Grown over 150 years, the ethos of Baxters has never changed

Be different,
be better.

Where it all began

25-year-old George Baxter had been working as a gardener for the Duke of Richmond and Gordon on the Gordon Castle Estate when he decided that the green-fingered life was no longer for him. He wanted to own a grocery business.

After borrowing 11 guineas from family members, the doors to George’s small shop in the village of Fochabers, open for the first time. It’s there in the back shop, that his wife Margaret began making jams and jellies with fruits from the local area. And it wasn’t just the locals who lapped them up, the Duke of Fochabers made them a staple of his dinner table.

We don’t like to speculate but we’re pretty sure the Duchess’ absolute favourite was rhubarb and ginger!
Old Jam
Old shop pic
First store opens
1868

A New Factory

Like father, like son. William follows into the family trade, buying a spot of land from the Duke and building a factory, exactly 120 yards from the River Spey. His wife Ethel follows suit, creating an exceptional range of jams which William cycles to markets all over Scotland.

William went through six bikes in the first year of delivering the jams and jellies!
Www baxters com 1949999082052188
Illustration of new factory
1917

Canning Begins

After hiring a canning machine, Ethel pioneers the airtight canning of locally grown fruit. Baxters proudly becomes one of the first companies in Scotland to produce canned fruits in syrup, including strawberries, raspberries and plums.

Trifles up and down the country just wouldn’t have been the same without us!
Big Cans

From Jams to Soups

Inspired by the sheer abundance of fine local produce, Ethel decides to trial something different and tries her hand at soups. And we’re so glad she did. She created a range of soups including the original recipe for the now famous Royal Game soup with venison from the hills of Upper Speyside. Orders from the likes of Harrods and Fortnum & Mason soon come flooding in. Ethel’s soups were a national success.

Baxters Royal Game soup was the first soup ever created by Ethel and it continues to be one of our most popular, even 90 years later!
Original Royal Game ROUGH

Back on Track

Gordon and Ian Baxter return home after the long war years and get back to work at the family business, taking over the reins of the factory from their parents.

William Ethel Gordon Ian
Left to right: William, Gordon, Ian, Ethel
WANTED JARS POSTER
War effort campaign

Ena Joins the Company

A turning point in the Baxter story is when another creative lady joins the family. In 1952, talented Aberdeenshire artist and cook, Ena Robertson meets and soon marries Gordon. Together in their tiny lab, they create an exciting new range of Scottish soups inspired by traditional recipes including Cock-a-leekie, Scotch Broth and Chicken Broth.

Chicken gumbo was Ena’s first soup!
Gordon Ena Plane
Gordon and Ena boarding plane
Cock a leekie label crop
The first Cock-a-leekie label

By Royal Appointment

Baxters commitment to food of the highest quality brings Royal recognition. HM Queen Elizabeth II, grants the prestigious Royal Warrant of Appointment to the company for manufacturers of Scottish Food Specialities.

There’s the Queen herself being shown around the factory! We all got new outfits especially for that day!
Gordon Queen

Becoming World Famous

Well, we couldn’t just keep it all to ourselves, could we? By this point, Baxters was supplying fine quality soups to shops and delicatessens all over the world. Wanting to give them more of a taste of Scottish offerings, Gordon and Ena develop the innovative ‘Best of Scotland’ concept, which includes speciality foods, gift packs and tabletop accessories for top department stores in Europe, America, South Africa, Japan and Australia. They are inundated with orders.

You can be in a shop anywhere in the world, but you’ll probably still spot a tin of Baxters on the shelves!
Gordon Plane
Gordon presenting a gift to Illinois St. Andrew Society
Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago

Another Innovation

Baxters’ reputation for innovation continues, as we become the first company in the UK to introduce twist-top caps on 12oz jars of preserves.

Orange jar flat
Strowberyy Jam

Baxters on TV

A natural in front of the camera, Ena becomes somewhat of a culinary celebrity after appearing on a number of TV programmes both at home and abroad. Her successful appearances help to revive public interest in traditional Scottish cuisine dating back to Mary Queen of Scots and her French chefs.

We used to love gathering round the telly to watch mum in her apron!
Lady Barnett
A visit from Lady Barnett

The Biggest Beetroot Producer

Baxters becomes the number one producer of beetroot products in the UK. It was one of the products that went back to our... roots. Our beetroot in vinegar was first made in the 1920s when William Baxter purchased half a ton of the root vegetable, which wife Ethel then cooked, hand-sliced and bottled in Orleans Wine vinegar.

Must have been a big pot to fit half a ton of beetroot...
Beetroot tin
Beetroot

New Flavours For A New Era

Baxters only goes from strength to strength as the UK’s number one premium soup brand. This was largely thanks to the formidable business duo, Ena and Gordon having their finger on the button and responding to ever-changing consumer tastes. And they’re not done. They decide to experiment with more exotic flavours, kickstarting a new, exciting era for the brand.

Ena George Size1

Handing Over the Spoon

After a long and successful career at the head of the company, Gordon Baxter hands over the reins to his daughter, Audrey. Together with her brother Andrew, Audrey makes a splash by creating an enticing new range of products for markets around the world. The company enters a whole new global chapter.

Continuing my family’s legacy was a dream come true.
Audrey Gordon
World map

A Royal Visit

The Royal connection remains strong throughout the years. A very proud day for all at Fochabers, when the company’s 125 years of food making is marked with a visit from HRH Prince of Wales.

Prince Charles even told us which soup was his favourite - but hushed us to secrecy!

Here and now

Still at the helm, Audrey Baxter and her management team run a company that her great grandparents could never have dreamed of. The sheer scale of the operation now based in sites throughout the UK and food manufacturing operations in the USA, Australia and Poland, and the science and technology that underlies it may be far removed from the little village shop in Fochabers… but the ethos remains the same. Be different, be better.

I know they’d all be very proud
AUDREY BAXTER RT 6