Wall's ice cream
Encyclopedia
Wall's is a United Kingdom
-originated food brand, covering both meat products and ice cream
, owned by Unilever
. Founded in London
in 1786 by butcher
Richard Wall, it was acquired in 1922 by Lever Brothers
, which became a part of Unilever in 1930. To avoid summer lay-offs due to the down turn in its core meat products market, Wall's launched a range of ice cream in 1922. Unilever sold off the meat products business and a licence to use the Wall's brand on such within the United Kingdom in 1996 to Kerry Group
. Wall's itself is now core to Unilever's Heartbrand global ice cream business, used currently in China
, Hong Kong
, India
, Indonesia
, Jordan
, Lebanon
, Malaysia, Maldives
, Mauritius
, Pakistan
, Qatar
, Saudi Arabia
, Singapore
, Sri Lanka
, Thailand
, United Arab Emirates
and Vietnam
.
, 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
.
In 1817 his son, Thomas Wall, was born, followed in 1824 by a daughter, Eleanor. Wall's business boomed, 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.
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 prosper. 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
.
The business had always faced problems in the summer, when sales of meat, meat pies and sausages fell, and staff had to be laid off as a consequence. Thus, in 1913, Thomas Wall II proposed 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. Before that, Thomas Wall II decided to retire, and so sold the business in 1920 to Mac Fisheries
, which itself was acquired in 1922 by Lever Brothers.
Now under the direction of Maxwell Holt, ice cream production commenced in 1922 at a factory in Acton, London
. As ice cream grew in significance, Unilever split the company into two, T Wall and Son (Ice Cream) Ltd and T Wall and Son (Meats) Ltd. In 1959, Wall's doubled capacity by opening a purpose built ice cream factory in Gloucester
, England
. In 1981 Unilever merged T Wall and Son (Ice Cream) Ltd with Birds Eye
Foods Ltd to form Birds Eye Wall's Ltd. Following a review of production facilities, the Gloucester factory was expanded and updated, and the Acton factory was closed ("Project Phoenix" 1983).
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
. Still a prominent manufacturer of sausages and meat pies, their advert for "Wall's Balls" mimic a scene from the film There's Something About Mary
. Wall's Balls was introduced February 2003 with a series of humerous TV adverts.
and Magnum
, and value-added multi-portion products designed to be eaten at home, such as Viennetta
, the Wall's brand faces severe competition from the major supermarket brands and to a lesser extent from Nestle
(absorbing the Rowntree's and Lyons Maid
brands) and Mars
spin-off ice cream products.
Wall's was introduced in Pakistan
at the start of 1995. Soon after its launching Lever Brothers purchased all assets of Polka Ice Cream, the only large competitor in Pakistan to Wall's ice cream.
Patrick Cescau announced that all Unilever’s palm
oil will be certified sustainable by 2015. He also
told the audience at the Prince of Wales’ May
Day Climate Change Summit in London that
Unilever was supporting the call for an immediate
moratorium on any further deforestation in
Indonesia for palm oil plantations.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-originated food brand, covering both meat products and ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
, owned by Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
. Founded in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1786 by butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
Richard Wall, it was acquired in 1922 by Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers was a British manufacturer founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James Darcy Lever . The brothers had invested in and promoted a new soap making process invented by chemist William Hough Watson, it was a huge success...
, which became a part of Unilever in 1930. To avoid summer lay-offs due to the down turn in its core meat products market, Wall's launched a range of ice cream in 1922. Unilever sold off the meat products business and a licence to use the Wall's brand on such within the United Kingdom in 1996 to Kerry Group
Kerry Group
Kerry Group , is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. It evolved initially from a local dairy co-op in the Munster region of Ireland...
. Wall's itself is now core to Unilever's Heartbrand global ice cream business, used currently in China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Malaysia, Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
History
In 1786, Richard Wall opened a butcher's stall in St James's MarketMarket
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
, London. Selling meat and meat products, he gained a reputation for being a fine pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
butcher. In 1812, Wall received the first Royal Appointment
Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom)
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
to George, Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
as "Purveyor of Pork," continuing to serve him through his later reign as King George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
.
In 1817 his son, Thomas Wall, was born, followed in 1824 by a daughter, Eleanor. Wall's business boomed, and in 1834 he moved to new premises at 113 Jermyn Street
Jermyn Street
Jermyn Street is a street in the City of Westminster, central London, to the south, parallel and adjacent to Piccadilly.It is well known as a street where the shops are almost exclusively aimed at the Gentleman's market and is famous for its resident shirtmakers Jermyn Street is a street in the...
