John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, chemists and partners since Jan. 1823, start to make Lea and Perrin’s Worcestershire Sauce in the back of their chemist shop at 68 Broad Street in Worcester, England. Worcester is a thriving commercial town on the River Severn, which connects it to the Bristol Channel and international maritime trade.
They were experimenting with vinegar-based seasoning sauces and had abandoned a batch that did not taste right. Sitting in the basement, the sauce fermented and developed complex flavors.
In 1842, Lea & Perrins sold 636 bottles of Worcestershire sauce. In 1845, factory was set up in Bank Street, Worcester. Ten years later the yearly sales were up to 30,000 bottles of Worcestershire sauce.
By the end of the century Lea & Perrins’ iconic orange label had been added to all bottles to ensure they stood out from copycat competitors (the label has hardly changed since) and in 1904 Lea & Perrins was granted the Royal Warrant which it holds to this day.
The partners bottled more, and a taste for Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce spread throughout Europe, to America, and across the world. To produce the sauce, they allowed it to sit for two years with periodic stirrings; the mixture was then sifted of the solids and bottled.
Soy sauce remained the main secret ingredient until World War II, when supply problems caused it to be replaced by hydrolyzed vegetable protein.
In 2005, Lea & Perrins is bought by U.S. food company Heinz (H.J. Heinz Company).
History of business of Worcestershire Sauce
