Marmite
Frederick Wissler
Love it or hate it, Marmite is the ultimate British condiment. But its roots lie in Switzerland and Germany.
Justus von Liebig, a German, invented the yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing, that forms the basis of the umami-packed spread. And Frederick Wissler is responsible for commercialising Marmite and turning it into the essential British staple.
Born in Switzerland in 1855, by the 1880s Wissler was a serial entrepreneur living in London, embarking on a range of business ventures including an attempt to divert seawater from the English Channel into London.
In 1902, he incorporated the Marmite Food Extract Company, opening a factory in Burton upon Trent using by-product from the nearby Bass Brewery. Wissler opened a second factory in Camberwell in 1906, becoming a British citizen in the same year. Wissler died in April 1924, leaving his shares in Marmite to his children and his cousin. Marmite is now owned by Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever.
Research by Findmypast.
Read more about the history of Marmite and its founder Frederick Wissler in this guest blog post
Image: John Gollop/iStock
