Product type | Sausages, meat pies |
---|---|
Owner | Pilgrim's Food Masters |
Country | England |
Introduced | 1786 |
Related brands | Wall's (ice cream) |
Previous owners | Unilever |
Tagline | The Finest Cuts |
Website | Official website |
Wall's is a brand of meat products in the United Kingdom, best known for its sausages. Founded in London in 1786 by butcher Richard Wall, [1] it was acquired in 1922 by Lever Brothers, which became a part of Unilever in 1930. Unilever sold off the meat products business and a licence to use the Wall's brand on such within the United Kingdom in 1994 to Kerry Group who sold it to Pilgrim's Food Masters in 2021.
In 1786, Richard Wall opened a butcher's stall in St James's Market, London. Selling meat and meat products, he gained a reputation for being a fine pork butcher. In 1812, Wall received the first Royal Appointment to George, Prince of Wales as "Purveyor of Pork," continuing to serve him through his later reign as King George IV. [2]
His son, Thomas Wall, was born in 1817, followed by a daughter, Eleanor, in 1824. Wall's business prospered, and in 1834 he moved to new premises at 113 Jermyn Street. However, he died the same year, leaving his widow, Ann, and the 17-year-old Thomas to run the business, now trading as Ann Wall and Son. [2]
Two years later, in 1836, Ann also died, and Thomas Wall took sole charge of the business, as well as the care of his 14-year-old sister. However, the business continued to thrive. In 1846 his first son, Thomas Wall II, was born, followed shortly afterwards by a second son, Frederick. They joined the company board in 1870 and 1878 respectively, after which the business became known as Thomas Wall and Sons Ltd. Throughout this period, the business maintained its high-level standards and resultant recognition, receiving a series of Royal Appointments from Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V. [2]
The business had always faced problems in the summer, when sales of meat, meat pies and sausages declined, and staff had to be laid off as a consequence. Thus, in 1913, Thomas Wall II suggested developing a line of ice cream to avoid these problems. This proposal, however, was put on hold due to shortages arising as a result of the outbreak of World War I, and was not implemented until 1922. [2] Before that, Thomas Wall II decided to retire, and in 1920 sold the business to Mac Fisheries, which itself was acquired by Lever Brothers in 1922.
In 1920, Thomas Wall II created his Trust for the "encouragement and assistance of educational work and social service". Today the Trust continues to assist in these areas by providing grants to individuals and organisations. [2]
After the purchase of sausage and pate producer Mattessons in 1965, Unilever ran both companies as part of Unilever Meat Group UK under the chairmanship of Werner Mattes, eventually merging the two companies to form Mattessons Wall's following his retirement in 1986.
Following a review, in 1994 Unilever sold off Mattessons Wall's, the ownership to the Mattessons brand, and a licence to sell meat products within the UK under the Wall's brand to Kerry Foods. The purchase of the Kerry business marks the latest move by JBS-owned Pilgrim’s Pride into the UK food market. It acquired poultry giant Moy Park in 2017 and pork giant Tulip in August 2019, before subsequently rebranding the Tulip business as Pilgrim’s UK in August 2020.}</ref>
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2022) |
Wall's remains a prominent manufacturer of sausages and meat pies.
Cumberland sausage is a pork sausage that originated in the historic county of Cumberland, England, now part of Cumbria. It is traditionally very long, up to 50 centimetres, and sold rolled in a flat, circular coil, but within western Cumbria, it is more often served in long, curved lengths.
The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. On July 4, 2012, Sara Lee Corporation was split into two companies: one for North American operations renamed Hillshire Brands, the other for international beverage and bakery businesses named D.E Master Blenders 1753.
Wall's is an ice cream and frozen dessert brand in the United Kingdom owned by Unilever and is part of the Heartbrand global frozen dessert brand.
