St Ivel
St Ivel is a brand of dairy products in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in 1901 by the Yeovil-based dairy company Aplin & Barrett and initially used on a range of their products.[1]
The company was taken over by Unigate dairy company in 1960.[1] Most production sites were in the south west of England and some in Wales. Most of its brands were bought in the early 2000s by Dairy Crest following a severe decline in doorstep deliveries of milk – previously a major area of business for owners Unigate.
Products and divisions
Low fat spreads
The spreads division, which included the Gold low-fat brand, manufactured in Kirkby in Merseyside, were bought by Dairy Crest in November 2002 for £86m from Uniq. Uniq had been formed from what was left of Unigate after selling its cream division to Dairy Crest in 2000. When the spreads division had gone as well, Uniq and the former Unigate were barely recognisable.
Cream
The cream division was bought by Dairy Crest from Unigate/Uniq in July 2000.
Yoghurts
St Ivel, being owned by Uniq/Unigate, used to make Shape yoghurts in Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, before this brand was sold off to Danone for £32m. The factory closed in February 2003,[2] having opened in 1908, and is now the Beaufort Park housing estate after being sold for £19m in August 2004. The factory was demolished in June 2005.
Milk
Under the St Ivel name, Dairy Crest makes milk promoted to school-age children with added Omega 3 fatty acids. Robert Wiseman Dairies of Scotland had tried unsuccessfully to buy the milk division of Unigate in 2000.
Juice
St Ivel also manufacture Mr Juicy. This can be purchased in a range of flavours, however, the most common one is orange.[3]
Production sites
St Ivel had other sites in Chichester, Evercreech, Chard, a site scheduled to close 2012 in Minsterley, Shropshire, and St Erth in Cornwall. Cheese was made in Haverfordwest, Carmarthen.
References
- 1 2 Bob Osborn. "The A-to-Z of Yeovil's History: Aplin & Barrett". Archived from the original on 2016-08-29. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
The St Ivel brand was born in 1901 and applied to a range of their products, even though there is no saint of that name. In fact Ivel was one of the spellings accorded to Yeovil by John Leland in his Itineraries of 1533-46. [..] In 1960 the company was acquired by the Unigate Group who closed the Yeovil premises in 1976, transferring many of their staff to other branches, particularly Westbury, Wiltshire.
- ↑ Wootton Bassett plant closes
- ↑ "Buying Mr Juicy". Viking-direct.co.uk. 2011-12-19. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
External links
- The A-to-Z of Yeovil's History: Aplin & Barrett's western Counties Creameries Ltd - A history of St. Ivel's original parent company