Fowlers Vacola had humble origins as a fruit-bottling business started by Joseph Fowler at the rear of a small house in Burke Road, Melbourne.  By 1915 the company of J. Fowler & Co. had begun producing home-bottling kits containing a sterilizer, bottles, lids, rings and a thermometer. Initially Fowler travelled the district, selling his kits door-to-door from the back of a cart. In 1920 he bought a shop in Hawthorn, and registered his business as a private company.

During the Depression Fowlers Kits became a household name. In 1934 Fowlers Vacola Manufacturing Co. Ltd was registered as a public company. Housewives, nationwide, were urged to bottle their own fruits and jams by 'Mrs B Thrifty', the dainty cartoon character who graced the firm's advertisements.

Today Fowlers Vacola range of Vaccuum Preserving and Food Dehydrating equipment and accessories are enjoying renewed popularity as consumers turn to back to traditional methods of food preparation and storage.