From centuries-old confectionery favourites to toast toppers Brits can't live without, many of the UK's most recognisable food brands have truly stood the test of time. Whether they take pride of place in your fridge or are stuffed in the back of your store cupboard, it's hard to imagine a kitchen without them. Here we've ranked the top British food brands of all time, counting down to the most iconic of all.

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover Britain's most beloved food brands – which of your favourites made the list?

These sweet treats, which consist of a demerara sugar–coated pastry crust filled with currants (hence the nickname 'squashed fly cakes'), are believed to date back to the 1600s. First eaten in the Lancashire town of Eccles, the cakes were traditionally baked for religious festivals known as Eccles Wakes. Today, the most famous brand is Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes, owned by the Edmonds family, who have been busy baking them since the 1930s. They aren't just reserved for Eccles-based folk these days, though; you can find the cakes stocked at supermarkets across the UK, as well as further afield.

With over 150 products in its repertoire, including creamy yogurt, milk and soups, Yeo Valley is one of the country’s best-loved dairy brands. The company has been producing organic foods from its Somerset farm since 1994. Its natural yogurt is perfect for pairing alongside crunchy granola and fruit, while its salted butter is deliciously moreish when slathered over toast. In recent years, Yeo Valley has branched out beyond dairy, even adding organic British beef burgers to its offering.

Based in Westerton, Scotland, the Mackie family has run a dairy farm since 1912. Up until the 1980s, the brand largely produced milk; however, in 1986, Mackie's of Scotland decided to start making ice cream using the leftover cream from its popular semi-skimmed milk – and the brand has never looked back. Today, the farm covers a whopping 1,600 acres, and the dairy company has created more than 1,000 ice cream flavours in its time. Favourites include Honeycomb, Strawberry Swirl and Salted Caramel.

Set up in the late 1980s, New Covent Garden Soup Co. helped to revolutionise the soup industry. It was the first brand in the UK to offer chilled soup, rather than canned or dried, and it launched with its Carrot & Coriander flavour. The company has since gone on to unveil a host of tasty flavours, including Classic Chicken, Pumpkin Spice and Creamy Tomato.

Strings & Things' Cheestrings launched in supermarkets across Britain and Ireland in 1996. They were an instant hit, available in a range of tasty flavours such as Cheddar, Twister, Smoky Bacon and Pizza. The peelable string cheese won over British consumers with its quirky adverts and fun concept and, by 2004, half of British households with children were buying them. The brand then went on to launch elsewhere in Europe. More recently, Strings & Things introduced a range of fruity yogurt lollies known as Yollies.

Founded in 1928, Swizzels is one of the UK’s most renowned sweet producers. The brand started off selling jelly sweets, before going on to launch some of its more popular treats. Rainbow Drops were introduced in the 1930s, while Parma Violets landed in 1946 – and Love Hearts in 1954. Swizzels remains an innovative confectionery company to this day, with new and exciting flavours and styles continuing to wow candy lovers.

Dating to the late 1700s, Bristol-based chocolatier J.S. Fry & Sons was once one of the country's largest chocolate producers. The company shot to fame further in 1866, when Fry's Chocolate Cream – a fondant-centred bar with a rich dark chocolate coating – became the world's first mass-produced chocolate bar. The brand went on to launch some other equally renowned (and delicious) products, including chocolate-coated Turkish Delight, which has proved divisive since it was unveiled in in 1914. Although the brand merged with Cadbury’s in 1919, Fry’s nostalgic products have retained their charm.

Seabrook’s crinkle-cut crisps have been a beloved British snack since 1945. The brand was created by Bradford fish and chip shop owner Charles Brook, who decided to diversify his business by making crisps in his fryer. As for the Seabrook name? It occurred by chance. When Brook went to collect some developed photographs, he saw they’d been labelled 'Seabrook', rather than 'C Brook'. He was rather taken with the misspelling, and the name has remained ever since.

A long-time favourite for topping toast, Frank Cooper's Oxford Marmalade is one of Britain's best-loved fruit preserves. The winning recipe was created by Sarah-Jane Cooper, wife of Oxford shopkeeper Frank, in her home kitchen in 1874. Today, Frank Cooper's marmalade holds a Royal Warrant, meaning its products are supplied to members of the royal family.

Owing its name to the coastal town of Maldon in Essex, where its salt is harvested, this family-owned business has been producing premium sea salt since 1882 – and it still uses the same artisanal method today. The brand has a small but mighty product range, selling its distinctive pyramid-shaped salt flakes in various flavours and sizes. The smoked sea salt is especially good.

