Branston is a British food brand. It is best known for the original Branston Pickle, a jarred pickled relish first made in 1922 in the Branston suburb of Burton upon Trent by Crosse & Blackwell.
In 2004 the brand was bought by Premier Foods and production was moved to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Premier Foods say the product sells over 28 million jars a year in the UK.[1]
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Branston Pickle is made from a variety of diced vegetables, including swede, carrots, onions, cauliflower and gherkins pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and dates with spices such as mustard, coriander, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cayenne pepper with sugar. 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.
Branston Pickle is sweet and spicy with a chutney-like consistency, containing small chunks of vegetables in a thick brown sticky sauce. It is commonly served as part of a ploughman's lunch, a common menu item in British pubs. It is also frequently combined with cheddar cheese in sandwiches, and many sandwich shops in the UK offer "cheese and pickle" as an option. It is available in the standard 'chunky' version, as well as a 'sandwich' variety, where the vegetable chunks are smaller and easier to spread. In recent times, Premier Foods have also brought out a 'squeezy' variety in a plastic bottle. There was also a spicy type made for a short time, but this did not prove as popular and is now hard to find.
As with any product that becomes popular, other manufacturers have developed their own brand of a Branston-type pickle. Many supermarkets now have generic own brand versions. In order to prevent problems with the registered trade name, the terms "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's pickle" have been adopted by most manufacturers.
At 1:45 am on 27 October 2004 a fire almost destroyed the Bury St Edmunds factory and cut the stocks of Branston Pickle in half,[2] reducing the supply of the product, and in some instances increasing the price. The factory is now back in production and has recently launched Branston tomato ketchup and brown sauce along with a range of relishes and baked beans.
Walkers once produced a variety of crisps called "Cheese and Branston Pickle".[3]
In October 2005, Premier Foods Plc launched Branston Baked Beans. The marketing and promotion of this product was aimed squarely at challenging Heinz's dominance of the UK baked bean market. This marketing included an advert, featuring a Branston Bean Tin explaining how Branston Beans are very "saucy." 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. In the poll, 76% of participants picked Branston over the brand leader. Heinz was subsequently obliged to re-evaluate its advertising strategy in the face of this aggressive activity, although in public Heinz spokespeople dismissed the challenge as a 'non-starter'. Premier Foods have 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.
Branston Pickle is available in many large supermarkets in the United States, especially those that stock a decent inventory of foreign or specialty items.
Branston Pickle is also available at many grocery stores in Canada. It is sold in 250ml jars and the label is different from the UK version.
Branston Pickle is also widely available in Australia. It is imported by Nestle Australia Ltd.
Branston Pickle is available at Cold Storage and Market Place in Singapore.
In 2008, Branston Pickle Relish and Branston Curry Relish were introduced for the German market. Currently, two German chains (REWE and Globus Warenhaus) carry both flavors in a 400g plastic squeeze bottle.
Branston Baked Beans are available at kipa supermarkets in Turkey.