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Bringing Home the “Danish” Bacon: Food Chains, National Branding and Danish Supremacy over the British Bacon Market, c. 1900–1938

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2015

DAVID M. HIGGINS  and
MADS MORDHORST
DAVID M. HIGGINS
Affiliation:
David M. Higgins(corresponding author) is a Professor at Newcastle University Business School. He has published widely on the evolution of trademark and merchandise mark protection. Contact information: Newcastle University Business School, 5 Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE14SE. E-mail: david.higgins@ncl.ac.uk.
MADS MORDHORST
Affiliation:
Mads Mordhorst, PhD, is Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Business History at Copenhagen Business School. His main research interests include formation of national identity, the cooperative movement, and branding. Contact information: Copenhagen Business School, Solbjerg Plads 3, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark. E-mail: mmo.mpp@cbs.dk.
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Abstract

A substantial literature documents the importance of trademarks and brands to business success. How does this relationship change when we enlarge our focus from individual firms to industries and nations? This articles examines the dominance of Danish bacon in Britain between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We argue that this supremacy required state intervention and cooperation between government and producers to underpin high and consistent levels of quality throughout the supply chain, both of which were necessary to ensure the successful marketing of “Danish” bacon. In Britain, by contrast, state intervention to increase bacon production was only partially successful because it was undermined by a nineteenth-century legacy of uncoordination and deregulation. Such weaknesses affected the supply of appropriate pigs and the production of bacon that was uniform in quality, and ultimately negated the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to promote a “British” bacon brand.

Type
Articles
Information
Enterprise & Society , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 141 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © The Author 2015. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Business History Conference. All rights reserved. 