When Smiths was founded in 1920, it was one of the UK’s first-ever crisp manufacturers. The crisps were initially made at a garage in Brent, northwest London, by Frank Smith and his wife, who sold them to the pub next door. Although Smiths was bought by fellow British snack brand Walkers in 1989, its recognisable Chipsticks, Frazzles and Scampi Flavour Fries still bear the original Smiths branding, and they remain time-honoured British classics.

Known for its smiley mascot, Fred the Flour Grader, Homepride flour can be found in home bakers' store cupboards across the UK. The flour was first made by Spillers in the 1920s but gained the Homepride brand name in 1963, when it was marketed as an ultra-fine flour that didn’t need to be sieved. Nowadays, the range has branched out to include ready-to-use pasta bake sauces, as well as cooking sauces for dishes like chilli and shepherd's pie.

The company that gave us Caramel Wafers and Teacakes has a mighty history that stretches back more than 130 years. Tunnock's was founded in Uddington, Lanarkshire, in 1890 by Thomas Tunnock, who purchased a bakery for just £80. Fast-forward to the 1950s, and Tunnock's started experimenting with products that had a longer shelf life than bread and cakes. Caramel Wafers were introduced in 1952, shortly followed by the Snowball, the Caramel Log and the legendary Teacake. The latter sees soft marshmallow piped onto a biscuit and covered in chocolate.

The only Worcestershire sauce brand worth using, Lea & Perrins was born in Worcester in 1837. The piquant condiment was invented by two chemists, John Lea and William Perrins, when a visiting aristocrat asked them to recreate a recipe he’d discovered in India. The chemists kept one bottle aside for themselves but didn’t like it, so they stored it in their cellar. After 18 months, it had matured into a rich and tasty sauce. Today, the recipe remains a secret, although we do know that it contains vinegar, molasses, anchovies and tamarind extract.

Founded in Lifton, Devon in 1917, the Ambrosia Creamery initially manufactured dried milk powder for infants and troops during World War I. The products it’s best known for today launched a little later; its creamy Rice Pudding was released in 1936, while Devon Custard hit supermarket shelves in 1968. Today, Ambrosia is owned by Premier Foods, but its beloved custard is still made in a Devonshire creamery using milk produced in the West Country.

The story of the OXO stock cube goes back more than 150 years. In the 1840s, German chemist Justus von Liebig created a concentrated meat extract in London, which was then sold under the Liebig Extract of Meat Company from 1865. The OXO trademark was registered worldwide in 1899. It was sold in a bottle up until 1910, when the winning formula was distilled into its distinctive crumbly cubes, making it easier to use. Today, OXO also comes in vegetable, chicken, lamb and ham varieties and is owned by Premier Foods.

Kenyon Produce (KP) started life in Rotherham in 1853, when confectioner Charles Kenyon began selling jam. The brand gradually expanded to produce condiments, pickles and salty snacks. It was the first company to sell salted peanuts at a national level when it launched its KP Nuts in 1953. The manufacturer has since launched some of Britain’s favourite snacks: Hula Hoops (in 1973), Dry Roasted Peanuts (in 1983), and McCoy’s crisps (in 1985.) Although KP was bought by German firm Intersnack in 2013, it continues to manufacture its products in the UK.

Fish and chips are a British classic, and if you want to eat them in true chip-shop style, you should douse them in salt and malt vinegar, preferably Sarson’s. The nation’s number one vinegar brand has been making the condiment since 1794. Traditional methods are still used in the brand's production, with British malt brewed in wooden barrels for seven days (many other brands are made in just 24 hours). 

Four simple ingredients are at the core of Walker’s Shortbread: flour, sugar, pure butter and salt. Created in 1898 by 21-year-old baker Joseph Walker in the village of Aberlour, Scotland, the recipe has changed little over the years. As well as shortbread, Walker’s sells a variety of other biscuits, cakes and cookies, which all come in tartan packaging to reflect the brand’s Scottish heritage.

Scottish brand Baxters was founded in 1868 by George Baxter, a greengrocer who’d previously worked as a gardener for the Duke of Richmond. The company began with jams but, in 1929, it added canned game soup to its offerings. The item became so popular that even upmarket London stores Harrods and Fortnum & Mason began stocking it. Other popular soup flavours, including Scotch broth and chicken broth, arrived on the scene in the 1950s. The business is still family owned, with Audrey Baxter currently at the helm.

