Magnolia is a food and beverage brand owned by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and used by its various subsidiaries. The brand was commercially established by SMC (then known as San Miguel Brewery) as an ice cream brand in 1925.
History
The history of the Magnolia brand can be traced back to 1899 when an American by the name of William J. Schober arrived in the Philippines as a cook in the United States Army. After the Philippine–American War, Schober would remain in the Philippines and introduced the "magnolia pie", "magnolia ice cream" and "magnolia ice-drop". In 1925, Schober sold his "magnolia" business interests to SMC (then known as San Miguel Brewery).[1] Schober would move on to establish Legaspi Garden Restaurant at Pier 7, Port Area, Manila (the location is now the headquarters of Philippine Coast Guard), behind the Manila Hotel.
Under SMC, the dairy plant at 526 Calle Aviles in the San Miguel district of Manila stood on the same street as the site of the original San Miguel brewery (6 Calle Aviles). In 1926, the dairy plant was relocated to Calle Echague (now Carlos Palanca Sr. Street) in Quiapo, Manila.[2]