Made in Glasgow: The local baker who introduced the Penguin biscuit

A Penguin with your cup of tea. The chocolate snack has become a recognised brand across the UK over the last century or so, but the biscuit’s beginnings started a lot closer to home than you might think.

They are remembered for their adverts throughout the 1980s with the “P-p-p-pick up a penguin” slogan, alongside the jokes on the backs of the wrappers, for example: ‘How does a Penguin build its house? Igloos it together’

Penguins were made independently at a factory in Hillington for over 30 years, beginning when Macdonald Biscuits opened in Glasgow in 1928 and first introduced the Penguin biscuit in 1932.

They were first created by Glasgow baker William Mcdonald - the name was chosen because the original version had dark chocolate and a cream filling, so the penguin was chosen to represent the black and white colour of the biscuit.

By the time United Biscuits - the producers of McVitie’s - took over the Macdonald & Sons biscuit company in 1965, it was worth £2.8m and held almost 20% of British chocolate biscuit export.

Penguins, alongside the likes of Digestives, Jaffa cakes, Rich tea, and Hob Nobs, were deemed so important to the upkeep of Britain that, under United Biscuits, they held a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II.

Two years after the acquisition of Macdonald & Sons by United Biscuits, the factory at Hillington was closed.

The Mcfarlane Lang McVitie’s factory at Tollcross in Glasgow took over production and was doubled in size, costing around £2.3m in 1969 and increasing the labour force from 250 to 1350.

In October 1996, Penguin biscuits found themselves the subject of a court case between Asda and United Biscuits.

Puffin vs Penguin - Puffin being Asda’s supermarket equivalent of a Penguin - is a case that echoes the modern Colin vs Cuthbert the caterpillar trademark controversy.

In March 1997, the court ruled in favour of United Biscuits, but found that Asda had not infringed the Penguin trademark.

United Biscuits landed in hot water in 2007 when they were criticised for using trans fatty acids in the cream filling of Penguins.

By December 2007, United Biscuits began to advertise the absence of trans fats from Penguins after removing the ingredient from the product line.

Jumping forward to today, Glasgow’s long biscuit making history came to an end with the closure of the Tollcross factory in 2021.