Seven Seas (company)
Seven Seas Ltd[1] is a supplier of vitamins, minerals and supplements in the United Kingdom and abroad. It began in 1934 when a group of trawler owners in Hull formed a co-operative venture called British Cod Liver Oil (BCLO) Producers to exploit one of the fishing industry's most valuable by-products.
In the early days BCLO sold various oils under simple descriptions such as Cod Oil, Pale Oil, Cattle Oil, Ruby Oil and Dark Cod Oil. Medicinal cod liver oil was still to be produced in the early years. The company offices were situated on the south side of St Andrews Dock in Hull but were not large enough to cope with the company's plans to market high quality veterinary oil and produce medicinal oil to conform to pharmaceutical standards.[2]
A new factory was built in Marfleet, the Marfleet Refinery, at the time, the world's largest cod liver oil refinery. The product produced and sold by BCLO was called SOLVITAX.
History
Kenneth MacLennan, previously of Lever Brothers, became General Manager in 1936 and became the driving force of the Seven Seas brand. In an effort to take cod liver oil to the masses a large fish was created (King Cod) and placed on the back of one of the BCLO trucks. A loudspeaker was fixed in the mouth of the fish to relay sales messages.
King Cod was taken around the UK and was a sensation - particularly with "A Life on the Ocean Wave" blaring out of the loudspeaker.[3] Kenneth MacLennan's drive for standardisation led to the search for a good trade name. The name Seven Seas was his idea.[4]
The BCLO was taken over by Imperial foods in 1974. It was not until April 1982 that Seven Sea Health Care Ltd was set up as a subsidiary of Marfleet Refining Company.
Seven Seas was acquired in 1986 as part of Hanson's purchase of Imperial Tobacco.[5]
In 1996 the New York Times [6] reported that Seven Seas Ltd was purchased by German global pharmaceutical and chemical company, Merck KGaA.
Seven Seas continues to operate from its base in Kingston upon Hull with main brands such as Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil, Seven Seas JointCare, Multibionta and Haliborange.
In 2015 the Sevens Seas factory in Hull was closed moving the Sales and Marketing of the brand to Merck's headquarters in London.