Hundreds of brands have the right to put a royal seal on their products. But they now have to wait for the approval of the new emperor, Charles III, to retain it.
Fortnum and Mason tea, Burberry raincoats, but also beans and dog food: With the death of Elizabeth II, the Queen’s 600 favorite brands lose royal warrants and must now await the approval of the new monarch. If they do not win the favor of Charles III, they will have two years to remove the seal marked as a regular supplier of the royal family. As a prince, Charles had already granted it to over 150 brands.
Above all, it is a guarantee of quality: “Beneficiaries of royal warrants receive the right to a splendid document and the appropriate royal seal on their products”, simply states the Association of Royal Warrant Holders. But for some of these companies, their relationship with royalties is a strong selling point, although the actual impact on sales is hard to measure.
no preferential rate
Fortnum & Mason, the tea supplier to the royal family, makes sure in all of its communications “to be proud to hold a warrant from Her Majesty since 1954, and to serve with the rest of the royal family for a lifetime.” The luxury grocer, which claims its “Royal Blend” tea was made for King Edward in 1902, won’t lose its mandate, as it also has a mandate awarded by Prince Charles. Another big name in tea, the Twinings brand is also one of the suppliers to the royal family.
According to British Press, among other brands that have benefited from their association with the Queen, Dubonnet is a wine-based aperitif, one of the two ingredients of her favorite cocktail, Dubonnet and gin. In terms of clothing and accessories, Launer, which sells handbags with which the Queen was inseparable, has prided itself on supplying the sovereign since 1968, but now risks losing its precious cachet. In contrast, Barbour jackets, especially suited to the climate of the United Kingdom, were prized by Charles III as they were by his mother.
Brands do not pay any royalties for this coveted mandate, nor do they provide the Crown for free or at preferential rates. For those who are less associated with the Queen in the collective imagination, the mandate is “above all recognition of address and tradition”, tells AFP Christian Porta, Pernod’s deputy general manager. Ricard, who owns Dubonnet.
The French Wine and Spirits Multinational has two mandates, one for Dubonnet, but also for Mum Champagne (the royal family, very fond of Champagne, Bollinger, Krug, Lanson, Laurent-Perrier, Louis Roederer, Mot & Chandon, and Veuve Clicuot ).
Beans in Tomato Sauce
Consumer brands also have royal mandates, such as Heinz, known for its ketchup and especially its white beans in tomato sauce, as preferred by the British, or a variety of dog food . As for Kellogg’s Cereals, “It’s good for an American brand like ours to establish itself in the United Kingdom”, explains Paul Wheeler, in charge of the brand’s communications for the United Kingdom.
According to him, Kellogg’s has been supplying the royal family continuously since the end of the reign of Elizabeth II’s father, George VI: “We had a truck dedicated to the delivery of the royal family, going from our factory to the palace, and which Genevieve was given the surname”, he says. From now on, the criteria to get the renewal of tenure every five years have been tightened: “It is no longer a question of just providing impeccable service but also of showing that we are a good company”, special norms With respect to human rights, he said.
As a result, the royal seal is therefore, according to him, also a “guarantee of quality”, which may be used by some Britons to select their products.