. 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.
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 prosper. 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
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...
.
The business had always faced problems in the summer, when sales of meat, meat pies and sausages fell, and staff had to be laid off as a consequence. Thus, in 1913, Thomas Wall II proposed 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
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and was not implemented until 1922. Before that, Thomas Wall II decided to retire, and so sold the business in 1920 to Mac Fisheries
Mac Fisheries
Mac Fisheries was a branded United Kingdom retail chain of fish mongers, founded by William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, the co-founder with his brother of Lever Brothers, which later merged to become Unilever.-Isle of Lewis:...
, which itself was acquired in 1922 by Lever Brothers.
Now under the direction of Maxwell Holt, ice cream production commenced in 1922 at a factory in Acton, London
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
. As ice cream grew in significance, Unilever split the company into two, T Wall and Son (Ice Cream) Ltd and T Wall and Son (Meats) Ltd. In 1959, Wall's doubled capacity by opening a purpose built ice cream factory in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 1981 Unilever merged T Wall and Son (Ice Cream) Ltd with Birds Eye
Birds Eye
__FORCETOC__Birds Eye is an international brand of frozen foods owned by Pinnacle Foods in North America and by private equity group Permira in Europe....
Foods Ltd to form Birds Eye Wall's Ltd. Following a review of production facilities, the Gloucester factory was expanded and updated, and the Acton factory was closed ("Project Phoenix" 1983).
Meat products
After the purchase of sausage and pate producer MattessonsMattessons
Mattessons is a United Kingdom based manufacturer of processed-meat based products, particularly sausages and Pâté.Founded in 1947 by German Rhineland-born, Richard Mattes, a pork butcher who arrived in England in the 1930s, and his son Werner...
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
Kerry Group
Kerry Group , is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. It evolved initially from a local dairy co-op in the Munster region of Ireland...
. Still a prominent manufacturer of sausages and meat pies, their advert for "Wall's Balls" mimic a scene from the film There's Something About Mary
There's Something About Mary
There's Something About Mary is a 1998 American comedy film, directed by the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter. It stars Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller, and it is a combination of romantic comedy and gross-out film....
. Wall's Balls was introduced February 2003 with a series of humerous TV adverts.
Ice cream
Unilever continues to use the brand for ice cream in the UK. Whilst remaining (2006) the market leader in the UK for individual hand-held products such as CornettoCornetto (ice cream)
Cornetto is a branded frozen ice cream cone manufactured by Unilever and marketed throughout the world under various company names, but with the same Heartbrand logo.- Manufacturing:...
and Magnum
Magnum (ice cream)
Magnum is an ice cream brand owned by the British/Dutch Unilever company, and sold as part of the Heartbrand line of products in most countries. It was originally made by Frisko in Aarhus, Denmark...
, and value-added multi-portion products designed to be eaten at home, such as Viennetta
Viennetta
Viennetta is an ice cream product made in Unilever factories and sold under the various Heartbrand logos around the world. It was launched first by Wall's in 1982 using a technique devised by Kevin Hillman, development manager at Wall's' Gloucester factory....
, the Wall's brand faces severe competition from the major supermarket brands and to a lesser extent from Nestle
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
(absorbing the Rowntree's and Lyons Maid
Lyons Maid
Lyons Maid was a brand of ice-creams and ice-lollies created in 1925as a spin-off from the J. Lyons and Co. retail organisation.Well known brands produced by Lyons Maid included: Zoom, Strawberry Mivvie, Orange Maid, Lolly Gobble Choc Bomb, Fab and Haunted House.Its heyday was probably the 1970s...
brands) and Mars
Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...
spin-off ice cream products.
Wall's was introduced in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
at the start of 1995. Soon after its launching Lever Brothers purchased all assets of Polka Ice Cream, the only large competitor in Pakistan to Wall's ice cream.
Environmental impacts
On 1 May 2008, Unilever Group Chief ExecutivePatrick Cescau announced that all Unilever’s palm
oil will be certified sustainable by 2015. He also
told the audience at the Prince of Wales’ May
Day Climate Change Summit in London that
Unilever was supporting the call for an immediate
moratorium on any further deforestation in
Indonesia for palm oil plantations.