  
The Baxters story begins in 1868 when, with a little encouragement, George Baxter borrowed £100 from an uncle and other relatives, and opened a small grocery shop in Fochabers.
Here fortune intervened, for the district of Moray happens to be one of Britain's great natural larders. Fochabers itself stands in the Laich of Moray, a coastal plain whose sandy loam is ideal for growing carrots, turnips, leeks and potatoes. A short way inland, on the warm slopes of the Grampian Hills, grow superb raspberries, strawberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants. Beyond are the deer forests and grouse moors. The nearby lochs and woods are the habitat of wild duck, pheasants and partridges. Prime beef cattle graze the low-lying meadows, and through all this glorious landscape, the Spey winds its way to the Moray Firth, famed in turn for lobsters, crabs, scallops and prawns.
George's wife Margaret, started making jams and jellies in the back of the shop. Once her jams had found their way to Gordon Castle, their superb quality ensured that they swiftly became popular with the Duke's friends up and down the land. Thus the Baxter reputation began to spread.
Cleverly blending old ideas with new and drawing on the abundance of fine local produce, Ethel created an exceptional range of soups among them the famous Royal Game Soup. She also pioneered the canning of soft fruits at the time when the whole process was in its infancy.
Ethel's talent as an innovator, combined with her husband’s brilliance as a salesman, made Baxters a formidable force in the 20's and 30's. It wasn't long before orders were flooding in from Harrods, and Fortnum & Mason in London.
At the end of the war, the next generation of the Baxter family, Gordon and Ian, came to join the family firm. They found themselves in a business which had scraped through the bleak years of 1939 to 1945 making a little jam for the NAAFI and not much else.
Gordon, by now managing director, threw himself into his twin roles as new product developer and one-man sales force. In 1952 he met Ena Robertson. Later the same year they were married and Gordon gained not only a wife, but the other half of what was to develop into a quite exceptional business partnership.
Gordon had the urge to travel, to take his fine Scottish products abroad. Finally in 1959, laden down with samples of jam and marmalade, he set off for the United States of America. He returned bursting with new ideas.
In 1992 Gordon handed over managing directorship to his daughter Audrey, and the fourth generation of Baxters took up the reins. By 1999 she was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive and with her brother Andrew was tasked to take Baxters forward into the new millennium.
Audrey and her management team run a company of which her great-grandparents could never even have dreamed. The sheer scale of the operation, the science and technology that underlies it, the sophisticated sales, marketing and distribution - these things are light years away from the business that was conducted in the little grocery shop in Fochabers.
Our soups are for adults, who will appreciate a finer tasting soup, not for children. The recipes are different and offer a wonderful change to everyday soups. When he started the business, George Baxter constantly exhorted himself, and those around him, to "be different, be better", little guessing that these words would remain an inspiration to his great-grandchildren, over one hundred and thirty years later.
The Baxter family are passionate about great tasting food and as a result, Baxters soups are the finest in a can. All our soups are created using only the finest ingredients carefully selected and then prepared like homemade soups.
We begin by preparing a wonderful tasting stock base and add to our carefully prepared vegetables and other ingredients and top with our final garnish, herbs and spices. The lid is then attached and each can becomes its own cooking pot, which is rotated like the stirring action of homemade soup in a pot. The result – great tasting soups, which have the appearance, taste and texture of homemade soups, wonderful aroma, al dente vegetables, and a taste which can be passed off as your own.
Our recipes include the award winning Lobster Bisque and Vichyssoise soups, which are truly unique and are ideal for entertaining or as an indulgent snack.
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