Oxo (food) facts for kids
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Different kinds of OXO cubes
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| Type | Food |
|---|---|
| Owner | Premier Foods (United Kingdom) Mars, Incorporated (South Africa) Knorr (Canada) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | Ireland |
Oxo (often styled as OXO) is a famous brand of food products. It is best known for its stock cubes, but it also sells herbs, spices, dried gravy, and yeast extract.
The first Oxo product was a beef stock cube. Today, the company also makes chicken cubes and other flavours, like Chinese and Indian spice versions. People crumble the cubes into meals to add flavour, or they dissolve them in hot water to make a warm, savoury drink called a bouillon.
In the United Kingdom, Oxo is owned by the company Premier Foods. In other parts of the world, like South Africa and Canada, it is owned by different companies.
History of Oxo
The story of Oxo begins around 1840 with a German scientist named Justus von Liebig. He invented a concentrated meat extract, which was a thick, liquid form of beef flavouring. A company called Lemco began selling this extract in 1866.
In 1899, the company started using the brand name Oxo. No one knows for sure where the name came from, but it is thought to be based on the word "ox."
The liquid extract was expensive, and not many families could afford it. So, the company worked on creating a solid, cheaper version. In 1910, they introduced the first Oxo cube, which could be sold for just a penny. This made the brand much more popular.
During World War I, Oxo cubes were very important. The company gave 100 million cubes to the British armed forces. Each cube was wrapped by hand.
Over the years, the Oxo brand was owned by several different companies. In 2006, Premier Foods bought Oxo's UK business, and they still make the cubes at a factory in Worksop, England.
Advertising and Culture
Oxo has been a well-known brand for over a century, partly because of its clever advertising.
Early Promotions
Back in 1908, Oxo was a sponsor of the London Olympic Games. They gave warm Oxo drinks to marathon runners to help them keep going. For many years, the company also gave out free recipes and gifts to promote its products.
In the 1920s, the company built a factory on the south bank of the River Thames in London. They added a large tower with special windows that are shaped to look like the letters 'O', 'X', and 'O'. This building is now a famous landmark called the Oxo Tower.
The Oxo Family
Oxo is famous for its television adverts, especially the ones featuring the "Oxo Family."
The first campaign, called "Life with Katie," started in 1958 and showed the life of a character named Katie and her husband.
A new, very popular advertising campaign began in 1983. It featured a new "Oxo Family." The mother was played by actress Lynda Bellingham, the father by Michael Redfern, and they had three children. The adverts showed the family growing up over the years and sharing meals together, usually with Oxo gravy. These commercials were so loved that when the campaign ended in 1999, it showed the family moving out of their house.
In 2014, an old Oxo advert from 1984 starring Lynda Bellingham was shown on Christmas Day. It was a tribute to the actress, who had passed away earlier that year.
See also
