Cow & Gate started in 1771 as a small grocery shop in Guildford at Number 20 High Street, owned by the Gates family. In 1887, the two brothers Charles and Leonard Gates decided to expand into the dairy trade, and opened up a new business called The West Surrey Central Dairy. To ensure supplies of the best quality milk, they built their own creameries in the West of England, and also in Ireland, where Cow & Gate infant formula milks are still produced today. Their best-selling product was fresh cream. This was sold in distinctive little brown jugs, with a label showing a cow looking through a gate. Among their customers were members of the Royal family, including Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of York. The label became famous, and it soon became known as 'Cow & Gate'.
Cow & Gate started in 1771 as a small grocery shop in Guildford at Number 20 High Street, owned by the Gates family. In 1887, the two brothers Charles and Leonard Gates decided to expand into the dairy trade, and opened up a new business called The West Surrey Central Dairy. To ensure supplies of the best quality milk, they built their own creameries in the West of England, and also in Ireland, where Cow & Gate infant formula milks are still produced today. Their best-selling product was fresh cream. This was sold in distinctive little brown jugs, with a label showing a cow looking through a gate. Among their customers were members of the Royal family, including Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of York. The label became famous, and it soon became known as 'Cow & Gate'.
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