Aunt Bessie's Limited (until 2008 known as Tryton Foods Ltd) is a UK producer of frozen food products under the brand name Aunt Bessie's. The company produces frozen Yorkshire puddings, potato products, meal accompaniments, ready meals, vegetables and desserts. The company has its factories in Hull and employs over 350 staff. Since 2010, food manufacturer Symington's in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

has manufactured many of the Aunt Bessie's branded mixes and stuffings on behalf of the company.

History

Aunt Bessie's Limited was, until 2018, a subsidiary to the

William Jackson Food Group __NOTOC__ William Jackson & Son Limited (trading as the William Jackson Food Group) is a British food manufacturer. History The company was founded by William Jackson (1828–1912), who was born in Elstronwick and opened his first shop at 28 S ...

, a food retail and manufacturing business founded in Hull in 1851. The current chairman, Nicholas Oughtred, is the great-great grandson of the founder, William Jackson. The William Jackson Group's frozen Yorkshire puddings were originally created for Butlins Holiday Camps in 1974. In 1995, the company started producing its Yorkshire puddings for British supermarket chains under the label Aunt Bessie's, so a special food manufacturing company was set up, called Tryton Foods. However, market research revealed that the name ''Triton'' was associated by the public with items such as "...either with bathrooms and showers or inter-continental ballistic missiles." So the name was changed to Aunt Bessie's as a marketing ploy. Aunt Bessie's frozen roast potatoes were introduced in 1999 and were one of a number of products including chips and croquettes that had been manufactured under licence by Heinz at their factory in Norfolk until the contract for the deal ended in 2015.

Business development

By 2001 the retail value of the brand was over £50 million and it had become one of the top 100 brands in Britain. As the fastest growing frozen food brand its value had grown to £110 million by 2014 and in consumer surveys it had a recognition score of 70%. In August 2004, the supermarket division of the William Jackson company,

Jacksons Stores Jacksons Stores Ltd, named after the founder William Jackson, was a British chain of 114 convenience shops in Yorkshire and the North Midlands that was founded in 1891 by the Hull-based William Jackson & Sons Ltd and sold to Sainsbury's in 2004 ...

, based in

North Ferriby North Ferriby is a village and civil parish in the Haltemprice area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. History Humber Estuary "The archaeology of the intertidal wetlands of the Humber Estuary is of international importance, and include ...

, was sold to

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

for £100 million, and the company began to focus on food production rather than retail. In early 2008, sales of the Aunt Bessie's Homestyle mashed potato doubled when it featured in

Delia Smith Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. One of the best known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers t ...

's '' How to Cheat at Cooking'' for use in a

shepherd's pie Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in its French version hachis Parmentier is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. The usual meats are beef or la ...

. The same year, the company name was changed to Aunt Bessie's Ltd. In its list of Britain's biggest brands,

The Grocer ''The Grocer'' is a British magazine devoted to grocery sales, published by William Reed Business Media. It has been published since 1862. The Grocer 33 A feature of the magazine is 'The Grocer 33'. This is a survey of each of the 5 leading s ...

ranked Aunt Bessie's at 50 in 2016 and 55 in 2017. In June 2018, Nomad Foods agreed to buy the Aunt Bessie's business from William Jackson for £210 million. In 2020, Aunt Bessie's won the Lausanne Index Prize - Environmental Possibility Prize.

References

* ''Financial Times'', page 13, 4 February 2004

External links

{{Commons category inline, Aunt Bessie's, Kingston upon Hull
Aunt Bessie's

William Jackson Food Group

Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber
Industry in Kingston upon Hull Companies based in Kingston upon Hull Companies established in 1995 Yorkshire cuisine Food manufacturers of the United Kingdom Frozen food brands