Stork is a brand of

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The ...

spread manufactured primarily from

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

and water, owned by Flora Food Group, except in southern Africa, where it is owned by the Remgro subsidiary Siqalo Foods. When it was introduced into the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

from 1920, housewives were initially suspicious of the health effects and cooking ability of margarine. As a result, it required a large amount of advertising in the 1930s to increase usage, supported by the Stork sponsored Radio Lyons featuring the band of

Carroll Gibbons Carroll Richard Gibbons (January 4, 1903 – May 10, 1954) was an American-born pianist, bandleader and popular composer who made his career primarily in England during the British dance band era. Early life and career Gibbons was born an ...

. Stork has been manufactured at the

Purfleet Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater ...

works (originally Van den Berghs & Jurgens) in the UK since 1920. It was with the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

that sales began to rise, in part driven by the Stork Cookery Service. During the war, a lorry carrying Stork margarine overturned on the A531 road in

Madeley, Staffordshire Madeley is a village and ward in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire, England. It is split into three parts: Madeley, Middle Madeley, and Little Madeley. Madeley Heath is also considered by many to be part of Madeley ...

, resulting in people coming to try to salvage its load. The location became known as Margarine Corner. Stork was launched in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1950. After rationing ended in the UK in 1954, the brand was relaunched, supported by the "Art of Home Cooking" promotion, with the first Stork television adverts being shown in 1955. Stork soft was introduced in the 1970s, with entertainers

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was an English entertainer and television presenter whose career spanned more than 75 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the Associated Te ...

and later

Leslie Crowther Leslie Douglas Sargent Crowther (6 February 1933 – 28 September 1996) was an English comedian, actor, TV presenter, and game show host. Biography Leslie Crowther was born on Monday 6 February 1933 in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, son of L ...

, fronting taste test-based television adverts.

References

External links

Bake with Stork
Margarine brands Products introduced in 1920 Former Unilever brands Flora Food Group brands {{food-product-stub