
Sale of the Crosse & Blackwell Group to NestléM&ABackground
Crosse & Blackwell had become a diversified international food group with manufacturing, preservation and distribution operations in several countries.
Action taken
Nestlé acquired the group, including eleven factories and a major British fish-canning facility.
Aftermath
The brand was developed across multiple food categories and markets under Nestlé ownership until the operations were divested in 2002.
1920
Investment in the Branston preserving plantStrategyBackground
Crosse & Blackwell sought to expand industrial preserving capacity and acquired a substantial site near Burton upon Trent.
Action taken
The company committed to developing the Branston site as a major food-preserving factory and began producing Branston Pickle there in 1922.
Aftermath
The plant proved uneconomic. Production was moved to Bermondsey and the Branston site closed in January 1925, causing local unemployment and a consumer boycott.
Acquisition bid. £612,856 bid for the Branston factory site (1920)
Recent events
- 2002
Nestlé divests Crosse & Blackwell operations[1]
M&A
Nestlé sold the Crosse & Blackwell operations, after which rights and ownership of the brand became divided among different companies and geographic markets.
- 1960
Nestlé acquires the Crosse & Blackwell Group[1]
M&A
Nestlé acquired the Crosse & Blackwell Group, adding eleven factories and a large established portfolio of preserved-food businesses to its operations.
Sources1 sources
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