History of the Goodall’s Brand

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The Goodall’s brand originated in Leeds during the early 1830′s when a Mrs Goodall started making sauces in her home.

The business started from there, and in 1837 it was established in Leeds as “Bell & Brooke” before eventually changing its name to “Goodall Backhouse” in 1858.

At this time, the company’s product range included baking powder, mushroom ketchup, ginger beer powder and what the company described as its “celebrated Yorkshire Relish”.

The company name “Goodall Backhouse” came to nationwide prominence in the 1890s in England, when it took the first Trade Mark case to protect its brand name. Goodall’s sued Holbrook and Co for making a sauce that it also called Yorkshire Relish. Goodall Backhouse won the case, and the House of Lords ruled that only Goodall Backhouse was entitled to use the term Yorkshire Relish.

By 1922, Goodall’s were manufacturers of Yorkshire Relish, Goodall’s Jelly Squares, Goodall’s Jelly Crystals, Goodall’s Egg, Baking and Custard Powders, Goodall’s Salad Cream, Salad Oils, Essences, Spices and Seidlitz Powders, .

Goodall’s at the time also exported goods to the Continent, West Africa, Canada and the United States and various other foreign destinations. The firm finished trading in the UK in 1995.

The company’s products were already very popular in Ireland. “Yorkshire Relish” is even mentioned in Ulysses. However, during the economic war the import tariffs imposed by De Valera made it difficult for goods coming into Ireland from England. Seizing an opportunity, in 1933 the Hogg family approached Goodall Backhouse to start producing the Goodall’s brand in Ireland. A factory was soon established in Distillery Road in Drumcondra which was in operation until the early 1990s.

The brand continued to prosper in Ireland, albeit with different owners during the years that followed. However, in 2010 the brand passed back into Irish hands again, as Robert Roberts acquired both Goodall’s and YR.