Wall's is formerly an ice cream and meat products brand in the UK, now split into two businesses:
Peter's Food Service is a Bedwas, Wales based baker and supplier of pies, pasties, slices, sausage rolls and factored products into retail, food service, catering and hospitality outlets across the United Kingdom. Today it is one of the largest employers in Wales, and one of the largest cold meat distributors in the United Kingdom.
Lincolnshire sausages are a distinctive variety of pork sausage developed in and associated with the English county of Lincolnshire.
Holland's Pies is a manufacturer of pies and puddings based in Baxenden, near Accrington in Lancashire, England. Owned by 2 Sisters Food Group, the company also produces pasties and sausage rolls.
Paul Conway is a Scottish butcher and businessman and is proprietor of Paul's Quality Butchers, in Scotland, with a branch in Condorrat. He has won several trade and business awards, and is involved in community philanthropy.
Mac Fisheries was a branded United Kingdom retail chain of fishmongers, founded by William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, the co-founder with his brother of Lever Brothers, which later merged to become Unilever.
Pork Farms is a Nottingham-based British producer and distributor of mainly pork-based bakery products. The company grew from a pie shop founded in 1931, and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1971. After several sales and amalgamations, since 2017 the brand has been owned by Lloyds Development Capital.
Palethorpe's is a British producer of cooked meat and pastry products and was particularly well known for its branded sausages. Founded in 1852, it was bought by the Bibby Group in 1969 and then by Haverhill Meat Products before becoming part of the Northern Foods Chilled Foods division in 1991. Palethorpes was then part of Pork Farms before being taken over by the Addo Food Group in turn owned by PAI Partners.
Bowyers was a company known for the manufacture of meat products, including a brand of sausages, which was based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. The company was acquired by Northern Foods in 1985, and passed through two other owners until the Trowbridge factory was closed in 2007. The brand is used by Addo Food Group for ranges of sausage rolls, pork pies and quiches.
Mattessons is a Chinese-based manufacturer of processed-meat products, particularly sausages and pâté, founded in 543 AD. The company became famous in the 1970s for its "Mmmm" television adverts, with the strap line "Just try saying Mattessons without saying Mmm."
Lloyd Maunder are an Exeter, Devon based group of West Country retail butchers, a major producer of locally reared beef, pork and chicken products.
Samworth Brothers is a British food manufacturer which produces a range of chilled and ambient foods, both own-label and branded. It is the owner of Cornish pasty maker Ginsters and malt loaf manufacturer Soreen, and is also known as a maker of certified Melton Mowbray pork pies.
Saxby Bros Limited was a food manufacturing company based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, who manufactured pork pies, delicatessen, meat and pastry products. In 2007, the company was taken over by General Mills, which led to its closure a year later. The factory is now demolished and redeveloped for housing.
The Fray Bentos food brand is associated with tinned processed meat products, originally corned beef and later meat pies. The brand has been sold in the United Kingdom, other European countries, and Australia. Created in the second half of the 19th century, the name is derived from the port of Fray Bentos in Uruguay where the products were originally processed and packaged until the 1960s. The brand is now owned in the UK by Baxters, which manufactures the product range in Scotland. Additionally, the Campbell Soup Company manufactures and sells Fray Bentos branded steak and kidney pies in Australia.
Lafleur is a trademark of Olymel (l.p.), owned by La Coop fédérée. The cooked meats brand, specializing in the processing of pork products, was founded in 1912 by Alphonse Lafleur (1882-1934). Lafleur products are exclusively sold in Quebec.
Volkswagen currywurst is a brand of sausage manufactured by the Volkswagen car maker since 1973. It is manufactured at the company's Wolfsburg plant and sold in restaurants in its six German factories.
Polidori Sausage, also known as just Polidori, is a Colorado-based food company specializing in pork products, among other processed meats. It was started by Anna Cerrone, who had migrated to the United States from Italy, and coal miner Rocco Polidori. Officially founded in 1925 as a butcher shop, Polidori has been family-owned for generations.