Whether you live in London or not, the number of British brands you might find in your home could astound you. Open up your closet, pantry, bathroom – you might find quite a few infamous British brands.
Here are a few namesake brands you might not have guessed stem from the UK.
Luxury Fashion Brand Burberry
Burberry was established in 1856 in London with a focus on trench coats, fashion accessories, ready-to-wear, fragrances and cosmetics. It's a luxury brand that you're sure to have heard of, especially if you're a Cara Delevigngne fan.
The eponymous trench coat was initially made out of a fabric called Gabardine, a waterproof material as the trench was used as a raincoat. The shop was inaugurated in 1891 in Haymarket.
Today you might remember it by its infamous pattern featured on trench coats, scarves and other fashion accessories. In 2018 Riccardo Tisci was appointed the Chief Creative Officer and, since then, he has launched a new brand logo and monogram with Peter Saville.
Grocery Chain, Tesco
Tesco was established in 1919 by Jack Cohen providing global groceries across supermarkets. They have about 440,000 employees and serve millions of customers every single week. Until the 1990s, Tesco was UK-based. After this, they started expanding their operations into 11 other countries.
Tesco started to reposition itself from low-cost items to its popular "Tesco Finest" range. This is essentially what put Tesco on the map, taking them from 500 shops to 2,500. Now, they're listed on the London Stock Exchange.
With that in mind, before you head back to your room at The Montcalm Royal London House after a day of running errands and being a tourist, go grab a few Tesco treats to take back to your room. Of course, there’s plenty of food available on-site if you’d rather a more formal meal.
Marks & Spencer
When you think of the UK, M&S, tea and woollen jumpers might come to mind. All of these three things are indeed rather British, but only one of them genuinely originates from the UK.
Marks & Spencer opened its doors to the public in 1884, specialising in home products, clothes and luxury foods. It was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in the city of Leeds. Now it's a retail store that offers food, luxurious treats, clothing and ready-made sandwiches.
If you’re staying in a hotel in Finsbury Square, you’ll be well-positioned to stop by one of these massive department stores and experience for yourself how it earned such a secure place in British culture.
Twinings
If you’ve ever stayed in a 5 Star Hotel in London, you’ve almost certainly seen (and perhaps tasted!) Twinings tea. This premium tea is a local favourite that has spread far and wide.
It's quite the heritage brand, and boy has it been around for a long time.
Thomas Twining opened this tea empire back in 1706 and they've been using the same logo since 1787. He was also the first Brit to open a tea room in 1706. If you fancy a visit, the shop is still in business today!
Right now they sell over 200 teas from all over the world. You can buy compartment boxes, cold infuse tea, iced tea, tea to gift, sleepy tea, black teas – you name it, Twinings has it.
Even though Twinings is a heritage tea brand, they still try to keep up with the ins and outs of modern life. In 2019 they introduced super blends for health and wellness. Adding botanicals, natural flavours and quality ingredients, they're a helping hand for everyday wellbeing.
Just in case you're wondering, English Breakfast, Earl Grey and Lady Grey are the most popular teas. Seeing as it's a favourite morning drink for the Brits, this does not surprise.
Luxury Car Maker Rolls Royce
The car manufacturer was founded by Charles Stewart Rolls, a car dealer, and Sir Frederick Henry Royce. The two became one in 1906, waiting for two years until starting production in Derby.
In the early 1930s, Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley. Since then, the company has dabbled in manufacturing and assembling large engine boats and engines for aeroplanes. Even after so much time, one thing hasn't changed - the cars are still manmade. That’s proof enough that they take great care and pride in the fact that each vehicle is uniquely built by people.
Cadbury
If you haven't consumed copious amounts of Cadbury eggs for Easter, you are missing out. But, even if you are familiar with this household name, you may not be aware of the brand’s history.
Cadbury is the second largest confectionery brand after Wrigleys. It was created in 1824 by a man called John Cadbury, a merchant who sold tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
His sons were a part of introducing cocoa into British households and the delicacy we now know as milk chocolate was launched in 1905 – chocolate made with a higher proportion of milk than its rival products. Nine years later and milk chocolate was Cadbury's best selling product.
The rest is history!
Barbour
The British fashion brand offers functional and beautiful outerwear that will outlast your grandchildren. Right now, fashionista and TV-persona Alexa Chung is doing a collaboration with the brand, adding to its diverse portfolio of celebrity pair-ups.
Barbour was founded in 1894 producing wax jackets manufactured in Simonside. This is still where the outerwear is processed and each year 100,000 jackets are treated there. Today, the brand offers customers over 5,000 different products throughout the two fashion seasons and caters to men, women and children. The entire family can be dressed in Barbour!
In 2019 the fashion brand celebrated its 125th anniversary, and they're still thriving.
Dove
Dove's diverse ads and clean smelling products have been around for a whopping 64 years. It was founded by the Lever Brothers and, at first, they were limited to selling beauty soap bars, which are still in production. Since then, though, they've expanded their product range. Today, the British brand sells products in more than 150 countries.
