Robertson's is a UK brand of marmalades and jams that was owned by RHM until that company's takeover by Premier Foods in March 2007. It produces the "Golden Shred" marmalade among other products.
The company was founded in 1864 by James Robertson who started life working in the Paisley thread mills. James became apprenticed to a local grocer hoping this would give him a better future and in 1859, now married to Marion McFadyen, he started up in business as a grocer at 86 Causeyside Street in Paisley.
Marmalade was originally produced in the back of the shop, but soon a factory was set up to meet increased demand, and jam and mincemeat were added to the range.
The original factory was based in Paisley, Renfrewshire on the town's Stevenson Street in the south of the town. It is now a housing estate, St. Andrew's Court, with the street itself named Robertson's Gait, after the factory that stood there previously. The company also built a factory at Droylsden in Manchester in 1891, which closed in 2008, and was demolished in 2010.
In 1928 Robertson’s started the Golly brooch collector scheme which became the longest running collector scheme in history, only finishing in 2001 when Golly was replaced by Roald Dahl characters. This scheme ended in 2006.
Robertson’s has had a Royal Warrant since 1933.
In December 2008 Premier Foods announced that it would discontinue Jam in the UK under the Robertson brand in 2009 in order to focus on Robertson's Marmalade, and its more successful Hartley's jam brand.[1]. Premier is committed to the Robertson's Marmalade brand in the UK, and retains its successful jam, lemon curd, mincemeat and marmalade products outside the UK.
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Robertson's introduced the Golly (Golliwog) in the early 20th century. It was in America, just before World War I, that John Robertson (son of James Robertson) first saw the Golly doll. Whilst on a visit to the backwoods of North America he noticed many young children playing with little black rag dolls with white eyes, made from their mothers' discarded black skirts and white blouses.
John Robertson was so intrigued by the popularity of the "Golly" (the name being the children's interpretation of Dolly) that he thought it would make an ideal mascot and trade mark for the Robertson's range of products. The idea of Golly trade mark was accepted by the Company and the Golly was first shown on Robertson literature in 1910, on items such as labels and price lists. A skilled enameller called H. Miller from Birmingham's jewellery quarter approached Robertsons with the idea of enamelled 'mascots'. He produced the first design, a Golly golfer in 1928. In the early 1930s, Golly appeared in little fruit designs, many of which were worn as jewellery because of their high quality. More sporting designs followed, including country cricketers and footballers with footballs in team colours. 1937 saw the Coronation Golly, complete with Union Jack on its chest. Their appeal lasts to this day and the rarer pre World War II badges exchange hands for high prices when they appear on the market.
In 1914 James Robertson died aged 83. James had featured in the public life of Paisley, having been a member of the council, a magistrate, a school director, and the manager of a savings bank, as well as belonging to a variety of philanthropic societies.
His eldest son John succeeded as chairman of Robertson’s and established the firm as a leader in the preserves industry. Robertson’s have been awarded royal warrants by King George V in 1933, George VI and also by the present Queen Elizabeth.
In 1939 the scheme was discontinued as the metal was needed for the war effort, but by 1946 the Golly was back again. The Golly pendant with chain was introduced by popular demand in 1956. In the 1970s, the design of all Gollies changed from the old Golly with "pop eyes" to the present day Golly with eyes looking to the left. The words "Golden Shred" were removed from his waistcoat, his legs straightened and smile broadened. At about the same time a range of 11 Footballer and 12 Musician Golly figures were produced in pottery, standing about 2.5" high. These were eventually discontinued however. At the start of the 1980s the hard enamelled badges were replaced with cheaper to produce acrylic badges, but this did not affect their popularity. They were avidly collected not only in the Uk but many Asian countries who also had the token offers.
The Robertson Golly was not only limited to badges. There were Robertson Golly dolls, china, Golly games for children, even Golly clothing. One major collector has produced a comprehensive interactive CD-Rom illustrating thousands of Robertson Golly premiums produced over the years.
Over 20 million Gollies were been sent out over the years and many have become highly valued collectors' items.
Robertson's officially 'retired' Golly in 2002. The company had found that Golly was, on the whole, no longer popular with the children of families, although the scheme was still successful with adult collectors.
Robertson's always insisted that they did not retire the Golly because of political pressure (the caricature is now generally considered to be racist), but simply for commercial reasons: Virginia C (Ginny) Knox, then brand director at Robertson's said, "We are retiring Golly because we found families with kids no longer necessarily knew about him. We are not bowing to political correctness, but like with any great brand we have to move with the times."[2]