Bejam, known in its advertising as “The Freezer People,” was a British frozen food supermarket chain founded in 1968 by John Apthorp, which grew rapidly through the 1970s and 1980s to become the UK’s largest specialist in frozen food and appliances. The name itself was an acronym of Apthorp family members (Brian, Eric, John, Milly, and Marion), and the stores not only sold bulk frozen goods but also freezers, fridges, and microwaves, helping fuel Britain’s “freezer revolution” at a time when few households owned one. By the mid‑1980s Bejam operated around 250 stores nationwide, offering budget‑friendly frozen meals, pizzas, chips, and desserts alongside kitchen appliances, and even experimented briefly with fast food restaurants. In 1989, the smaller rival Iceland mounted a hostile takeover, absorbing Bejam’s stores and rebranding them, but the chain remains fondly remembered for introducing affordable frozen food shopping to millions of UK families.
