Shirriff

Shirrif is the brand name of several food products first produced by the defunct Shirriff family food products company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Francis Shirriff founded a food extracts company in the 1880s. The company would go on develop a line of food products including marmalades, dessert toppings and jelly and pudding mixes. The company remained a family business until the 1950s when it was sold to the owner of the Dominion Stores chain. Later, the firm was bought by Kelloggs of Canada. In 1988 and 1992, Kelloggs sold its interests. Many of the Shirriff brand products are still in production, although now by other companies: The J. M. Smucker Company and Dr. Oetker. The company's most well-known product was likely its "Good Morning Marmalade", the best-selling marmalade in Canada. Francis Shirriff was also one of the founders of the Niagara Falls Wine Company, later known as Bright's and Vincor International.

Francis Adam Shirriff was born in Huntingdon, Quebec, the son of Scottish emigrant doctor Francis Walker Shirriff and Anna Macnider. He moved to Toronto in 1872 at the age of 24 and began working in the grocery business. In 1874, Shirriff started the Niagara Falls Wine Company with Thomas G. Bright.

In 1883, Shirriff founded his own business, the Imperial Extract Company, which sold essential oils and flavour extracts, beginning a long career in food production. The company exhibited at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition in 1885. Their exhibit was described by the Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal as "One of the handsomest exhibits" and "This firm have made a specialty of fruit and flavoring extracts, and are also giving considerable attention to perfumery, of both which they made a handsome display." The company's address in the 1886 city directory was 48 Colborne Street, listed for essential oils and perfumery.The company won a Bronze Medal for their display at the 1887 show and displayed a new product of lemon juice.

Bright and Shirriff moved to Niagara Falls to concentrate on the wine business, while the Imperial Extract Co. continued its operations in Toronto. In 1889, the company is listed at 49 Front Street East, sharing space with Bright, listed for essential oils, flavouring extracts, and baking powder. Shirriff's sons Colin, Francis, and William joined the business in the following decades. The company moved to 54 Colborne, sharing space with Bright and the Niagara Falls Wine Company.

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