Bernard Matthews Ltd

The company was founded in 1950 by Bernard Matthews from his home with his wife, twenty turkey eggs and an incubator.[3][4]

In 1955, its headquarters were moved to its present location, Great Witchingham Hall near Norwich.[5][4] Bernard Matthews entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1960 as the biggest turkey farmer in Europe.[6][7] In 1971, the company was publicly listed.[8][9][10]

In 1980, they launched their first TV commercial featuring Turkey Breast Roast, with Matthews himself introducing the famous 'Bootiful' catchphrase in his thick Norfolk accent.[11][4] Bernard Matthews successfully fought off a take-over bid from US food giant Sara Lee in 2000.[12] The following year, the company was bought back by the Matthews family and made private again.[13][9][10]

Contract workers were convicted of animal cruelty in 2006 for playing 'baseball' with live turkeys.[14] There were further troubles in 2007, when the company's farm in Holton suffered an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.[15] The same year, the company's factory B plant closed, with staff moved to A plant, causing many to leave or be relocated at its parent plant up the road.

By July 2008, the company had re-branded itself from Bernard Matthews Foods to Bernard Matthews Farms, and stated that all its turkey products would be made with British turkey from its own farms.[16] The company also unveiled a plan to reposition the company comprising three key elements: refocusing on British Turkey farming and production, making products that claim to better meet the needs of consumers today, and championing British agriculture.[17][18]

In January 2010, Bernard Matthews resigned from the post of Chairman, coinciding with his 80th birthday.[19][20] In April that year, the company began a new advertising campaign, bringing back its 'Bootiful' catchphrase that had previously been used between 1980 and 2007.[21] On 25 November 2010, founder Bernard Matthews died.[20]

The business was bought out by turnaround experts, Rutland Partners in September 2013.[22][23] In September 2016, the company was sold to an investment company owned by Ranjit Singh Boparan for £87.5 million.[24]

Bernard Matthews has three main operating companies: the United Kingdom-based Bernard Matthews Limited, the Germany-based Bernard Matthews Oldenburg, and the Hungary-based SáGa Foods.[1]

Bernard Matthews Limited is based in the East of England and produces a range of fresh, cooked and frozen turkey products which it sells across the UK.[1] It employs around 2,200 staff and farms around 7 million turkeys per annum.[1] It has 56 turkey farms and two production sites located in Norfolk and Suffolk. Bernard Matthews Limited is Assured Food Standards (Red Tractor) accredited[25] and its production sites have ISO 14001 accreditation. Jeff Halliwell has been Managing Director of Bernard Matthews Limited since June 2009.[26]

Bernard Matthews Oldenburg is based in the north of Germany and employs around 130 staff.[1] It produces a range of fresh, cooked and frozen poultry products which it sells across Germany and northern Europe.[1]

SáGa Foods is based in northwest Hungary and employs around 800 staff.[1] It produces a range of poultry products which it sells across Central Europe.[1]

The company produces a range of cooked, fresh and frozen British turkey, including products such as oven-ready whole birds, joints, cooked re-formed meats, and meal accompaniments, which accounts for over 90% of the business. Bernard Matthews also produces chicken products which are made with meat sourced from partners in South America.

Bernard Matthews Farms produces turkey for leading UK grocery supermarket chains for use under their own retail brands, and also for businesses supplying the out-of-home foodservice market.

Under the "Golden Norfolk Turkey" brand, Bernard Matthews Farms provides a frozen turkey range including whole birds in a variety of sizes, plus crowns and joints, basted and stuffed. New products under the Farms brand introduced in 2009 included several new seasonings, and an apricot and date stuffing.[27]

Map of the zones during the outbreak.

The 2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak was an occurrence of avian flu in England that began on 30 January 2007. The infection was caused by the H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus and occurred at one of Bernard Matthews' farms in Holton, Suffolk. A range of precautions were instituted including a large cull of turkeys, the imposition of segregation zones, and a disinfection programme for the plant.

It emerged in a highly critical report from Defra that there was a series of biosecurity failings at the Holton plant, some of which had been drawn to the company's attention in the past.[42]

Though the cause of the outbreak has not been determined, Bernard Matthews regularly transported turkeys and turkey products between the UK and its plant in Hungary, and the H5N1 bird flu strains found in Hungary and Britain were effectively genetically identical.[43]

Consequences of the outbreak included bans by a number of countries on the importation of poultry from Britain, a sharp fall in sales of Bernard Matthews products resulting in workers being laid off and a collapse in confidence in the brand.[44]

• Official website