The company was founded in 1853 by Michael Spedding, who worked from his small bakehouse in Batley making "eatables" to sell at feasts and fairs held throughout the north of England. His daughter Hannah provided the name for the company, after she married Fred Ellis Fox in the late 1800s.
The bakery moved to former wartime allotments in Batley in 1927 in the 1920s. In 1960 it became a limited company and was named Fox's Biscuits. The Uttoxeter site previously operated as Elkes Biscuits, before merging with the other sites in 2003. In September 2013, the Yorkshire Society unveiled a White Rose plaque at the site of the first bakery on Whitaker Street: the first time that the Society presented a plaque to commemorate the formation of a business.
They now have three manufacturing sites: Batley in West Yorkshire, Kirkham near Blackpool and Uttoxeter in Staffordshire. One of the first products they produced was the Brandy Snap, a syrupy biscuit curl that was popular around Christmas time.
All their products are suitable for vegetarians, with Party Rings being the latest to have a change of ingredients to accommodate vegetarians.
One of their biggest sellers are Crunch Creams - two perfectly crunchy biscuits sandwiched together with a generous layer of cream filling. They come in 4 varieties – Golden Crunch Creams, Ginger Crunch Creams, Double Choc Crunch Creams and Red Velvet Crunch Creams. Some of their other biscuits include Granola cookies and Viennese whirls. They also have a seasonal line of biscuits, perfect for Christmas time.
Fun Facts
The mascot for the brand is Vinnie, he's a hybrid between a panda and a dog. He is a New Jersey crime boss, and number one fan of Fox's biscuits. He's a man of significant wealth, the source of which is unknown. He has a different way of pronouncing words, so his way of saying biscuits is „biscwit“. Since we don't want to get on his bad side, it's best that he does all the talking.
Not a fact, but a tip - putting a slice of bread in your biscuit tin every so often can keep your Fox’s fresh for longer.
Fox's Biscuits are open for sugestions, so if you have an idea you would like to share, contact them and maybe they'll start producing the biscuit of your choice.
Photo source: Fox's Biscuits