While the ancient lands of Greece and China constitute cradles of the oldest civilisations in the world, the UK is one of the longest-running continuous sovereign nations in the world, existing since 519 AD. This makes it the fourth oldest in Europe, behind San Marino, Italy, and France.
Unlike many other countries, it has used the same form of government since 1st January 1801, maintaining relative legal stability for more than 200 years. As a result of this, there have been many businesses that have a history of similar length, adapting to the changing demands of the British consumer.
Here are some of the most iconic British brands.
Cadbury
It’s distinctive purple packaging and creamy Dairy Milk flavour make Cadbury an iconic British brand. It has been loved by many generations of Brits and has seen fame abroad too.
John Cadbury, who named the company after himself, started selling chocolate in Birmingham in 1824. He started by selling drinking chocolate from a shop on Bull Street, with as many as 30 different varieties available on his shelves.
It opened a new factory in the city in 1857 and produced the first Cadbury Easter egg in 1875. Just over two decades later, the first-ever Cadbury milk chocolate bar hit the shelves of British shops.
Today, Cadbury is owned by Mondelez International, but many of its iconic brands remain true to their tradition.
William Hill
Founded a little more recently, in 1934, William Hill is one of the UK’s best-known bookmakers. While it was sold by the founder that gave the company its name in 1971, the brand has remained consistent for almost 100 years.
The company is now listed on the London Stock Exchange as part of the FTS 250 Index and employs around 16,000 people across the country. William Hill has 1,568 betting shops across the United Kingdom and has operated online since 1998.
The company has focused on the sports betting market for most of its history until it launched William Hill Casino in 2001. Today, it competes by offering new customers a free welcome bonus with no deposit required.
Lloyds Banking Group
The Lloyds brand has changed over the years, as a result of a merger and then separation from TSB in recent decades. This saw the Lloyds Bank and TSB brands become Lloyds TSB in 1999, separating again in 2013 after the bank acquired several more brands during the 2008 financial crisis.
Lloyds began in 1765, when Sampson Lloyd II, a businessman in the iron industry, joined forces with John Taylor, a button maker. The bank wouldn’t open its first branch until 99 years later, before expanding around the country in the following century.
Today, Lloyds Banking Group generates over £40 billion in revenue and has assets of £833 billion. Contained within the group after several other brands, including Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows, Black Horse, Halifax, and Lex Autolease.
Boots
Boots is one of the UK’s best-known chemist and health and beauty brands. It was founded back in 1849 by John Boot, and has since grown to have nearly 58,000 employees across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
It has 2,500 stores across the whole of the British Isles, covering healthcare, beauty, pharmaceuticals, opticians, and photography. It also has a string of stores in airports and train stations.
Boots has one of the best-known loyalty card schemes in Britain. The Boots Advantage Card was first launched in 1997 and continues to be popular among customers today.
The company has several of its own brands of products that have proved to be very successful. This includes makeup brand No7, skincare brand Soap and Glory, and its sun cream brand Soltan.
Boots is now part of the Walgreens Boots Alliance company, creating a vertically integrated pharmaceutical giant with arms in manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, and retail.
While these brands have adapted and evolved over the years, and some are no longer owned by UK entities, they continue to be well-respected consumer favourites today. And given their ability to adapt to a changing environment, it’s likely to continue to do so for some time.
