Seven Seas Ltd. is a supplier of vitamins, minerals, and supplements in the United Kingdom and abroad. It began in 1935 when a group of trawler owners in Hull formed a co-operative venture called British Cod Liver Oil (BCLO) Producers to exploit one of the fishing industry's most valuable by-products. Kenneth MacLennan, previously of Lever Brothers, became General Manager of BCLO in 1936 to add relevant commercial experience to the then-board of trawler owners.
Benefits
The benefits of cod liver oil had been known since the 1700s, with its first widespread usage for bone diseases around that time by Dr. Samuel Kay as referenced by the Manchester Infirmary. However, despite its value as a rich source of essential vitamins A & D for human nutrition, in its early days BCLO sold its greatest volume to the animal feed industry under simple descriptions such as Cod Oil, Pale Oil, Cattle Oil, Ruby Oil and Dark Cod Oil.
Products
The company's first branded product was a standardised veterinary product named Solvitax. Medicinal cod liver oil was still to be produced in the early years. With the onset of war came a marked change of focus as the company's cod liver oil played a vital part in supplementing the meager wartime diet of the whole nation. The company also produced a vitamin C rich product for the Ministry of Food, known as 'Welfare' Orange Juice. It continued to do so in the post-war years too, until sometime after rationing finished in the 1950s.