Hendersons have produced their relish – a deep brown, unique tasting condiment – for well over one hundred years, and distributed it to Sheffield and the surrounding area. What’s particularly interesting about the company and brand is the sheer emotion attached to its followers – and they are followers. Not just customers.

A little bit of History
It all began when Mr Henry Henderson began manufacturing his own special type of sauce in the late part of the 19th century, and selling it from a small shop on 35 Broad Lane in Sheffield. Its popularity bloomed and soon the small shop was delivering the product in vans, all over Sheffield. The pickle producer, Shaws of Huddersfield bought the business as an investment in 1910 and continued to run it under the Henderson’s brand. Thirty years later Mr Charles Hinksman, nephew of the founder (and at the time the manager of the Shaws owned business), acquired the business from Shaws and formed the present company of Hendersons (Sheffield) Ltd.

The business has remained in the family ever since, and from 1991 Dr Kenneth Freeman, nephew of the late Charles Hinksman, took the post of Managing Director.

Dr Freeman has been instrumental in spreading the word about the product, expanding its reach through supermarkets and specialist delis in the region.

The history of Hendersons is of some interest of course. It has managed to stay afloat for over 100 years, and this may explain some of its following, but we couldn’t think of another organisation that demonstrated this level of love from its customer base. After all, this is not Coca-Cola – it’s a small producer of an unusual condiment, distributed in Sheffield and the surrounding area.

In the following paragraphs we attempt to dissect the Henderson’s brand appeal.

The Henderson’s effect
A quick look at the website (hendersonsrelish.com) reveals several gushing quotes from celebrities such as Sean Bean, Jarvis Cocker, David Blunkett and Richard Hawley. Celebrity endorsements are nothing new of course in this age of the fame obsessed. What’s unusual is that all the celebrities involved offered (and continue to offer) their comments for free, and without any discussion with Hendersons. And most of them were taken from interviews about the celebrity – not the product.

We spoke to Dr Freeman about this strange and seemingly unprompted cult status, at the unassuming home of the product, here in Sheffield. “It’s because of the history.” He declared, “Henderson’s has been loved by generations of people, some of whom have become celebrities. When they become famous they declare their allegiance and this is obviously extremely influential.”

Well that’s certainly a good explanation. But if it’s the only reason, why don’t celebrities fall over themselves to extol the virtues of the Eccles Cake, for example? Hungry for more, we asked Dr Freeman if he thought the unusual bottle shape and bright orange label might help distinguish the product. Making it stick in the mind. At which point he began to assemble a line of bottles dating back to the early days of the company on his desk.

Ranging from approximately 8cm to 16cm in size and with tops made from cork, tin and plastic, the bottle has changed greatly over time. What hasn’t changed is that black and orange label. By no means a design classic, this label has simply detailed the virtues of the relish and some simple applications for decades (see picture).

It emerges the business looked at ‘modernising’ the products image in recent years, as so many brand obsessed organisations do in their search for market share. However, it quickly became apparent that all sense of the original product was lost in the translation and Dr Freeman scrapped the exercise in favour of… an orange label with black type. All that has been added are simple line drawings of complimentary foods.

So perhaps the label, unchanged and reliable, helps followers associate Henderson’s with their childhood and simpler days, when displayed amongst dozens of would be condiment purchases in the supermarket?

Despite its long history, Henderson’s has not become, either through judgement or otherwise, a global brand. In fact it employs only five people. Perhaps this kind of cult status had been born out of the niche quality of the product? We asked Dr Freeman if he thought expansion would compromise the businesses cult status. “Not necessarily,” he commented, “We would simply have to take care that we remained true to our values and presentation. The barriers to our expansion are merely the risk and the cost to do so.”

During our interview, Dr Freeman told us stories of admiring people from as far away as Australia writing in with thanks and ordering litre upon litre to be shipped to them on a monthly basis. He’s obviously extremely proud of his business’ value to its customers.

The reason we chose Henderson’s Relish as our first Great Brand of the North case study is simple. This organisation is not a huge business empire with a global reach and billions in the bank set aside for massive advertising campaigns, figure-headed by superstars. Yet in its own small and unusual way it has created a following that we believe no amount of money could buy and no organisation can emulate. It’s true that people make a brand great and Henderson’s Relish is a great brand indeed.

Henderson’s Relish can be ordered through hendersonsrelish.com and purchased in Sheffield and region, shops and supermarkets.


To comment on any of our articles, submit your organisation for consideration, or to find out more about our branding services, email marc@roccacreative.co.uk

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