Oxo beef stock cubes introduced by Liebig's Extract of Meat Company

Background. Liebig's Extract of Meat Company was established on 4 December 1865 in London with a capital of £150,000. The company later adopted the name "LEMCO" in Britain to counter product substitution, encouraging shoppers to request the trademark. In 1899, the firm introduced the Oxo trademark, whose origin is unknown but presumably derives from the word "ox."

Product Development. The original Oxo product was a beef stock cube. The company launched a research project to create a solid version that could be sold for a penny, as liquid Oxo remained too expensive for many families. These cubes were designed to be broken up for flavoring meals or dissolved in boiling water to produce bouillon.

Commercial Context. The company had adopted the LEMCO name in Britain, displaying it prominently on products "to correct the evil of substitution" and encouraging shoppers to request it to avoid inferior substitutes. "Oxo" was registered as a trade mark in many countries. The Roscoe collaboration is not dated in the sources relative to the 1899 Oxo introduction, and no passage links the LEMCO adoption to the Oxo trademark's introduction.