Jordans (company)

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The Jordans & Ryvita Company
Subsidiary of Associated British Foods
Industry Food manufacturing
Founded1855
FounderWilliam Herbert Jordan
Headquarters
Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
,
England, UK
Area served
UK
ProductsBreakfast cereals
Number of employees
400
Website Jordans Cereals

Jordans is a company that makes brands of crunchy oat and nut cereal (similar to muesli) based in Biggleswade in Bedfordshire.

Muesli breakfast dish based on raw rolled oats and other ingredients

Muesli ; Swiss German: Müesli[ˈmyəsli], non-Swiss Standard German: Müsli [ˈmyːsli] ) is a cold breakfast cereal dish based on rolled oats and ingredients like grains, nuts, seeds and fresh or dried fruits. This mix may be combined with one or more liquids like milk, almond milk, other plant milks, yogurt, or fruit juice and left for a time to soften the oats before being consumed. The cereal is served cold.

Biggleswade town in England

Biggleswade is a market town and civil parish located on the River Ivel in Bedfordshire, England. It is growing in population mainly because of good transport links along the A1 road between London and the North, and via Biggleswade railway station on the East Coast Main Line). New housing developments are appearing as Biggleswade continues to expand as a commuter town.

Contents

History

Holme Mills centre Jordans in Biggleswade.JPG
Holme Mills centre

Holme Mills on Langford Road in Biggleswade, situated next to the River Ivel, was bought by local farmer William Herbert Jordan in 1855. The mill caught fire in 1894 and burnt down again in 1899. It produced flour until 1972, when W. Jordan (Cereals) Ltd was formed. It was run by Bill and David Jordan, who are brothers and were partners of the company until 2010. [1] W. Jordan (Cereals) Ltd has been dormant since 2010 and the business now operates as a subsidiary (The Jordans & Ryvita Company) of Associated British Foods.

Langford, Bedfordshire farm village in Bedfordshire, England United Kingdom

Langford is a village and civil parish situated alongside the River Ivel in Bedfordshire.

River Ivel river in the United Kingdom

The River Ivel is a north-flowing river in the western part of east of England. It is primarily in Bedfordshire; it is a tributary of the River Great Ouse and has sources including in the Barton Hills.

Associated British Foods company in London, United Kingdom

Associated British Foods plc (ABF) is a British multinational food processing and retailing company whose headquarters are in London. Its ingredients division is the world's second-largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major producer of other ingredients including emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose. Its grocery division is a major manufacturer of both branded and private label grocery products and includes the brands Mazola, Ovaltine, Ryvita, Jordans and Twinings. Its retail division, Primark, has around 345 stores with over 13,900,000 sq ft (1,290,000 m2) of selling space across Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UK, and the United States.

There is a factory shop in Langford, Bedfordshire. Its main product it started with, and still produces, is called Crunchy Oats, which is based on granola. A mill was recorded on the site in 1086, as noted in the Domesday Book.

Granola Breakfast and snack food

Granola is a breakfast food and snack food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until it is crisp, toasted and golden brown. During the baking process, the mixture is stirred to maintain a loose breakfast cereal consistency. Dried fruit, such as raisins and dates, and confections such as chocolate are sometimes added. Granola, particularly if it includes flax seeds, is often used to improve digestion. Granola is often eaten in combination with yogurt, honey, fresh fruit, milk or other forms of cereal. It also serves as a topping for various pastries, desserts or ice cream.

Domesday Book 11th-century survey of landholding in England as well as the surviving manuscripts of the survey

Domesday Book is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states:

Then, at the midwinter [1085], was the king in Gloucester with his council .... After this had the king a large meeting, and very deep consultation with his council, about this land; how it was occupied, and by what sort of men. Then sent he his men over all England into each shire; commissioning them to find out "How many hundreds of hides were in the shire, what land the king himself had, and what stock upon the land; or, what dues he ought to have by the year from the shire."

In 1981, Waitrose began to stock their products. Also in 1981, Jordans began production of a breakfast/cereal bar called Original Crunchy. It now produces four different cereal bars including Frusli which contains 25% fruit, Breakfast Bars, Luxury Absolute Nut Bar and Original Crunchy Bars. [2] Luxury Bars were introduced in 2004.

Country Crisp was introduced in 1991.

In 2002, they formed the joint venture 'the Organic and Natural Food Company' with Yeo Valley Organic. It produced vending machines for schools filled with healthy food.

In April 2003, it won [3] a Queen's Awards for Enterprise.

Queens Awards for Enterprise an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses. The scheme was established as The Queen's Award to Industry by a royal warrant of 30 November 1965, and individual categories have been known in the past as The Queen's Awards for Export, Export Achievement, Technology, Technological Achievement and Environmental Achievement. The scheme also includes an award for individuals, The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion.

In 2005, Bill Jordan was made a MBE.

In September 2007, it sold 20% of its company to Associated British Foods, a further 42% in June 2008, becoming fully owned by ABF by 2013. [4]

As of 2015, Jordans' packaging is made by Excelsior Technologies Ltd which is based in Deeside, North Wales.

Conservation efforts

Jordans use oats which are grown by Conservation Grade farmers around Britain who are paid a premium to create nature-friendly habitats on 10% of their farmed land.[ citation needed ]

Bill Jordan owns the Nature Reserve at Pensthorpe in Norfolk which is taking part in high profile projects to bring back the rare Eurasian Crane and safeguard British natives such as the red squirrel.

