Mr. Chip of Keiller

Illustration of a person made of fruit dressed in top hat and kilt

Keiller is a well-known brand of marmalade named after Janet Keiller (1735-1813) who, in 1797, adapted an existing recipe for marmalade by adding orange rind. The Keiller brand was bought by Crosse & Blackwell Ltd in 1920. After a number of changes of ownership, it was eventually subsumed into the Roberston’s brand in 1988.​ Keiller was a leading brand of chip-marmalade (containing the fruit rind) and a major competitor to the likes of the Roberston’s Golly and William Moorhouse Sunny-Sunglow brands. In its heyday, Keiller marmalade was exported worldwide especially to expatriates throughout the British Empire. Keiller stoneware jars are still found everywhere.

Alex Keiller opened a new factory in Guernsey (Channel Isles) to produce his Dundee (Chip) Marmalade under the same label. The new factory accounted for over a third of all Keiller’s output and was established to take advantage of the island’s exemption from the new Sugar Tax. The Guernsey factory operated there from 1857 to 1879 which also gave the company better access to the more lucrative markets of South-East England, including London.