A. L. Simpkin & Co. Ltd

History

Albert Leslie Simpkin founded the firm in 1921 after being demobilised from the army in 1920, where he had been mentioned in despatches and received the Military Cross during World War I. His severe wounds led him to become a retailer and wholesaler of sweets before buying a confectionery manufacturing company on Sedan Street in Sheffield’s Pitsmoor area. He soon stopped selling other brands and focused on his own production. In the early 1920s, he acquired a burnt-out refrigeration factory in Hillsborough and built a 40,000 square foot purpose-built facility, employing 180 staff.

Simpkin made high-quality glucose sweets from natural ingredients, targeting a niche market by selling through dispensing chemists to sidestep competition from larger manufacturers. He had been given liquid glucose to recover from his wounds and, finding no solid version available, decided to produce glucose travel sweets, at a time when a tin of sweets was considered a car glovebox essential. Within two years, his sweets, called Simpkins' Orange Barley Sticks, were stocked in 90% of UK pharmacies.

Initially sold in large jars, they were soon packaged in individual airtight eight-ounce tins because the high fruit juice content made them sticky when exposed to moisture. Early tins were not fully airtight, but in the 1950s a completely seamless, airtight tin was introduced, keeping the sweets fresh for years. Tins became a company hallmark. At its peak, the firm employed over 300 staff.

During World War II, Simpkins produced high-grade glucose sweets for RAF aircrew on high-altitude missions, and also supplied sweets to the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition. In February 2009, the company won best new British product at the Cologne confectionery show for its Dr. Stuart range of herbal sweets.

Present day

Simpkins now ships sweets to over 40 countries, with exports making up a quarter of its revenue. The Sheffield factory produces 80 different sweet lines and also bags 50 imported sugar-free varieties. Automation has reduced the workforce to about 50 people. Their sweets are stocked by Boots UK, W H Smith, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, and Tesco, in addition to pharmacies.

In 2009, the company earned over three million pounds, churning out two million sweets—packed into 35,000 tins—each day. Falling profits on their standard 200-gram tins have pushed the firm toward producing 50-gram tins to attract younger buyers, a move that would require a fifty-thousand-pound investment in new equipment. Albert Leslie Simpkin’s three sons, Neville, Brian, and John, all joined the business, with John taking full control in 2002. Today, John’s children, Adrian and Karen Simpkin, run the company as joint managing directors.