Branston (brand)

Branston

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
Nestle
Premier Foods
Tagline Bring out the Branston
Website www.bringoutthebranston.co.uk

Branston is a British food brand best known for the original Branston Pickle, a jarred pickled chutney first made in 1920 in the village of Branston near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire by Crosse & Blackwell.

In 2004 the pickle business was sold by Nestle to Premier Foods and production was moved to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Premier Foods sold the brand to Mizkan in 2013, at which time it ceased to be labelled as Crosse and Blackwell because in Europe this name was sold separately to Princes Group. The pickle product sells over 17 million jars a year in the UK.[1]

Original pickle

Branston Pickle is made from a variety of diced vegetables, including swede, carrots, onions and cauliflower pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and spices. 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.[2]

Branston Pickle is sweet and spicy with a chutney-like consistency, containing chunks of vegetables in a thick brown sticky sauce. It is commonly served as part of a ploughman's lunch, a popular 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 'small chunk' variety, which is easier to spread on to sandwiches. Convenient squeezy bottle packs are also in the range, along with a 'smooth' recipe. Branston also has flavoured pickles including Sweet Chilli and Beetroot flavoured pickle.

Brand extension

Walkers once produced a variety of crisps called "Cheese and Branston Pickle".[3]

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. 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 elected to change their recipe in the face of this aggressive activity.[4] 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.

Sale to Mizkan

Branston Depot - the original factory of Branston Pickle; on Burton Road, Branston, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire

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 £92.5m, joining Sarson's vinegar and Hayward's pickled onions as recent Premier Foods to Mizkan brand acquisitions. The Bury St. Edmunds plant continues to manufacture Branston products.[5]

Availability outside the UK

Branston Pickle is available in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, France, Denmark, Singapore (Cold Storage and Market Place), Germany (REWE and Globus Warenhaus), Turkey (Tesco Kipa), the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia (Tesco), Belgium (Carrefour Market Etterbeek), Hong Kong (Taste), South Africa, southern Spain (Supersol and Carrefour), Thailand (Chiang Mai, Rimping) and Namibia.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 77 agency. "About Branston". Bring Out The Branston. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "What is Branston Pickle? (with picture)". Wisegeek.com. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Walkers Cheese and Branston Pickle Flavour Crisps". Taquitos.net. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Gill, Joe (21 February 2006). "Heinz to change baked beans recipe as it faces Branston challenge". Brandrepublic.com. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "BBC News - Branston sold by Premier Foods to Japan's Mizkan". Bbc.co.uk. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
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