Tunnock's

Last updated
Thomas Tunnock Limited
Company type Private limited company
IndustryFood and drink (bakery)
FoundedDecember 1890;133 years ago (1890-12) in Uddingston, Scotland
FounderThomas Tunnock
Headquarters Uddingston, Scotland, UK
ProductsCakes, biscuits
OwnerTunnock family
Number of employees
550
Website www.tunnock.co.uk

Thomas Tunnock Limited, commonly known as Tunnock's, is a Scottish confectionery company based in Uddingston, Scotland. [1] It is headed by Boyd Tunnock, grandson of Thomas. [2] In 2013, a joint report by Family Business United and Close Brothers Asset Management named it the 20th oldest family firm in Scotland. [3]

Contents

For two seasons, 2019 and 2020, Tunnock's sponsored the Scottish Challenge Cup in Scottish football. [4]

History

Tunnock's was formed by Thomas Tunnock (b. 1865) as Tunnock's in 1890, when he purchased a baker's shop in Lorne Place, Uddingston. [5] The company expanded in the 1950s, and it was at this time that the core products were introduced to the lines, when sugar and fat rationing meant that products with longer shelf-lives than cakes had to be produced. [6]

The face of Tunnock's boy Tunnocksboy.jpg
The face of Tunnock's boy
Gifts and art works inspired by Tunnock's distinctive design Tunnock's merchandise.jpg
Gifts and art works inspired by Tunnock's distinctive design

Since 2005, Tunnock's has sponsored the Tour of Mull, an annual car rally held on the Isle of Mull. [7]

In September 2010, Tunnock's workers in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, conducted two 24-hour strikes during contract negotiations. At main issue were salaries, with management having originally offered an increase of 1%, followed by a second offer of 2%. [8] The dispute was resolved in October 2010 with agreement on a 2.5% increase backdated to the start of July 2010, followed by a 2.5% increase in July 2011. [9]

In November 2015, Tunnock's made a donation of £250,000 to an appeal for an independent lifeboat station at St Abbs. [10]

Scottish identity

Tunnocks has been described as an iconic Scottish brand [11] [12] and its packaging features the Scottish lion rampant. [13] Having been a Scottish, family owned company since it was formed, this remains a feature of its identity. [14]

In an April 2012 interview with The Herald , Managing Director Boyd Tunnock described himself as "Nationalist British" on the question of Scottish independence. [15] [16]

In the 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow, dancers dressed as Tunnock's teacakes danced around the main performers near the start of the Scottish-themed show. Sales of Tunnock's tea cakes were 62% higher at Waitrose the day after the ceremony. [17]

In 2016 this association with Scottish identity raised concerns about the company playing down its origins, when an advertising campaign on London Underground chose to omit the Lion Rampant and label their teacakes as "Tunnock’s Great British Teacake". Boyd Tunnock explained "Down south, people wouldn’t know it as Scottish." [13] [18]

In July 2017 Tunnock's announced it would be branding their wafer creams sold in Japan, as "Made in Great Britain". The company, however, did not have high hopes of success in the Japanese market. "The Japanese don’t like caramel wafers. It’s a cultural thing - they say they are too chewy." [19]

Teacakes

Two-and-a-half Tunnock's Teacakes Tunnocks tea cakes.jpg
Two-and-a-half Tunnock's Teacakes

The Tunnock's Teacake is a sweet food often served with a cup of tea or coffee. It was developed by Sir Boyd Tunnock in 1956. [20] [21] The product consists of a small round shortbread biscuit covered with a dome of Italian meringue, a whipped egg white concoction similar to marshmallow, [2] although somewhat lighter in texture. This is then encased in a thin layer of milk or dark chocolate and wrapped in a red and silver foil paper for the more popular milk chocolate variety, with blue, black, and gold wrapping for the dark.

Retired RAF bomber pilot Tony Cunnane told of how Tunnock's Teacakes became a favourite ration snack of the V bomber nuclear deterrent flight crews based at RAF Gaydon, especially after discovering that they expanded at high altitude. This ended after one was left unwrapped and exploded on the instrument panel. [22]

Caramel wafers

A milk chocolate Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Tunnocks caramel.jpg
A milk chocolate Tunnock's Caramel Wafer
A Caramel Wafer split Tunnocks-Caramel-Wafer-Split.jpg
A Caramel Wafer split

The Tunnock's Caramel Wafer, officially the Tunnock's Milk Chocolate Coated Caramel Wafer Biscuit, is a bar consisting of five layers of wafer, separated by four layers of caramel. The bar is coated in chocolate, made from cocoa and milk solids. The wafers are wrapped in red and gold coloured foil. Dark chocolate wafers, wrapped blue and gold, are also available.

