About

The relationship between the ‘nutrition transition’ of 1750-1950 (to diets high in refined carbohydrates, dairy and meat) and wider social and cultural change (class, gender, colonialism and taste) is a rich and growing area of historical study. Companies manufacturing processed foods like meat, dairy and fish products, were central to this shift. Histories of food production and consumption, including the design of advertising campaigns, are vital to understand contemporary attitudes to food, health and sustainability. 

Chichester-based Shippam’s (established 1750), a family-run business with national and global reach spanning  nineteenth and twentieth centuries, was a key player in the nutrition transition. Its post-WW2 marketing not only provides a unique British case study of food promotion, but also offers critical insights into broader debates about food consumption, advertising history, and social change in colonial and postcolonial contexts. The innovative ways in which Shippam’s globally sourced and sold products were represented, had a fundamental impact on how processed food was perceived in Britain and beyond. Its playful yet paternalistic advertising included pioneering TV shorts (1955), print adverts, and in-store promotions. Distinguished by a lively visual style juxtaposed with memorable slogans referencing gendered domesticity (‘Shippam’s for Tea’), convenience (‘A Meal in a Moment’), and empire (‘Sun Never Sets’), they reflect shifts in food consumption and wider culture.

Business archives of major brands are an often untapped resource for investigating complex, untold stories. Shippam’s archive at The Novium Museum provides a unique opportunity to explore the evolution of twentieth century British food promotion. Comprising over 1000 items including photographs, ephemera, and objects, this first major study of Shippam’s advertising will provide new contexts and establish links with additional Shippam’s material held at West Sussex Record Office and Screen Archive South East, archaeological finds from the factory site, and employee oral testimonies (ACE Unlocking Collections).