S2 Episode 6: Whatever Happened to Fry's?
Description
In Episode 6 I am joined by chocolate historian, archivist and novelist Alex Hutchinson to discuss the rise and fall of the Bristol based Fry’s chocolate company.
In this episode I discover what made quakers such good business people and why chocolate in particular appealed to them (aside from its delicious taste, obviously). We chat about the innovations in chocolate processing and business opportunities that helped make Fry’s the leading British chocolate manufacturer in the nineteenth century before its decline in the early twentieth century. So what went wrong?
Useful Links
Penny Thorpe Books:
* The Mothers of Quality Street
You can follow Alex on Twitter/X and Instagram.
Records of J S Fry and Sons, chocolate manufacturers, of Bristol are kept at the Bristol Archives.
You can view an advert for Fry’s Churchman’s Chocolate here.
A written Virtual Tour of chocolate sites in Bristol is available on Internet Archive.
More information about the various Test Acts is available at parliament.uk
Don’t forget to check out my new podcast collaboration with Dr Neil Buttery and Dr Allie Pino the A is for Apple Podcast. You can follow this podcast on Instagram, Twitter/X and there is a newsletter on Substack too!
Suggested Reading
Fry's Chocolate Dream: The Rise and Fall of a Chocolate Empire by John Bradley, 2013
Cadbury's Purple Reign: The Story Behind Chocolate's Best-Loved Brand by John Bradley, 2008
Chocolate Wars: From Cadbury to Kraft: 200 years of Sweet Success and Bitter Rivalry. by Deborah Cadbury, London: Harper Press, 2010
‘J.S. Fry & sons: Growth and Decline in the Chocolate Industry, 1753-1918’ by Stefanie Diaper in Studies in the Business History of Bristol edited Charles E. Harvey and Jon Press, Bristol: Bristol Academic Press, 1988, pp33-55
‘Dying for a Humbug, the Bradford Sweets Poisoning 1858’ by Ben Johnson on Historic UK
Sailor Rations in the 18th Century - Burgoo (YouTube)
The Chocolate Conscience by Gillian Wagner, Chatto & Windus, 1987
Get full access to Comfortably Hungry at comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe
United States
