Alfred Bird, whose father taught astronomy at Eton, was born in 1811 in Birmingham. In 1837 Alfred established himself as an analytical and retail pharmaceutical chemist there.
His young wife suffered from a digestive disorder which prevented her from eating anything prepared with eggs or with yeast.
His wife Elizabeth Lavinia was apparently yearning for custard to go with her favorite pies so Alfred Bird started experimenting in his shop. He produced custard powder from cornflour instead of eggs, and baking powder so that bread could be made without yeast.
The result was the custard powder bearing his name. These products were apparently served at his dinner guests at home and when they met with their approval Alfred started the firm of Alfred and Sons Ltd in 1843 to make them in large quantities.
By next year Bird’s Custard Powder was being sold internationally. Alfred was a great believer in promotion and carried out a number of stunts to advertise his new product, including a record breaking ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End on a tricycle.
Demand for Bird’s product increased steadily during the second half of the century. The company also produced one of the earliest commercial brands of baking powder and later blancmange powder on the 1870s.
The firm Alfred Bird and Sons Ltd of Birmingham remained a family business for 120 years. Alfred Bird Senior’s son, Alfred Fredrick Bird took ownership of the company in 1878 and is credited with having invented jelly crystals in 1895.
In 1947 Bird’s was taken over by the General Foods Company which merged with Phillip Morris in 1985. Three years later when Philip Morris acquired Kraft, Bird’s became part of the Kraft Foods.
In late 2004, Kraft sold Bird's Custard and some other Kraft brands to Premier Foods.
Bird custard powder