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References

Bibliography of Works Cited

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Landes, William, and Posner, Richard. “Trade Mark Law: An Economic Perspective.” Journal of Law and Economics 30 (October 1987): 265–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacGregor, David. “The Rationalisation of Industry.” Economic Journal 37 (December 1927): 521–550.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, J. Carter. “The Development of Centralised Exporting in Danish Agriculture.” Southern Economic Journal 23 (May 1957): 363–379.Google Scholar
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Rooth, Tim. “Trade Agreements and the Evolution of British Agricultural Policy in the 1930s.” Agricultural History Review 33, no. 2 (1985): 173–190.Google Scholar
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Woods, Abigail. “Re-thinking the History of Modern Agriculture: British Pig Production, c.1910–1965.” Twentieth Century British History (June 2011): 165–191.Google Scholar
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The Meat Trades Journal and Cattle Salesman’s Gazette (various issues)Google Scholar
The London TimesGoogle Scholar
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Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on Co-operative Marketing of Agricultural Produce in England and Wales. London: HMSO, 1926.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on the Marketing of Pigs in England and Wales. Economic Series 12, London: HMSO, 1927.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on the Pork and Bacon Trades in England and Wales. Economic Series 17, London: HMSO, 1928.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report of the Reorganisation Commission for Pigs and Pig Products. Economic Series 37, London: HMSO, 1932.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report of the Reorganisation Commission for Milk. Economic Series 38. London: HMSO, 1933Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on Agricultural Marketing Schemes. London: HMSO, 1935, Cmd. 4913.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on Agricultural Marketing Schemes for the Year 1935. London: HMSO, 1936, Cmd. 5284.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on Agricultural Marketing Schemes for the Year 1936. London: HMSO, 1938, Cmd. 5734.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report of the Committee Appointed to Review the Working of the Agricultural Marketing Acts. Economic Series 48. London: HMSO, 1947.Google Scholar
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Report of the Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada, 1900. Ottawa: S.E. Dawson, 1901.Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1894. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1895.Google Scholar
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United States Department of Agriculture, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1896. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1897.Google Scholar
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TNA, MAF 34/469, Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Acts 1928 and 1931: Registration of the National Trade Mark.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF 34/707, Proposed Schemes: Midland Bacon.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF 34/715, Proposed Schemes: Wiltshire Bacon.Google Scholar
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TNA, MAF, 34/782, Bacon Marketing Board: Minutes of Meetings (Provisional Board) Nos.1–16.Google Scholar
Crittall, Elizabeth. A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 4, 220–253. Available athttp://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=102814. Accessed November 19, 2013.Google Scholar
Allen, George. British Industries and their Organisation, 2nd ed.London: Longmans, 1935.Google Scholar
Bendixen, Morten. 100 år med Koopman—1880–1990. Silkeborg: A/S J. D. Koopmanns Svineslagteri, 1900.Google Scholar
Bjørn, Claus. Dansk mejeribrug—1882–2000. Odense: De danske mejeriers fællesorganisation, 1982.Google Scholar
Christensen, Sigurd. 50 Aar i England, 1902–1952, Danish Bacon Company Limited. København: Danish Bacon Company Limited, 1952.Google Scholar
Constantine, Stephen. Buy and Build: the Advertising Posters of the Empire Marketing Board. London: HMSO, 1986.Google Scholar
Drejer, A Axelsen. Andels-Svineslagterierne i Danmark 1887–1962. København: De Samvirkenden danske Andels-Svineslagterier, 1962.Google Scholar
Elbaum, Bernard, and Lazonick, William. The Decline of the British Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986.Google Scholar
Faber, Harald. Cooperation in Danish Agriculture. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1931.Google Scholar
Franks, Hilary, and Britton, Denis. A Hundred Years of British Food and Farming: A Statistical Survey. London: Taylor & Francis, 1989.Google Scholar
Horowitz, Roger. Putting Meat on the American Table. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Hyldtoft, Ole. Danmarks økonomiske historie. København: Systime Academic, 1999.Google Scholar
Just, Flemming. Landbruget, staten og eksporten 1930–1950. Esbjerg: Sydjysk Universitetsforlag, 1992.Google Scholar
Lucas, Arthur. Industrial Reconstruction and the Control of Competition. London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1937.Google Scholar
Mathias, Peter. Retailing Revolution. London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1967.Google Scholar
Mitchell, Brian. Abstract of British Historical Statistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962.Google Scholar
National Farmers’ Union. Cooperative Bacon Factory Industry. London: National Farmers’ Union, 1926. (Copy obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture).Google Scholar
Pedersen, Erik Helmer. Danske Slagterier 1887–1987. Roskilde: Organisationen Dansk Slagterier, 1987.Google Scholar
Pedersen, Kurt, Strandskov, Jesper, and Sørensen, Peter. Phillip W. Heyman. København: Systime Academic, 2005.Google Scholar
Redfern, Percy. The Story of the C.W.S.: The Jubilee History of the Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd, 1863–1913. Manchester, UK: The Cooperative Wholesale Society, 1913.Google Scholar
Redfern, Percy. The New History of the C.W.S. London: Dent, 1938.Google Scholar
Rooth, Tim. British Protectionism and the International Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.Google Scholar
Spink, Reignald. DBC, Danish Bacon Company’s historie 1902–1977. Hertfordshire, UK: Danish Bacon Company, 1977.Google Scholar
Thomas, Brinley, and Thomsen, Birgit Nüchel. Dansk-Engelsk Samhandel 1961–1963 [Anglo-Danish trade 1961–1963]. Århus: Universitetsforlaget i Århus, 1966.Google Scholar