Similar to The Co-operative Group, the company is concerned about the rapid decline in the bee population. It started the Big Buzz campaign in May 2009, with the help of the British Beekeepers' Association and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Holme Mill itself became a museum in 2015, with the opening of a visitor centre on the site after production transferred to a new facility in Biggleswade's Saxon Gate development area.

Market share

It is the UK's fourth largest cereals manufacturer after Kelloggs, Nestlé and Weetabix. 25% of their produce is exported, with France being an important market; half their exports go there, and it is the country's best-selling muesli cereal. The brand leader of crunchy muesli in the UK is their Luxury Crunchy.[ citation needed ]

They belong to the Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers, which is a member of the European Breakfast Cereal Association.

Food contents

Types of nut used in the food products include: hazelnut, pecan, Brazil nut and almond.

Product range

Cereals

Cereal bars

Related Research Articles

Flapjack (oat bar) Sweet tray-baked oat bar made from rolled oats, butter, brown sugar and golden syrup

In the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and Ireland, and Newfoundland a flapjack refers to a sweet, tray-baked oat bar, most commonly made from rolled oats, butter, brown sugar and golden syrup. In this context it is synonymous with muesli bar, cereal bar, or granola bar. In other countries, including Canada, and the United States, such products are referred to as "oat bars". In the UK, the term "cereal bar" is often used to describe products which contain fruits, nuts, other cereals apart from oats, and, occasionally, chocolate. A flapjack, in the USA, is a pancake.

Nutri-Grain

Nutri-Grain is a brand of breakfast cereal and breakfast bar made by the Kellogg Company.

Kelloggs company

The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food-manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, and toaster pastries and markets their products by several well known brands including Corn Flakes, Keebler, Pringles, Eggo, and Cheez-It. Kellogg's mission statement is "Nourishing families so they can flourish and thrive."

Honey Nut Cheerios breakfast cereal

Honey Nut Cheerios is a variation of Cheerios breakfast cereal, introduced in 1979 by the General Mills cereal company. The second variation from the original Cheerios, it is sweeter than the original, with a honey and almond flavor. While this product used to be made with actual nuts, as of 2006, the nuts were discontinued, and natural flavor, from peach and apricot pit, is used instead.

Alpen is a line of muesli varieties manufactured by the Weetabix cereal company of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England.

Hubbard Foods Ltd is a New Zealand manufacturer of breakfast cereals based in Auckland. It sells cereals under its Hubbards brand and private labels. Its founder is Dick Hubbard, who stepped down as CEO from 2004-2007 to serve as the mayor of Auckland. According to The Sunday Star-Times, in July 2010 Hubbards was "the number three player, behind Sanitarium and Kellogg's, in the so-called 'ready-to-eat' cereal market" in New Zealand. It employs around 150 staff.

Post Consumer Brands is an American consumer cereal manufacturer that makes Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, Great Grains, Post Shredded Wheat, Post Raisin Bran, Grape-Nuts, Honeycomb, Frosted Mini Spooners, Golden Puffs, Oh's, Cinnamon Toasters, Fruity Dyno-Bites, Cocoa Dyno-Bites, Berry Colossal Crunch and Malt-O-Meal hot wheat cereal.

Nestlé Chunky

Nestlé Chunky is a candy bar known for its trapezoidal shape and consists of milk chocolate, California raisins, and roasted peanuts. It is produced by Nestle. The original Chunky consisted of a single gold piece which was not divided into smaller sections.

Honey Bunches of Oats is a brand cereal by Post Holdings. Created by lifelong Post employee Vernon J. Herzing by mixing several of Post's cereals together and having his daughter taste them, Honey Bunches of Oats was introduced to markets in 1989 after three years of development. The cereal is made up of three kinds of flakes and oat clusters baked with a hint of honey. It is marketed as a source of whole grain. Other varieties have almonds or fruits added into the mix. fruits such as strawberries,blueberries,cherries,etc

Mornflake is a producer of oat and oat-based breakfast cereals. Based in Crewe, Cheshire, England, it was founded in 1675. Mornflake Oats is the official shirt sponsor of a football team Crewe Alexandra Football Club and Altrincham F.C..

Crunchy Nut is a breakfast cereal made by Kellogg's, made with flakes of corn, a small amount of honey, three types of sugar, and chopped peanuts. The product was created by Kellogg's employees at their Trafford Park factory in Greater Manchester and were first introduced to the UK and Ireland around 1980.

Ohs American cereal brand

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Brunch Bar is a brand of cereal bar bound with honey and half covered in milk chocolate. They are made by Cadbury. and come in a variety of flavours including raisin, hazelnut, apricot and almond, cranberry and orange, fruit and nut, peanut butter, mixed berry, chocolate chip, and toasted coconut.

Dorset Cereals

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References

  1. Companies House filing (TM01) - Resignations of Richard & WIlliam Jordan, 26 May 2010
  2. "Cereal Bars – Frusli & Luxury Absolute Nut". jordanscereals.co.uk.
  3. "UK – England – Beds/Bucks/Herts – Queen honours international trade". BBC.
  4. "ABF Annual Report 2013" (PDF). www.abf.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-12-19.

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