The Knox Gelatine Company

Perfection Salad image appearing in a pamphlet from 1933

1889: Charles B. Knox invented the first household version of gelatine

• The unflavored gelatine packets were originally marketed as a health food and medicine, and the company's growth was very slow

1904: Perfection Salad

• Knox Gelatine held a competition for those who could make the most interesting recipe using their product. Mrs. Cooke, a woman from Pennsylvania, entered a “Perfection Salad,” which was made by combining chopped vegetables and cheese with gelatine. She won third place, and her recipe eventually became incorporated within many of Knox’s recipe books

1908: Charles Knox passes away unexpectedly, leaving his wife, Rose Knox, to take over the company

• Rose began to market the company towards housewives, sticking to the health food concept, but emphasizing its inclusion into meals as well
• She marketed it both as a diet loss aid (See more in: The Knox Diet) and an economically beneficial food additive 

1939: Be Fit Not Fat

• This pamphlet was one of the more popular of the first diet-centered pamphlets that the Knox Gelatine produced. It included diet charts, as seen below, which were incorperated into later pamphlets as well.
• This pamphlet emphasized how easily the low-calorie gelatine can be used to increase the food you eat while still watching the calories. The bottom of each page of the pamphlet says, "Do not confuse Knox Gelatine with flavored gelatine desserts. They are 85% sugar-Knox is 100% pure gelatine.

Cover of a 1942 Knox Gelatine pamphlet that gave suggestions on butter rationing during WWII

1941: The US entered WWII, and James Knox began to use gelatine as a wartime aid. He invented the plasma extender- a product used during the war as a replacement for blood plasma

• The product is used to increase someone's volume of blood when going through hypovolemia

1942: As mandatory rationing went into effect, Knox began to release books leaning into patriotism and promoting their product as one that can "help with wartime meal planning"

• Don't Let Butter Rationing Scare You
  • “Stretch your butter twice as far with Knox Gelatine spread”
• How to be Easy on Your Ration Card
  • “Conserving food is one vitally important way that we homemakers can help in the fight for victory”
• Sugar-less Desserts and Salads
  • “Perhaps right now you're looking for recipes that can be made without sugar without sacrificing appetite appeal. To help you, I've assembled seventeen of them in this little booklet…”
• Meatless Main Dishes and Leftover Hints

1950s: Don Herold, a popular comedian and cartoonist at the time, illustrated many of the diet books produced by Knox such as those seen below

Art by Don Herold in the 1962 pamphlet "Do You Really Want To Lose Weight?"

1950: Rose Knox died, leaving the company in the hands of her son, James Knox

1950s + 1960s: Knox Gelatine continued to capitalize on the health and diet craze of the centuries and release books explaining how to use their gelatine to lose weight

• The Knox Protein Drink was one of the most consistent dieting suggestions. This drink is made by combining gelatine with water, juice, milk, or broth to create a satiating low calorie snack that, when drunk multiple times between meals, can prevent overeating.

1957: Knox Eat and Reduce Plan

• "The Knox Choice Of Foods Diet offers you a wide variety of good, normal foods...not extreme or faddish ones..."

Circa. 1955: fresh, real desserts to enjoy while keeping the waistline trim

• "...these Gel-Cookery desserts are low in calories- never a waistline worry in any of them."

1961: Low Salt Diets

• "In cases of cardiac failure, it is also known that a low-sodium diet, in which the fluid intake is not limited at all, can prevent or help eliminate edema, or extracellular fluid."

1972: The Knox Gelatine Company was sold to Lipton Tea Company

1994: Nabisco acquired Knox and added it to their Royal Desserts Line

2000s: After their incoorperation into larger companies, Knox Gelatine slowed their advertising significantly, and the company is now used as a common thickening and stabilizing agent in foods such as custards and whipped cream

Art by Don Herold in the 1962 pamphlet, "Do You Really Want To Lose Weight?"

When Rose Knox took over the Knox Gelatine Company, she immediately shifted the advertisement focus. Before the 1900s, extra weight was not disesteemed and was even seen as a sign of wealth. As new transportation techniques grew in popularity and food became more accessible in grocery stores, it was easier to put on weight and harder to lose it. The 20th century progressed, and the United States became more conscious of food groups and the importance of certain nutrients. Though many claimed that thin was the healthier option, unrealistic expectations surrounding weight, most specifically for women, grew rampant. From tapeworm diets to juice-only diets, women bought hundreds of products solely for their promise of weight loss.

Rose Knox capitalized on this by emphasizing the health benefits of her product. As mentioned in their pamphlets, Knox Gelatine is "100% pure gelatine," which makes it high in protein and low in sugar. She incorporated diet charts and weight-tracking aids which promoted unattainable goals. The target of one of the most common suggestions, the Knox Drink (mentioned above), was to provide slight satiety before meals so the consumer would eat less during that meal. Low-calorie, high-satiety foods were the focus of Knox's weight loss suggestions. Knox Gelatine, holding only about 10 calories per serving, was an easy way to add practically calorieless bulk to small diet meals. The company's unrealistic calorie limits and weight goals, however, contributed to unhealthy diet culture. Despite their claims that it was sustainable, Knox Gelatine acted as a diet fad all the same.