While hardly a household staple (indeed, many are still be unfamiliar with it) the discontinuation of Gentleman’s Relish has shaken those that enjoyed its piquant and savoury taste.
The anchovy paste with strong fishy smell and unassuming white packaging has been on grocery store shelves for the last 180 years, so its quiet shuffle off stage has surprised its loyal following.
With petitions to reverse the decision popping up on Change.org and fans bemoaning the spread’s loss, what was it that went wrong for Gentleman’s Relish?
Parent company woes
A spokesperson for AB World Foods, the manufacturer of Gentleman’s Relish, commented that “with Gentleman’s Relish no longer commercially viable and unable to secure a buyer for the brand, we regrettably stopped production earlier this year.”
AB World Foods is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, which has had its own problems in recent times. The conglomerate’s sugar division was hit hard by American President, Donald Trump’s international tariffs, and had to close their bioethanol plant, Vivergo Fuels last October as a result of soaring beet costs and falling sugar prices.
More recently, declining sales from its jewel in the crown, Primark has led to yet more worries for AB Foods. The fast fashion retailer makes up almost half of the value of their portfolio and is facing increasing pressure from Chinese retailers such as Shein.
Shifting tastes
Much like rival spread, Marmite, Gentleman’s Relish has always been somewhat of an acquired taste. While the former has been able to attract new generations of customers though, Gentleman’s Relish has struggled to capture the attention of a younger audience.
Indeed, when news broke of the spread’s demise, most news reports listed its famous fans as Ian Fleming, Evelyn Waugh, Jessica Mitford, Mrs Beeton, and Admiral Sir Sydney Smith (who fought against Napoleon’s forces in 1799). The youngest of these famous fans (Mitford) died 30 years ago at the age of 78.
While Beeton’s endorsement that Gentleman’s Relish “makes an excellent bonne bouche which enables gentlemen at wine parties to enjoy their port with redoubled gusto” may have held some weight in the 1860s, it unfortunately doesn’t even carry as much influence as a middling culinary TikTok channel might now.
The spread hasn’t received any meaningful marketing for the last 40 years or more. As such, if you were to ask a group of under 40s what Gentleman’s Relish is, few would be able to answer. It’s a dangerous game to rely on an aging consumer base, and it’s entirely possible that most of Gentleman’s Relish’s past costumers are simply not around any more.
What went wrong for Gentleman’s Relish?
Put simply, the marketing. For such a long-standing British institution, it’s received barely any advertising over the last few decades.
In an age with so many marketing options, this is difficult to justify, and its owners must shoulder this responsibility. As soon as issues started to arise for its parent company, this forgotten spread made for an easy cost-cutting measure.
What now?
Pots are already rare to come by, with unopened examples currently listed on eBay for £83.
Whether the petition is successful or not, it’s a shame that Gentleman’s Relish’s secret recipe has not been released. John Osborn, who created the spread back in 1828, passed his two sons only half of the recipe each, and it’s remained a secret ever since. Fans online have been swapping recipes for their own attempts with one another in an attempt to recreate its distinctive taste.
Perhaps if one of them manage to succeed we may yet see the spread return to supermarket shelves one day.
Don’t let your company fall behind by skimping on your marketing efforts
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