Branston (brand)
Branston is an English food brand best known for the original Branston Pickle, a jarred pickled chutney first made in 1922 in the village of Branston near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire by Crosse & Blackwell.[1][2][3] The Branston factory proved to be uneconomical, and production was moved to Crosse & Blackwell subsidiary, E Lazenby & Sons in Bermondsey, London, where it invested in new buildings in 1924 and 1926, which remained in use until 1969.[4][5]
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![]() A jar of Branston Pickle when it was sold under the Crosse and Blackwell brand | |
Product type | Pickle, sauces |
---|---|
Owner | Mizkan |
Country | UK |
Introduced | 1922 |
Previous owners | Crosse and Blackwell Nestlé Premier Foods |
Tagline | Bring out the Branston |
Website | www |
In 2004, the pickle business was sold by Nestlé to Premier Foods and production was moved to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.[6][7] Premier Foods sold the brand to Mizkan in 2013,[8] at which time it ceased to be labelled as Crosse and Blackwell because in Europe this name was sold separately to Princes Group. Over 17 million jars a year are sold in the UK.[9]
Original pickle
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Branston Pickle is made from a variety of diced vegetables, including swede (rutabaga), carrots, onions and cauliflower pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and spices.[9] In recent years high-fructose corn syrup has replaced sugar in the product sold in the American market. Sugar is still used in the British version.[10]
Branston Pickle is sweet and spicy with a chutney-like consistency, containing chunks of vegetables in a thick brown sticky sauce.[9] It is commonly served as part of a ploughman's lunch, a popular menu item in British pubs.[11] It is also frequently combined with cheddar cheese in sandwiches, and many sandwich shops in the UK offer cheese and pickle as an option.[11] It is available in the standard 'chunky' version, as well as a 'small chunk' variety, and a 'smooth' variety that is pureed, which are easier to spread onto bread. Convenient squeeze-bottle packs are also in the range, along with a 'smooth' recipe. Branston also has flavoured pickles including Sweet Chilli and Beetroot flavoured pickle.[12]
Brand extension
Additional Branston products include mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, brown sauce, salad cream, and baked beans.[13]
In October 2005, Premier Foods launched Branston Baked Beans. The marketing and promotion of this product was aimed at challenging Heinz's dominance of the UK baked bean market.[14] This marketing included an advert, featuring a Branston Bean Tin explaining how Branston Beans are very "saucy".[14] Promotional activities included a 'Great British Bean Poll' where members of the public across the country were invited to blind taste both 'the brand leader' (assumed to be Heinz) and Branston.[14] In the poll, 76% of participants picked Branston over the brand leader. Heinz elected to change their recipe in the face of this aggressive activity.[15]
Premier Foods also attempted to leverage the traditional Branston Pickle brand name by producing Branston Relishes in four different flavours: Hot Chilli & Jalapeño, Gherkin, Sweet Onion and Tomato & Red Pepper.[16]
Around November 2015, a sweet chili-flavoured pickle was launched, and the brand's rich and fruity sauce was re-launched, along with two new sauce flavours, rich and spicy and rich and smoky.[12] In 2017, Branston launched its tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and brown sauce lines in single-serving sachet packaging.[17]
Walkers once produced a variety of crisps called "Cheese and Branston Pickle".[18]
Sale to Mizkan
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In late 2012, it was announced that as part of an aggressive debt reduction strategy, Premier Foods would be selling the Branston brand to Japanese food manufacturer Mizkan Group for £92.5 million, joining Sarson's vinegar and Hayward's pickled onions as recent Premier Foods to Mizkan brand acquisitions.[1] The Bury St Edmunds plant continues to manufacture Branston products.[19]
Availability outside the UK
Branston Pickle is sold in Ireland,[20] the United States,[21] Canada,[22] Australia, New Zealand, Norway, France,[23] Denmark, Malta, Singapore (Cold Storage and Market Place), Germany (REWE and Globus Warenhaus), Turkey (Kipa), the Netherlands,[24] the Czech Republic,[25] Slovakia (Tesco), Belgium (Carrefour Market Etterbeek), Hong Kong (Taste), Indonesia (Kemchicks), Singapore, South Africa, Southern Spain (Supersol and Carrefour), Thailand (Chiang Mai, Rimping), Vietnam,[26] Angola[27] and Namibia.
References
- Ruddick, Graham (30 October 2012). "Branston Pickle sold to Japan's Mizkan in £92.5m deal". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Ayto, J. (2012). The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink. Oxford Quick reference collection. OUP Oxford. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-19-964024-9. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- van Wyk, B.E. (2014). Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World. University of Chicago Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-226-09183-9. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Bourke, Joanna (6 December 2016). "London Square buys former Branston pickle Bermondsey site for flats". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "Crosse and Blackwell / E Lazenby & Sons". Exploring Southwark. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- Owen, R.; Dynes, M. (1992). Tuttle guide to the single European market: a comprehensive handbook. C.E. Tuttle. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-8048-1815-5. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "Pickle 'demand rises' after fire". BBC NEWS. 2 November 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "Branston sold by Premier Foods". BBC News. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Martin, K. (2017). Famous Brand Names and Their Origins. Pen & Sword Books Limited. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-1-78159-015-7. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "What is Branston Pickle? (with picture)". Wisegeek.com. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- Kazmier, Penny (26 January 2016). "In the U.K., the Branston Pickle adds crunchy, savory kick to sandwiches". Daily Herald. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "Branston launches new flavoured pickle and table sauces". FoodBev Media. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Evans, Graeme (30 October 2012). "The £90m pickle: Branston sold to Japan firm". The Independent. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Pringle, H. (2008). Brand Immortality: How Brands Can Live Long and Prosper. Gale virtual reference library. Kogan Page. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-7494-5572-9. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Gill, Joe (21 February 2006). "Heinz to change baked beans recipe as it faces Branston challenge". Brandrepublic.com. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- Marketing. Haymarket Press. 2005. p. 10. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Panthaki, Fabian (27 October 2017). "Mizkan Expands Foodservice Offers From Branston, Sarson's". KamCity. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "Walkers Cheese and Branston Pickle Flavour Crisps". Taquitos.net. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- "BBC News - Branston sold by Premier Foods to Japan's Mizkan". Bbc.co.uk. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- Fodor's Travel Publications Staff; Howard, Anto (2015). Fodor's Ireland 2016. Fodor's Essential Ireland. Fodor's Travel Publications. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-101-87844-6. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Sifton, Sam (3 April 2017). "Recipes for a Better Week". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Ruprecht, T. (2010). Toronto's Many Faces. Dundurn. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4597-1805-0. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Lichfield, J. (2012). Our Man in Paris: A Foreign Correspondent, France and the French. Signal Books. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-908493-56-9. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Campbell, J. (2014). The Bookshop Book. Little, Brown Book Group. p. pt104. ISBN 978-1-4721-1670-3. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Jacy Meyer, W.W.J.M. Prague In Your Pocket. In Your Pocket. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-01-213212-8. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Dodd, J.; Lewis, M. (2003). Vietnam. Music rough guide. Rough Guides. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-84353-095-4. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Stead, M.; Rorison, S. (2010). Angola. Bradt Guides. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-84162-304-7. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
External links
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