Desnoes And Geddes Limited (D), a Jamaican brewery best known for its Red Stripe brand of beers. The company was formed in 1918 by Eugene Peter Desnoes and Thomas Hargreaves Geddes and originally made soft drinks, but also sold alcoholic beverages shipped in from abroad. After about 9 years, the pair opened the Surrey Brewery in downtown Kingston. The first Red Stripe beer was produced there in 1928. The now-famous brand was originally applied to an ale, but the beer turned out to be too heavy to suit local tastes. The lager version was developed in 1938 by Paul H. Geddes, son of the company founder, and Bill Martindale. Peter S. Desnoes, son of the company founder, became chairman in 1952. He had started with D in 1928 as a salesman. A new plant was built to replace the Surrey Brewery in 1958 on Spanish Town Road. By this time, the sons of the founders were in charge of the business. A new plant was built in Montego Bay in 1966 to satisfy growing demand for soft drinks, which were mainly distributed locally.
Red Stripe beer entered the UK market in the late 1970s and was brewed under license by Charles Wells. Plant capacity was doubled in 1990, one of many expansions over the years. D continued to brew other brands including Dragon stout, Guinness, and Heineken.
Drinks giant Diageo acquired a 51% holding in D in September 1993, greatly increasing Red Stripe’s international distribution capabilities. In 1999, D sold its wine and spirits business to Wray & Nephew Ltd., a Jamaican rum producer, and its soda plant to Pepsi Cola (Jamaica), allowing it to concentrate on the brewing business. A new product, Red Stripe Light, was introduced in Jamaica in 2000. In the early part of February 2001, the company held a ceremony to change its name from D to Red Stripe Limited. This turned out to be a marketing gimmick employed to pitch D as the “world’s coolest beer company”—the name Desnoes & Geddes remained on stock certificates and annual reports.