Ethel Baxter
Ethel Baxter a famous Scottish businesswoman
Ethel Baxter was wife to William Baxter. They married in 1914 and in 1916 they built a factory beside the River Spey. It was Ethel that supervised the factory while her husband acted as salesman for the company. At that time they were producing jams and their famous beetroot but in 1929 Ethel developed the famous Baxter's Royal Game Soup.
Ethel was extremely innovative and often experimented with old family recipes in an effort to improve and modernise them. While on his travels William would keep his eyes open for fresh opportunity and relay any news back to his wife immediately.
The partnership of Ethel and William was a powerful business force. Both were extrememly hard working, Ethel was to be found making three tons of Blackcurrant Jam just two days before the birth of their first son, and William took full advantage of his connections, with the help of the Duke of Gordon their products were promoted to the upper classes of society with their products appearing in top London shops Harrods and Fortnum & Masons. It was not long before they were selling their products internationally with Macy's in New York selling their products.
Ethel also experimented in other areas of the business and developed ways of canning soft fruits when the science of canning was in it's early days. Ethel too was able to take advantage of the family connections and it is clear that they were respected by the nobility. Ethel's first marmalade (Castle Marmalade) was created from a recipe which had been given to her by the 7th Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
Back to
Back to