Francisco Marrero James Nonhebel Emily Dann Sami Pring
B
Index
Foreword
Sleeve
Timeline
Sleeve A
About Brooke and Bond
Page 04
Brooke and People
Page 08
Brooke’s Decay
Page 14
A
Foreword
Sleeve
Timeline
Sleeve B
About Spike Island
Page 04
Transition
Page 08
Spike Island Today
Page 14
About Brooke and Bond
“Good tea unites good company, exhilarates the spirits, banishes restraint from conversation and promotes the happiest purposes of social intercourse.” Brooke, Bond & Co. slogan by Arthur Brooke. Brooke Bond and Company was founded by Arthur Brooke who opened his own tea shop in 1869. The name originated from Arthur Brooke’s “bond” with customers to provide a quality tea, the firm expanded into wholesale tea sales in the 1870’s. Brooke Bond is now part of the multinational company, Unilever, whose products include many household names - P.G. Tips, Oxo, Ragu and Batchelors to name but a few. The most famous brand of Brooke and Bond was PG Tips, which was launched in 1930. In the 1950s and 1960s, packets of Brooke Bond tea included illustrated tea cards, usually 50 in a series, which were collected by many children. There were well over 200 series issued and many of them have since been reprinted. A comprehensive list of these series can be found at the London Cigarette Card Company.
4
About Brooke and Bond
In 1960, Brooke Bond relocated from its original site in Redcliffe Backs to the purpose-built Spike Island factory. The factory was highly productive and at its height produced 1,000 tea bags per minute. Despite this, it closed in 1990 and the staff were made redundant. The building reopened as the Spike Island complex of artist studios and gallery.
5
Brooke and People
In 1892 Brooke Bond became a limited company with a share capital of £l50,000 and with Arthur Brooke as Chairman and Managing Director. In 1899 his eldest son, Gerald joined the business - having to learn the trade from behind the counter in Leeds at his father’s insistence. Many hundreds of people worked for the company during this time as it was “ a joy to be a part of”. Women where mainly in charge of weighing out proportions of tea whereas the men were working more hands on.
Tea is the nation’s favourite drink: we drink 150 million cups a day - 35 million of which are PG Tips.
6
Brooke and People
7
Brooke and People
The company aimed for only the best due to their very high standards. Brooke Bonds tea reached a turning point as they were the first brand to produce tea which contained fluoride which is good for the teeth. Brooke Bond’s workers produced a product which had half the caffeine of a cup of fresh coffee. In the 1930s, PG Tips, originally known as “Digestive” and later as “Pre-Gestee,” was created and marketed as a digestive tea. The name “Pre-Gestee” was to insinuate that the tea could be consumed before food was digested. Salesmen and grocers shortened the name to PG, and Tips was added, referring to the tips of the buds used in the blend.
8
Brooke and People
9
Brooke’s Decay
Brooke, Bond and Co. entered the wholesale tea market in the 1870s, during a severe trade depression in Britain. Sales increased dramatically. Arthur retired in 1904, leaving the business to his sons. The company continued to prosper, and Arthur left a large sum of money to his family when he died in 1918. In 1907, a decision to sell direct to the retail trade and use a national distribution system marked yet another turning point. Three years later, Arthur retired from a flourishing company and control didn’t leave the family’s hands until the 1970’s when Sir Humphrey Prideaux took over from John Brooke as chairman. Unilever bought the Brooke Bond Group in 1984.
10
Brooke’s Decay
It is still possible to purchase boxes of “Brooke Bond Tea Co” in the UK, however they tend not to surface in the supermarkets. In Pakistan Brooke Bond Supreme is the number one selling tea brand.
11
Content sourced from Spike Island Archives. Special thanks to Charlotte Hetherington. L1 BA(Hons) Graphic Design UADABM- 20- 1- Professional Practise in Graphic Design 1 Wk 3 Project 6 Studio E
Francisco Marrero
Research Layout Designs
James Nonhebel
Reseach Sleeve Design Copywriting
Emily Dann
Research Copywriting
Sami Pring
Research