OK, folks – strap yourself into the time machine and let’s travel back 100 years. And let me warn you that the world we’re going back to will certainly feel like a very different place.
It’s a world where Tik-Tok is the sound a clock makes. Where shops are on the corner, rather than online. But, thanks to the staying power of certain brands, at least when you browse the shelves, you might recognise a thing or too.
Right, we’re here. Are you ready?
Welcome to 1924…
1924 kicked off with the Met Office issuing its first broadcast Shipping Forecast, then called Weather Shipping. Moving from shipping to stripping, 1924 was also the year the UK’s first nudist camp was established, at Wickford, Essex.
More suitably attired (one hopes), the Great Britain and Ireland team triumphed at the Paris Olympics, winning an impressive clutch of medals totally — 9 golds, 13 silvers and 12 bronze gongs.
While in October, the Conservatives were the winners at the 1924 General Election, under the leadership of Stanley Baldwin and with future PM Harold McMillan debuting as an MP.
Kleenex: a name not to be sneezed at
Meanwhile, 1924 was also the year that the humble yet indispensable Kleenex Tissue was introduced by US personal care giant Kimberly-Clark.
Originally marketed as a cold cream remover (look it up kids, it’s a kind of early moisturiser), by 1930 the advertising had changed tack to reflect how people were now most commonly using Kleenex Tissues as disposable handkerchiefs.
The name is a portmanteau of ‘clean’ (spelt phonetically) and ‘ex’ being a link back to Kotex – Kimberly-Clark’s successful period products brand of the time.
Reflective of the product’s popularity and wholesale appeal, over time Kleenex became the generic term used to describe any soft facial tissue. So now, a whole century later, you may well hear the words, ‘Pass me the Kleenex, please’ uttered as the latest romcom reduces even the hardest heart to mush.
But Kleenex is by no means the only brand to stay the course, and here’s a few names that go back even further and are still going strong today.
Cadbury’s keeps it sweet
Even at 100, Kleenex is a mere pup compared to Cadbury. In 1824, John Cadbury opened a grocer’s shop in Bull Street, Birmingham, where among his wares, he sold cocoa powder and drinking chocolate, hand ground in a pestle and mortar. By 1831, production moved to a factory on Bridge Street and 16 years later, John welcomed brother Benjamin as his business partner.
Despite a downturn during the 1850’s, Cadbury soon reversed its fortunes under the management of John’s sons, Richard and George, who took over the business in 1861. By the 1880s the brothers had branched out into making chocolate confectioneries, launching the now legendary Dairy Milk bar in 1905.
Containing a higher proportion of milk than any chocolate bar before it, Dairy Milk’s launch marked the first time a British company had succeeded in mass-producing milk chocolate.
1905 was also the year the first ‘proper’ Cadbury logo was designed. Featuring a stylised cocoa tree, intertwined with the Cadbury name, it was created by Georges Auriol – the designer responsible for the Paris Metro signage.
However, in 1921, Cadbury changed things up by introducing the first (and now globally recognised) script logo. First appearing on the company’s delivery vans, this identity has really stood the test of time, undergoing minor facelifts over the years but remaining largely unchanged over a century later.
Today, as a subsidiary of Mondelēz International, Cadbury’s chocolate is known and loved the world over, and Dairy Milk’s purple packaging is just as distinctive and iconic as it’s always been.
Raise a cup to Twinings
Pop the kettle on, let’s talk tea… or more specifically, Twinings. Founded by Thomas Twining when he opened Britain’s first known tea room, at No. 216 Strand, London, in 1706. Old Tommy T (let’s call him) must have been doing something right, because over 300 years later, the beverage business is still brewing up a storm.
Acquired by Associated British Foods in 1964, Twinings is a holder of the prestigious Royal Warrant. Awarded by Queen Victoria in 1837, the brand has supplied their brews to every British Monarch ever since.
Twinings also has the record for the world’s oldest continually used company logo. First created in 1787, it has hardly changed since – remaining true to the original design almost 240 years later.
Like The Co-operative, Twinings was perhaps one of the first brands to believe in making a difference and, in the 1860s, Elizabeth Twining turned the family home in Twickenham into a training school for impoverished girls looking to enter into service, as well as caring for retired domestic servants. Elizabeth also founded St John’s – a provident hospital caring for those who could not afford a doctor.
Incidentally, Twinings is also London’s longest standing ratepayer.
From cakes to The Royal Mint
Now for some real ancient history. In the year of 886 AD, Alfred the Great – subpar cake maker and one time King of Wessex – swapped baking for battle and recaptured London from the savage Danelaw. To mark this noble victory, Alfie G began issuing silver pennies featuring his portrait later that year.
In doing this, he effectively founded the Royal Mint, which by 1279 had centralised all its operations in the Tower of London, where amazingly they remained until the swinging 1960’s.
With an impressive history of 1,100 years, the modern Royal Mint is a limited company owned by HM Treasury and responsible for producing all the UK’s coins from its HQ in Llantrisant, Wales.
Like any brand today, the Royal Mint is committed to finding ways to act more sustainably. So, in 2022, they built a new plant in South Wales to recover precious metals from electronic waste. The first sustainably-sourced gold from this process was used in a newly founded jewellery division named ‘886 by The Royal Mint’ – in celebration on the company’s symbolic founding date.
King Kongō Gumi
Lastly, let’s look at the oldest company in the world. And to do that, we need to look to Japan, where a family-owned construction company has been in continuous operation since 578 AD.
Kongō Gumi started out building Buddhist temples before winning commissions to create other public buildings, including the 16th century Osaka Castle.
Despite its record-breaking history, the company struggled at the start of this century and went into liquidation in January 2006. Luckily, it was bought by the Takamatsu Construction Group, ensuring the Kongō Gumi name lives on today.
Looking to build a brand that will stand the test of time? Let’s talk.
