Cow & Gate facts for kids

Cow & Gate is a famous brand that makes food for babies. It began in the United Kingdom as a dairy company. Over time, it grew to bottle milk, deliver it, and make baby food. In 1959, it joined with another company called United Dairies. Together, they formed Unigate plc, which is now known as Uniq plc. Today, the Cow & Gate brand is still popular for baby food. It is owned by a company from the Netherlands called Danone.

How Cow & Gate Started

In 1882, a grocer named Charles Gates passed away in Guildford, Surrey. His two sons, Charles Arthur and Leonard, took over his shop. They sold wines, spirits, and beer.

However, in 1885, the brothers decided to join the temperance movement. This movement encouraged people to avoid alcohol. So, they poured all their alcoholic drinks into the street!

With no goods left to sell, they turned their empty shop into a dairy. They called it the West Surrey Dairy. They bought milk from local farmers. They used a special machine to separate the cream and a liquid called whey. They sold the skimmed milk back to farmers for pig feed.

In 1888, more of the Gates brothers and their sons joined the business. They officially registered the company as the West Surrey Central Dairy Company Limited. The company grew quickly. They bought creameries in milk-producing areas like Somerset, Dorset, and later Ireland.

The company's first logo was quite simple. It was on their unique light-brown milk jugs. People described it as: "A cow looking uncomfortably through a somewhat untypical four-barred gate, rather as if its neck had got stuck between the bars."

Making Food for Babies

Advert for Cow & Gate Milk Food, "for infants & invalids", from 1923.

In 1904, a doctor named Killick Millard asked the company for powdered milk. He wanted to help feed children from families who didn't have much money. By 1908, the company started selling this high-protein powdered milk widely. They called it "Cow & Gate Pure English Dried Milk."

In 1924, they created a special version for hot countries. They also set up another company called Dried Milk Products Company Ltd. This company sold dried milk products to other food makers.

In 1929, the whole company changed its name to Cow & Gate. In the 1930s, they worked with doctors to create special formulas for babies with unique needs. These included:

• Frailac: for babies born too early.
• Allergiac: for babies who were sensitive to parts of cow's milk.
• Cereal food: to help babies start eating solid foods earlier.

Growing Bigger

After World War I, the company became public on the London Stock Exchange. Bramwell Gates, Walter Gates' son, was in charge. He started buying more creameries and bottling plants across the United Kingdom. In 1924, they bought Wallens Dairy Company in Kilburn, London.

Over the next 15 years, their dairy business spread across Cornwall, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and much of Wales. To manage all these places, they started their own transport company. This company, called Wincanton Transport, grew to be one of the UK's largest transport businesses.

In 1933, Cow & Gate bought a big part of General Milk Products in Canada. This was important when World War II started in 1939. The government stopped all food exports from the UK. But Cow & Gate could still send products to other countries from their Canadian factories.

Becoming Unigate

In 1958, Ernest Augustus Taylor took over from Bramwell Gates. Bramwell was 83 years old. Ernest's first job was to arrange a merger with United Dairies. This was the biggest dairy company in the country. The merger happened in 1959. The new company was called Unigate.

Cow & Gate Infant Milk for Hungrier Babies

Cow & Gate also has a product called Infant Milk for Hungrier Babies. It is made for babies who seem to have a bigger appetite. This milk has more of a protein called casein. However, doctors do not widely recommend this milk for all babies. It can sometimes cause tummy troubles or constipation for some infants. There is no clear proof that this milk helps babies sleep longer or feel more satisfied.