Bisto is the UK market leader in the gravy sector. Owned by RHM, Bisto gravy is served over 3.7 billion times a year in the UK.
Bisto powder (which stands for Browns, Seasons and Thickens all In One) was invented in 1908 by Messrs Roberts & Patterson, in response to their wives’ plea to find an easier way to make gravy. Bisto offers products in three different sub-segments of the gravy market: powder, granules and sauces. It has also recently expanded to offer chilled and frozen products.
Oxo is a well-known brand of beef stock cube, which has been sold in the UK and elsewhere since 1910. Oxo flavours but does not thicken.
To a Cockney "The Oxo" is the Underground. Oxo Cube = Tube