McVitie & Price's first major biscuit was the McVitie's Digestive, created in 1892 by a new young employee at the company named Alexander Grant.[7] The biscuit was given its name because it was thought that its high baking soda content served as an aid to food digestion.[7] Grant was later to become managing director of the company, in 1923 he was the main benefactor in the establishing the National Library of Scotland giving an endowment of £100,000.