For most Brits, it’s hard to imagine Christmas without a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Yet this nostalgic treat started life quite differently; it was originally a chocolate apple. Terry’s sold its chocolate apples, which were also apple flavoured, for a few years before creating the chocolate orange in 1932. This new style was immediately more popular, and the apple variety was soon dropped. Today, you can buy milk or dark chocolate versions (and a minty option, too), as well as bars, truffles and ice cream, all infused with Terry’s trademark citrus flavour. 

The brand that gave us Cup a Soup and Super Noodles, Batchelors was founded by former tea seller William Batchelor in Sheffield in 1895. The company initially sold vegetables, but it branched out into dried soups in 1949, with its famous Cup a Soup range following in 1972. Nowadays, there's a whole host of different products available, including Pasta 'n' Sauce, Super Rice and Meal in Minutes.

Brits truly love their biscuits, and Fox’s is one of the nation’s most treasured brands. Founded in 1853 in Batley, Yorkshire, the bakery’s first product was the brandy snap. It’s since branched out to produce many national favourites, including Crunch Creams, Rocky Bars and Party Rings. The company was sold to Ferrero in October 2020, but its biscuits are still made in the UK, both in Batley and in Kirkham in Lancashire.

A staple for festivalgoers, students and anyone in need of a quick food fix, the Pot Noodle has been on the British food scene since 1979. But the concept wasn’t actually invented in the UK. The idea for instant noodles came to a man named Momofuku Ando after he witnessed food shortages in Japan during World War II. Another Japanese company, Golden Wonder, transported the concept to the UK, and the product launched in 1979. Today, Pot Noodles are still made in the original factory in Crumlin, South Wales.

'Cake' is a bit of a misnomer for this ultra-sweet and sticky snack, which is more like an energy bar. It was invented by accident in Cumbria in 1869 when sweet maker Joseph Wiper left a batch of glacier mints to boil for too long, and they solidified. Romney’s, the best-known maker of Kendal Mint Cake, was founded in 1918 and was the brand Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay ate on their historic Everest expedition in 1953. It’s still made in Kendal today.

Launched in 1972 as the retail brand of the British Sugar Corporation – a company that had been growing the sweet stuff since the 1930s – Silver Spoon quickly became a household name. Its sugar beet is still grown in the east of England, and it’s the largest sugar producer in the country. Today, Silver Spoon sells sugar-free sweeteners, agave syrups and reduced-sugar blends alongside its core sugar range.

Wine Gums, Jelly Babies and Liquorice Allsorts have been a fixture in British sweetie jars for generations, and they’re all made by Maynards Bassetts, formed by the merger of two British companies, Maynards and Bassetts, in 2016. Liquorice Allsorts have a particularly surprising history; in 1899, a Bassetts employee was carrying two separate trays of sweets to show a customer when he tripped and mixed them together. The customer was so impressed with the combination that Bassetts decided to keep it, and Liquorice Allsorts were born.

Britain’s bestselling sausage brand began in 1889, when Louis Moore first started selling sausages in Liverpool. They were a huge hit – and, in 1917, the first Richmond factory opened. Today, the brand is owned by Pilgrim's Pride and has moved with the times, adding meat-free sausages to its range in 2020, followed by plant-based bacon in 2021.

Established in York in 1862, Rowntree’s started out as a cocoa business run by a Quaker family, the Rowntrees. As well as creating some of the country’s best-loved sweets – including Fruit Pastilles (launched in 1881) and Jelly Tots (launched in 1965) – the family were pretty radical for their time. Joseph Rowntree, who was at the helm of the business in the Victorian era, campaigned for workers’ rights, including an eight-hour working day, a minimum wage and better working conditions in factories. The brand was bought by the Swiss company Nestlé in 1988.

Burton’s might not be a household name, but its products – Jammie Dodgers, Wagon Wheels and Maryland Cookies, to name a few – certainly are. The first Burton's biscuits were made by baker George Burton, but it wasn't until 1935 that the company was fully established by his grandson. The company has since been sold to Ferrero, though it continues to make its delicious biscuits for all to enjoy. 

This Cornish-based brand has been making its savoury pasties since 1969, and it's gone on to become one of the country's best-known pastry brands. Ginsters started in the Cornish town of Callington, when dairy farmer Geoffrey Ginster turned his hand to making the quintessential West Country baked goods. Alongside its Cornish pasties, Ginsters also makes sausage rolls, steak slices, vegan pastries and more.

In 1880, a fish importing business was established in Liverpool by William Muirhead Simpson and Frank Roberts. That company, which started out as Simpson & Roberts, went on to become Princes. It opened its first canning factory in 1946 and started producing many of the canned foods you can find on supermarket shelves today, including fish, meat and fruit. Princes is now an international grocery business that owns a number of other popular British brands, including Branston, Flora and Batchelors.

