Rowntree's is a historic brand currently owned by Nestlé SA that is used to market a range of fruit gums and pastilles formerly owned by Rowntree Mackintosh. Nestlé is a multinational packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland The Rowntree brand is also used on a number of ice lollies (made by Richmond Foods) for Nestlé. Richmond Foods is best known as an ice cream manufacturer that holds the license to make a number of branded ice cream products and variations The brand has a similar marketplace to that of the Trebor Bassett division of Cadbury's, and actually competes head to head with this company in a number of fruit gum categories. Cadbury Trebor Bassett is a British Confectionery company based at Bournville in Birmingham. Cadbury plc () is a Confectionery and Beverage
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History
Rowntree was founded in York in 1862 by Henry Isaac Rowntree, who was joined in 1869 by his brother the philanthropist Joseph Rowntree. York ( is an historic Walled city sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material Joseph Rowntree ( 24 May 1836 – 24 February 1925) was a Quaker Philanthropist and businessman from York, England It merged with rival Mackintosh in 1969 to become Rowntree Mackintosh. Rowntree was responsible for such British chocolate favourites as Kit Kat, Smarties, Aero, Fruit Pastilles and Black Magic, whilst John Mackintosh and Co. A Kit Kat bar or KitKat bar is a confection which was first created by Rowntree Limited of York, England, and now Blue smartiesJPG|thumb|UK blue Smarties old and new]] Nestlé Smarties are a colourful sugar-coated Chocolate Confectionery popular in Europe and the Aero is a Milk chocolate bar filled with bubbles of air made by Nestlé and primarily sold in Ireland, the UK, Canada and Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles are small round sweets measuring about 1 was behind Rolo, Munchies, Caramac, Toffos (British product) and Mackintosh's Toffee. Rolos are a brand of circular prism shaped Chocolates with Caramel centers made by Nestle, except in the United States, where the rights "Mintola" redirects here For the camera and office equipment company see Minolta. Caramac is the brand name for a caramel flavoured bar manufactured by Nestlé. Mackintosh's Toffee is a Candy created by John Mackintosh Mackintosh opened up his sweets shop in Halifax, Yorkshire, England in 1890
The company went public in 1987 and was the subject of a takeover battle between Nestlé and Jacobs Suchard in 1988. Nestlé eventually won control with an offer valuing Rowntree at $4. 55billion[1]. After the Nestlé takeover the Rowntree chocolate ranges began to use the branding Nestlé-Rowntree, before eventually the Rowntree name was dropped from the packaging altogether, except on the famous 'fruit-pastilles' and 'fruit gums' where Rowntree retained its name on the packaging. The Mackintosh branding was dropped from all former Rowntree Mackintosh products, except for Toffos, which retained the Mackintosh branding.
The original factory was in the centre of the city of York, next to the River Ouse at Tanners Moat, but later relocated to Haxby Road in the north of the city. The River Ouse (pronounced "ooze" is a river in North Yorkshire, England.
Since Nestlé took over Rowntree Mackintosh's brands, there has been much criticism of the way that the company has changed the brands. Nestlé accepted that their purchase of the company was primarily for the five principal brands: Kit Kat, Aero, Polo, Fruit Pastilles, and Quality Street, rather than for capital assets. A Kit Kat bar or KitKat bar is a confection which was first created by Rowntree Limited of York, England, and now Polo is a brand of different flavour Sweets which have a hole in the centre Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles are small round sweets measuring about 1 Quality Street is a popular selection box of individual sweets manufactured in Halifax, in the United Kingdom by Nestlé. Since taking over Rowntree Mackintosh, the following changes have been made:
- A brazil nut covered in chocolate now becomes a hazelnut covered in chocolate in the shape of a Brazil nut. The Brazil nut ( Bertholletia excelsa) is a South American Tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and also the name of the tree's commercially The Common Hazel ( Corylus avellana) is a species of Hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles They have also manufactured large Quality Street sweets for individual sale.
- Kit Kat went from being foil and paper wrapped to being plastic wrapped. It is also being made as a chunky bar and in different flavours.
- Smarties have had blue sweets replaced by white, and are now sold in "hexa-tube" octrahedronal cardboard containers that replace the traditional cylindrical tube. Blue smartiesJPG|thumb|UK blue Smarties old and new]] Nestlé Smarties are a colourful sugar-coated Chocolate Confectionery popular in Europe and the
In September 2006 it was announced that the manufacture of "Smarties" was to be moved abroad causing job losses of 646 at the York factory[2]
Current branded products
- Rowntree's Fruit Gums
- Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles
- Rowntree's Beetles and Butterflies
- Rowntree's Fruity Frogs
- Rowntree's Xtra Sour Spiders
- Rowntree's Wiggly Worms
- Rowntree's Bursting Bugs
- Rowntree's Tooty Frooties
- Rowntree's CoCo
- Rowntree's Jelly Tots
Sports team
References
- ^ New York Times Archive, Company news; Suchard Drops Out; published 25 June 1988, accessed 26 August 2007
- ^ Guardian Unlimited website (Guardian newspaper): 645 jobs lost as Nestlé ships Smarties abroad; published 21 September 2006, accessed 26 August 2007
External links
- Official website
- The complete history of Nestlé Rowntree in York
- Short film set inside the York Factory.
- History of Rowntree & Co
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