The University of St Andrews has a Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Appreciation Society, founded in 1982. [23]

In 2022, Tunnock's were the pitch sponsor at Uddingston Rugby Club, turning their padded posts into wrapped Caramel Wafer bars. [24]

Other products

Tunnock's Snowballs and Caramel Logs Tunnocks snowball caramel log.jpg
Tunnock's Snowballs and Caramel Logs

The other products in Tunnock's lines are largely based on the core products. The Caramel Log is similar to the Caramel Wafer, but with the addition of roasted coconut to the outside of the bar. Wafer Creams and Florida Orange have chocolate and orange flavoured cream in place of the caramel.

A Snowball is similar to the Tea Cake, with the addition of grated coconut to the exterior of a soft chocolate shell but with no biscuit base.

Despite pressure to do so, Tunnock's does not make any own brand biscuits for supermarkets. [2]

In 2013, Tunnocks's entered into an agreement with Tesco to sell a range of branded items produced by Glasgow-based promotional materials firm Orb. Fergus Loudon, sales manager for Tunnock's stated: "As well as teacake tea towels, aprons and china mugs, there will be the ideal gift for the many caramel wafer fans – a ‘yard of caramel wafers’." As of 2015, the products continue to be sold both through Tesco and directly from Orb. [25] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookie</span> Small, flat and sweetened baked food (biscuit)

A cookie or biscuit is a baked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat, and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, or nuts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats</span> Marshmallow, usually on a wafer base, coated in chocolate

Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, also known as chocolate teacakes, are confections consisting of a biscuit base topped with marshmallow-like filling and then coated in a hard shell of chocolate. They were invented in Denmark in the 19th century and later also produced and distributed by Viau in Montreal as early as 1901. Numerous varieties exist, with regional variations in recipes. Some variants of these confections have previously been known in many countries by names comprising equivalents of the English word negro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wafer</span> Thin type of biscuit

A wafer is a crisp, often sweet, very thin, flat, light biscuit, often used to decorate ice cream, and also used as a garnish on some sweet dishes. They frequently have a waffle surface pattern but may also be patterned with insignia of the food's manufacturer or may be patternless. Some chocolate bars, such as Kit Kat and Coffee Crisp, are wafers with chocolate in and around them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kit Kat</span> Chocolate-covered wafer bar

Kit Kat is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, United Kingdom. It is produced globally by Nestlé, except in the United States, where it is made under licence by the H. B. Reese Candy Company, a division of the Hershey Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loacker</span> Italian confectionery company

Loacker S.p.A. is an Italian confectionery company, based in South Tyrol, Italy and specialized in the production of wafers, chocolate and derivative products.

Wispa is a brand of chocolate bar manufactured by British chocolate company Cadbury. Using aerated chocolate, the bar was launched in 1981 as a trial version in North East England, and with its success it was introduced nationally in 1983. It was seen as a competitor to Rowntree's Aero . In 2003, as part of a relaunch of the Cadbury Dairy Milk brand, the Wispa brand was discontinued and the product relaunched as "Dairy Milk Bubbly". As part of the relaunch, the product was reshaped as a standard moulded bar instead of a whole-bar count-line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McVitie's</span> British brand of snack foods

McVitie's is a British snack food brand owned by United Biscuits. The name derives from the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price, Ltd., established in 1830 on Rose Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company moved to various sites in the city before completing the St. Andrews Biscuit Works factory on Robertson Avenue in the Gorgie district in 1888. The company also established one in Glasgow and two large manufacturing plants south of the border, in Heaton Chapel, Stockport, and Park Royal, London. There are seven McVitie's factories in the UK, with each producing a different types of biscuit; the Harlesden site in north-west London manufactures the chocolate digestives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox's Biscuits</span> British biscuit manufacturer

Fox's Biscuits is a British biscuit manufacturer, founded by the Fox family in Batley, West Yorkshire, in 1853 and currently a subsidiary of Ferrero. The head office and main factory are based in the town, and the company has another site in Wesham in Lancashire. Its biscuits are exported to Europe, North America and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnott's Group</span> Australian snack food manufacturer

Arnott's Group is an Australian producer of biscuits and snack food. Founded in 1865 by William Arnott, they are the largest producer of biscuits in Australia and a subsidiary of KKR.