Squidgy, fudgy and delightfully sticky, Soreen malt loaf has been a popular teatime treat for generations. The recipe was developed by a man named John Sorensen in the 1930s, and it was the inclusion of malt extract that provided its trademark flavour, while dried fruits gave it some serious squish factor. The nostalgic snack is still made in Britain, and the brand has even made a recipe switch to make sure all of its products, from Banana Loaf to Chocolate Loaf Bars, are vegan and free from animal products.

Few things are more quintessentially British than a Sunday roast, and stuffing is a key part of that for many. Yet it hasn’t always been that way. Paxo launched its pre-made stuffing mixes in 1901, but they didn’t sell especially well at first. Most Brits eschewed poultry (which stuffing is usually served with) because it was too expensive. When chicken became more affordable in the 1960s, Paxo boxes started flying off the shelves. Today, it’s the country's best-loved stuffing brand.

In 1946, Young's became the first brand to introduce frozen prawns to the British market. The company's history actually dates back to 1805, when it was founded by fisherwoman Elizabeth Young in Greenwich, London. Since then, Young's has brought numerous seafood innovations to dinner tables all over the country, including tried-and-tested classics like cod fish fingers, smoked salmon and scampi.

Yorkshire puddings have been a part of British culture since the 18th century, but it wasn't until a mass trend for convenience foods swept the UK in the 1970s and 1980s that you could buy pre-made puds to serve alongside your roast dinner. Aunt Bessie's was the first to come onto the scene; the company began supplying Butlin's holiday camps in 1974, before major supermarkets started to stock Yorkshire puddings. Nowadays, Aunt Bessie’s, which was acquired by the owners of Birds Eye in 2018, also makes roast potatoes, chips, stuffing mixes and more.

Gloriously sticky and sweet, Lyle's Golden Syrup has a history stretching back to 1881. The glossy syrup was invented by London-based businessman Abram Lyle; a deeply religious man, he emblazoned the green and gold tins with an image of a lion and bees from a story in the Old Testament, and it’s stayed the same ever since. In the 1920s, Lyle’s merged with sugar company Henry Tate & Sons to become Tate & Lyle, although the iconic syrup is still sold as Lyle’s Golden Syrup.

Whether enjoyed with scones and clotted cream or slathered on toast for breakfast, Brits adore their jam – and Hartley's is one of the nation's best-loved spreads. It all began in 1871, when greengrocer William Hartley misplaced an order of jam, so he decided to make some himself. His concoction was so popular that he turned it into a business, branching out into jellies and marmalades, too. Hartley’s jams are still made in Britain, and they're as popular as ever. 

The history of this store cupboard staple dates all the way back to 1837. Alfred Bird, formerly a chemist, swapped traditional eggs for cornflour in his custard recipe – and, as a result, Bird’s Custard Powder was born. The convenient product quickly became popular, and Bird’s went on to produce baking powder, semolina, ready-to-pour custard and other traditional British foods, including the nostalgic favourite that is Angel Delight.

Bright yellow in colour and eye-wateringly pungent in taste, Colman’s mustard is about as British as a condiment can get. It’s been made by Colman’s in Norwich since 1814, using a winning formula that has changed little over the years – mustard seeds are sieved up to nine times, which removes impurities and gives the mustard its ultra-strong flavour. The brand has since added to its range with dried flavour packets, pour-over sauces and other condiments, including tartare and mint sauce. 

There’s one big difference between Bovril and its similar-tasting cousin, Marmite: Bovril contains beef extract, whereas Marmite is vegan friendly. Interestingly, Bovril was invented to deal with meat shortages. In the 1870s, Scotsman John Lawson Johnston came up with the recipe when he was asked to supply beef extract to French troops, but didn’t have enough of it. People loved the taste of his beefy concoction – and before he knew it, he was supplying it to pubs everywhere. Bovril is often consumed as a hot drink, though it can also be spread on toast and used to enrich savoury dishes.

Gravy is traditionally made from the juices of roasted meat; however, in 1908, two workers in a salt factory changed all of that. They created a meat-flavoured powder that could be mixed with hot water to create an instant gravy – a genius innovation loved by time-pressed cooks ever since. The famous 'aah, Bisto!' slogan was introduced in 1919 and became part of the packaging in the 1950s. As well as the traditional gravy granules, you can now purchase other pre-made Bisto sauces and packet seasonings.

