The origin of Wall’s ice cream

It all commenced within a butcher's establishment situated in London's St. James’s Market, where T. Wall & Sons Ltd had engaged in sausage production since 1786. The venture was founded by Richard Wall.

With prior experience in crafting sausages, Richard's grandson, Thomas (the 2nd), conceived the notion of manufacturing ice cream to augment summer sales. This concept was initially conceived in 1913, aimed at providing a refreshing treat for consumers.

However, this concept came to an abrupt halt at the onset of World War I (July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918), resulting in a suspension of production until the war's culmination. In 1922, Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie jointly acquired the business. The introduction of substantial commercial freezers from the United States marked the inception of the Wall’s ice cream brand. The momentum surged as Thomas Wall’s Factory in Acton, London, initiated ice cream production in 1922.

The demand for Wall’s ice cream prompted vendors to traverse London's streets, selling their goods via horse-drawn carts. The incorporation of bicycle deliveries followed shortly after. By 1939, the contingent of Wall’s tricycle salespeople had grown to a robust 8,500.

In 1960, Walls secured a partial ownership stake in Mr. Whippy, along with its fleet of soft-serve cream delivery vans, introducing an innovative avenue for reaching consumers. This eventually culminated in their complete acquisition of ownership by 1966.

The landscape of the market underwent a profound transformation in 1974 due to the rise of supermarkets, leading Wall’s to transform Mr. Whippy into a franchised enterprise.

Cornetto made its triumphant entry into the UK market in May 1976, perfectly timed with the heat wave of that year. The indelible advertising campaign, featuring the iconic serenading gondolier, made its debut the subsequent year.
The origin of Wall’s ice cream

History of Knorr

Unilever’s biggest brand is Knorr, which includes a range of sauces, snacks, frozen foods, and other food products.

The Knorr brand of soups began with German culinary inventor, Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr, who built a factory in Heilbronn, Germany in 1838 in order to dry chicory and make various types of flours.

The Knorrs eventually came to believe that convenience foods were the wave of the future

He then started investigating how to dry barley without affecting its flavor and its nutrients and ended up extending such researches to other vegetables and ingredients, which brought about the launch of the first powdered soup.

They introduced their first packaged soup mix in 1873. They soon expanded into bouillon cubes and other soup concentrates.

Demand for powdered or pre-prepared liquid soups – both then a novelty was so strong that in 1885 his son Carl decided to set up a packing center for the export trade.

The products were hit in Germany and were soon exported to other European nations as well.

In 1907, Switzerland set up its own factory to manufacture the foods. It was not until 1949 that the company launched the world’s first packet soup - the chicken noodle recipe that soon became known around the world.

Knorr soup mixes were introduced to America in 1958 when the company became part of the Corn Products Company, which later evolved into Bestfoods.

In 2000, Bestfoods was taken by Unilever for $20.3 billion. Today Knorr is Unilever’s largest brand by sales, a great part of which can be attributed to the strong brand marketing that was pursued by its early Swiss management.
History of Knorr