History of Princes

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Our rich food and drink heritage

Few food and drink companies have a heritage as rich as Princes.

Founded in Liverpool in 1880 as Simpson & Roberts, the company started life trading solely in canned fish.

The Princes brand was established at the start of the 20th Century and we moved into manufacturing shortly after the end of World War II.

Today, we are owned by the Japanese giant Mitsubishi Corporation and are proud to be one of Europe’s leading grocery suppliers.

Princes has grown steadily ever since with the merger and acquisition of new sites both around the UK and globally.

There are more than 350 food products available under the Princes brand, including fruit juices, canned vegetables and canned tuna.

We have also bought well-loved brands such as Napolina, the UK’s number one Italian cooking brand, and Crosse & Blackwell, while we produce under licence Branston and Flora.

The company employs 7,000 people around the world.

Our vision is to proudly help families to eat well without costing the earth.

We are committed to producing quality branded and customer own band products that deliver innovation and convenience to meet changing customer needs, building on our strength as a trusted partner and sourcing raw materials responsibly and ethically.

For further information click to read our latest 2022 Business Report

We have been feeding families well for 140 years and we will continue to do so for 140 more.