The Jacob Fruitfield Food Group is a company that once produced food products in Ireland, but is now mainly a brand for imported foods targeted at the Irish market. It was formed by Fruitfield Foods' acquisition of the Republic of Ireland portion of Jacob's Biscuit Group in 2004 from Groupe Danone. The CEO and part-owner is Michael Carey. Other major shareholders include Lioncourt with a 36% stake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie biscuit</span> Vanilla-flavored tea biscuit

A Marie biscuit is a type of biscuit similar to a rich tea biscuit. It is also known as María, Mariebon and Marietta, amongst other names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Riband (biscuits)</span>

Blue Riband is a chocolate biscuit currently produced by Nestlé. The bar was launched in 1936 by Gray Dunn, one of Scotland's major biscuit producers and a subsidiary of confectionery giant Rowntree's, as a real milk chocolate wafer – a crisp wafer biscuit covered in a very thin layer of milk chocolate. They also produced a similar, non coated, wafer called Caramel Wafer. The Gray Dunn factory also made Breakaway. The Gray Dunn factory in Glasgow continued to produce Blue Riband until 1994 when Nestlé closed it down and moved production to Newcastle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crunch (chocolate bar)</span> Chocolate bar

Crunch is a chocolate bar made of milk chocolate and crisped rice. It is produced globally by Nestlé with the exception of the United States, where it is produced under license by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club (biscuit)</span> Irish chocolate biscuit

Club is a range of chocolate covered biscuits, sold in Ireland under the Jacob's brand name and in the United Kingdom under McVitie's.

Sir Archibald Boyd Tunnock,, is the current owner of Tunnock's, a family-owned confectionery business based in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, UK. He is the grandson of the firm's founder, Thomas Tunnock, and inventor of the company's famous teacake, which was first produced in 1956.

The 2019–20 Scottish Challenge Cup known as the Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup due to sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the competition. The total number of participating clubs is 58. The competition began on 6 August 2019 with the First Round and was due to end on 28 March 2020 with the final at McDiarmid Park in Perth. However, the final had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was never subsequently played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinder (brand)</span> Italian candy brand

Kinder is a brand of chocolate produced by Italian multinational confectionery company Ferrero. Products under the Kinder brand include several varieties and are sold in over 125 countries worldwide.

References

  1. "Scotland's Top Brands: 4. Tunnock's | Scottish Grocer & Convenience Retailer". scottishgrocer.co.uk. 15 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Lea, Robert (14 April 2010). "The Willy Wonka of Tannochside: Tunnock's MD, Boyd Tunnock". The Times Literary Supplement. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  3. Close Brothers Asset Management: John White & Son named Scotland’s longest established family business after almost 300 years of service Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine . 1 October 2013.
  4. Watt, Martin (26 June 2019). "Scottish Challenge Cup: New sponsor a sweet deal". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. Made in Scotland, Carol Foreman, ISBN   978-1-84158-725-7
  6. "Thomas Tunnock Ltd (34 Old Mill Road, Uddingston) | The List". Food.list.co.uk. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  7. "Tunnock's Tour of Mull" 2300club.org. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  8. Jones, Sam (28 September 2010). "Tunnock's biscuit workers go on strike". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  9. "Tunnock's pay dispute ends as deal accepted". BBC News. BBC News. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  10. "Tunnock's donation brings back St Abbs lifeboat". BBC News. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  11. https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/dancing-teacakes-are-recipe-soaring-sales-1530670 "The iconic Scottish company was founded by Thomas Tunnock in 1890"
  12. https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/teacake-car/ "the iconic Scottish company have raised cheers with workers and management".
  13. 1 2 McPherson, Lynn (3 January 2016). "Firm lose iconic Scots lion as Tunnock's teacakes are branded British". Daily Record.
  14. https://scottishgrocer.co.uk/2022/12/15/scotlands-top-brands-4-tunnocks/ "“Tunnock’s is very much a Scottish company. We believe the fact that the company is privately owned, and now into the fifth generation of the founder’s family, is important to the community in Scotland."
  15. "Tunnock's view on referendum doesn't taste so sweet for Alex Salmond". The Scotsman . Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  16. "Boyd Tunnock: I'm not afraid to say I'm a Unionist" . Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  17. Tunnock's sales take the teacake after Commonwealth Games ceremony, accessdate: 3 December 2016
  18. Khomami, Nadia (4 January 2016). "Storm in a teacake: Scottish nationalists call for boycott of Tunnock's". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  19. "Tunnock's rebrands as British in bid to win over Japan". The Scotsman. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  20. "Tunnock's – A chocolate Scottish institution". Document Scotland. 30 March 2018.
  21. "Tunnocks - About us. The teacake was born". Tunnocks. 30 March 2018.
  22. Yorkshire pilot's Cold War secret revealed, archived from the original on 6 March 2016, retrieved 9 May 2020
  23. "Sweettooth fans swamp Tunnock's tours". Scotland On Sunday. The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
  24. Greenan, Leona (5 September 2022). "Lanarkshire rugby club's new post protectors take the biscuit". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  25. "Tunnock's signs Tesco contract". Johnston Publishing Ltd. The Scotsman. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  26. Wright, Scott (4 September 2013). "Deal sealed to stock Tunnock's merchandise in Tesco stores". Herald & Times Group. HeraldScotland. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

Foodlogo2.svg   Foodportal