Packets of Cathedral City can be found stashed inside household fridges up and down the UK. The company has been producing cheese for over five decades and continues to work with dedicated farmers in the West Country to help manufacture the product on a national scale. It's launched a range of different styles over the years, including a high-protein option and a plant-based Cheddar. Today, Cathedral City is owned by Saputo. 

This beloved condiment owes its name to the village of Branston in Staffordshire, where it was invented in 1922. It was originally made by a company called Crosse & Blackwell before being acquired by vinegar company Mizkan Euro in 2013, although it's still produced in Britain today. The original pickle recipe, which is best served with a hunk of tangy Cheddar, is made with carrots, onion, cauliflower, sugar, vinegar, and herbs and spices. Branston has since expanded its product range, with its piccalilli and baked beans both proving popular.

In 1876, a slump in the bread market led grocery shop owners Ellen and Thomas Warburton to bake their own bread – and we bet they’re glad they did. Their freshly baked bread and cakes were such a hit with customers that the couple decided to rebrand their grocery shop completely, turning Warburtons into a bakery. Today, the Bradford-born-and-bred brand is run by the fifth generation of the Warburton family and continues to sell classic products (Toastie, Farmhouse and Seeded Batch loaves) alongside newer favourites including bagels, crumpets and pittas. 

The founder of Hovis, Richard 'Stoney' Smith, pioneered a technique of separating wheatgerm from flour to retain its vitamins and minerals. In the 1890s, Hovis began supplying bread to the royal household, a development that certainly didn’t harm the brand’s image. Alongside its white, wholemeal, granary and seeded ranges, you can now get English muffins, crumpets and burger buns. 

While technically an offshoot of Rank Hovis McDougall (which was later acquired by Premier Foods), Mr Kipling launched in the 1960s and makes so many of the nation’s favourite cakes that it’s become a British institution. Sold in handy individual portions, some of the brand’s best-loved teatime treats include Cherry Bakewells, Angel Slices, Fondant Fancies, Jam Tarts and Bramley Apple Pies. As the brand's adverts succinctly put it, they really are 'exceedingly good'.

What could be more British than a sauce with the Houses of Parliament emblazoned on the front of the bottle – and allegedly named after them? Made with malt vinegar, spices and fruit, HP Sauce is the nation's favourite brown sauce. It was invented by grocer Frederick Gibson Garton, who sold the recipe to HP in 1903. The product quickly became popular and was rumoured to have been used in the kitchens at the Houses of Parliament. Today, 28 million bottles of the beloved brown sauce are sold each year. 

Best known for its 'You Either Love It Or Hate It' tagline, Marmite is perhaps the most divisive brand on this list. The umami product was invented, allegedly by accident, by a German scientist called Justus Liebig, who discovered a way of concentrating brewer’s yeast so that it was edible (although haters might disagree). The Marmite Food Company was founded in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire in 1902 – and nowadays, fans can buy everything from Marmite-flavoured cashews, chocolate and peanut butter to Marmite-flavoured deodorant. There’s even a Marmite statue in Burton-upon-Trent (nicknamed the 'monumite').

The story of biscuit brand McVitie’s began in Scotland in 1839, when promising baker Robert McVitie opened a bakery in Edinburgh. The business expanded quickly across Scotland and into the rest of the UK, and the brand's now-ubiquitous Digestive biscuits entered the scene in 1892. Jaffa Cakes – which are still the subject of an ongoing biscuit-or-cake debate – came along in 1927. Other favourite products made by McVitie’s include Rich Tea biscuits, Hobnobs, and Penguin and Club bars.

Whether you love classic Ready Salted or are more partial to punchy Cheese & Onion, most Brits reach for a bag of Walkers to get their salty crisp fix. The brand started life in 1948, when a Leicester butcher turned his hand to crisp making. Walkers has since gone on to launch an array of tasty flavours (think Salt & Vinegar, Prawn Cocktail and Smoky Bacon), as well as styles including Monster Munch, Wotsits and Quavers.

Loved for its signature purple packaging and creamy consistency, Cadbury is Britain's most iconic food brand. Its history stretches back to 1824, when John Cadbury opened a grocery shop in Birmingham selling coffee, cocoa and drinking chocolate. The first Cadbury Easter egg came along in 1875, while Dairy Milk was launched in 1905. Although Cadbury is now owned by Mondelez International, much of its chocolate production still takes place in the UK, and there are now hundreds of products to choose from – including Creme Eggs, Twirls and Wispas.

Now discover the brilliant British foods you need to try

Last updated by Lottie Woodrow.