McVitie's () is a British snack food brand owned by United Biscuits. The name derives from the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price, Ltd., established in 1830 on Rose Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company moved to various sites in the city before completing the St Andrews Biscuit Works factory on Robertson Avenue in the Gorgie district in 1888. The company also established one in Glasgow and two large manufacturing plants south of the border, in Heaton Chapel, Stockport, and Park Royal, London. There are seven McVitie's factories in the UK, with each producing a different types of biscuit; the Harlesden site in north-west London manufactures the chocolate digestives. Under United Biscuits McVitie's held a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II. The best-selling biscuit manufacturer in the United Kingdom, McVitie's produces chocolate digestives, Hobnobs and Rich tea (ranked the three favourite biscuits to dunk into tea), and Jaffa Cakes (the best selling cake in the UK). In 2020, sales of McVitie's biscuits in the UK were more than five times the next two competitors. History Robert McVitie was born in Dumfries in 1809. He served an apprenticeship with a baker and in 1834 he moved to Edinburgh. He initially lived and worked at 130 Rose Street, just north of Princes Street in the New Town. In 1835 he moved to the adjacent building at 129 Rose Street. It was called a "provision Shop". In 1843 he opened a second shop at 14 Charlotte Place, just west of Charlotte Square (later renamed Randolph Place). McVitie's is first described as a "baker and confectioner" rather than a provision shop in 1856 at 5 Charlotte Place. He used the basement area below the shop as the bakery. By 1865 the bakery had moved to 47 London Street at the east end of town and he was living nearby in a flat at 76 Broughton Street. Robert McVitie had two biscuit works at the head of Leith Walk in Edinburgh in 1870: 12 Antigua Street and 2 East London Street. McVitie lived nearby in a flat at 76 Broughton Street. Robert retired in 1880 and died in 1884 leaving his eldest son Robert McVitie (1854-1910) to run the business. It was only then that the business abandoned bread and cakes to concentrate on biscuits, largely due to their longer lifespan. In 1887 he employed Alexander Grant from Forres, an experienced biscuit maker, to