Wilson, John, Webster, Anthony, and Vorberg-Rugh, Rachael. Building Co-operation: A Business History of the Co-operative Group, 1863–2013. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Akerlof, George. “The Market for Lemons.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 84 (August 1970): 488–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, Joe. “Lard to Lean: Making the Meat-Type Hog in Post-World War II America.” In Food Chains: From Farmyard to Shopping Cart, edited by Belasco, Warren and Horowitz, Roger, 29–46. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, Peter. “A Review of the Agricultural Marketing Schemes.” Economica 15 (May 1948): 132–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Constantine, Stephen. “Bringing the Empire Alive: The Empire Marketing Board and Imperial Propoganda.” In Imperialism and Popular Culture, edited by MacKenzie, John, 192–231. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1986.Google Scholar
Cowan, Robin, and Gunby, Philip. “Sprayed to Death: Path Dependence, Lock-In and Pest Control Strategies.” Economic Journal 106 (May 1996): 521–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crafts, Nicholas. “Long-run Growth.” In The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain Volume II: Economic Maturity, 1860–1939, edited by Floud, Roderick and Johnson, Paul, 1–24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.Google Scholar
David, Paul. “Clio and the Economics of QWERTY.” American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings) 75 (May 1985): 332–337.Google Scholar
Duguid, Paul. “Developing the Brand: The Case of Alcohol.” Enterprise and Society 4 (September 2003): 405–441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duguid, Paul. “Networks and Knowledge: The Beginning and End of the Port Commodity Chain, 1703–1860,” Business History Review 79 (Autumn 2005): 493–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henriksen, Ingrid, and O’Rourke, Kevin. “Incentives, Technology, and the Shift to Year-Round Dairying in Late Nineteenth-Century Denmark.” Economic History Review LVIII (August 2005): 520–545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higgins, David M., and Mordhorst, Mads. “Reputation and Export Performance: Danish Butter Exports and the British Market, c. 1880–c.1914,” Business History 50 (March 2008): 185–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landes, William, and Posner, Richard. “Trade Mark Law: An Economic Perspective.” Journal of Law and Economics 30 (October 1987): 265–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacGregor, David. “The Rationalisation of Industry.” Economic Journal 37 (December 1927): 521–550.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, J. Carter. “The Development of Centralised Exporting in Danish Agriculture.” Southern Economic Journal 23 (May 1957): 363–379.Google Scholar
Ramello, Giovanni. “What’s in a Sign? Trademark Law and Economic Theory.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20 (September 2006): 547–565.Google Scholar
Rooth, Tim. “Limits of Leverage: the Anglo-Danish Trade Agreement of 1933.” Economic History Review 37 (May 1984): 211–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rooth, Tim. “Trade Agreements and the Evolution of British Agricultural Policy in the 1930s.” Agricultural History Review 33, no. 2 (1985): 173–190.Google Scholar
Strandskov, Jesper, and Pedersen, Kurt. “Pioneering FDI into the Danish Bacon Industry.” Scandinavian Economic History Review 48 (December 2011): 42–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woods, Abigail. “Re-thinking the History of Modern Agriculture: British Pig Production, c.1910–1965.” Twentieth Century British History (June 2011): 165–191.Google Scholar
The Grocer and Oil Trades Review (various issues)Google Scholar
The Meat Trades Journal and Cattle Salesman’s Gazette (various issues)Google Scholar
The London TimesGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Interim Report on Meat, Poultry and Eggs. London: HMSO, 1923, Cmd.1927.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Departmental Committee on Distribution and Prices of Agricultural Produce: Final Report. London: HMSO, 1924, Cmd. 2008.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on Co-operative Marketing of Agricultural Produce in England and Wales. London: HMSO, 1926.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on the Marketing of Pigs in England and Wales. Economic Series 12, London: HMSO, 1927.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on the Pork and Bacon Trades in England and Wales. Economic Series 17, London: HMSO, 1928.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report of the Reorganisation Commission for Pigs and Pig Products. Economic Series 37, London: HMSO, 1932.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report of the Reorganisation Commission for Milk. Economic Series 38. London: HMSO, 1933Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on Agricultural Marketing Schemes. London: HMSO, 1935, Cmd. 4913.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on Agricultural Marketing Schemes for the Year 1935. London: HMSO, 1936, Cmd. 5284.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report on Agricultural Marketing Schemes for the Year 1936. London: HMSO, 1938, Cmd. 5734.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Report of the Committee Appointed to Review the Working of the Agricultural Marketing Acts. Economic Series 48. London: HMSO, 1947.Google Scholar
Report of the Advisory Committee on the Development of Pig Production in the United Kingdom: Development of Pig Production in the UK. London: HMSO, 1956, Cmd. 9588.Google Scholar
Report of the Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada, 1894. Ottawa: S.E. Dawson, 1895.Google Scholar
Report of the Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada, 1900. Ottawa: S.E. Dawson, 1901.Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1894. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1895.Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1895. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1896.Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1896. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1897.Google Scholar
AndelsbladetGoogle Scholar
The National Archives (hereafter, TNA), MAF, 34/110, Bacon and Hams Retail Investigation.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF 34/249, Bacon Development Board: Retailers’ Advisory Committee: Minutes.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF, 34/278, Bacon Industry Acts: Price Ascertainment.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF, 34/308, Pigs and Marketing Schemes: Public Inquiries: Arrangements.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF 34/469, Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Acts 1928 and 1931: Registration of the National Trade Mark.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF 34/707, Proposed Schemes: Midland Bacon.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF 34/715, Proposed Schemes: Wiltshire Bacon.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF, 34/766, Bacon Development Board: Minutes of Meetings.Google Scholar
TNA, MAF, 34/782, Bacon Marketing Board: Minutes of Meetings (Provisional Board) Nos.1–16.Google Scholar
Crittall, Elizabeth. A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 4, 220–253. Available athttp://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=102814. Accessed November 19, 2013.Google Scholar