Maynards was a British
confectionery
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...
manufacturer best known for manufacturing
wine gums. It was acquired by
Cadbury
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
in the 1990s, which in turn was acquired by
Mondelez International
Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, holding and drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an ...
(originally
Kraft Foods) in 2010. In 2016, the brand was joined with
Bassett's to create
Maynards Bassetts.
History
Charles Riley Maynard and his brother Tom started manufacturing sweets in 1880 in their kitchen in
Stamford Hill in
Hackney,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Next door, Charles's wife, Sarah Ann, ran a sweet shop selling their products. In 1896 the brothers formed the Maynards sweet company.
![Maynards Harringay Entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Maynards_Harringay_Entrance.jpg)
Ten years later, in 1906, the expanding concern moved a mile or so to a new factory in Vale Road,
Harringay
Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett's ...
. The new factory site, below an embankment of the
New River, permitted clean
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
spring water to be used in production, whilst the proximity of the
Lee Navigation
The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea (also called the River Lee along the sections that are navigable). It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its ...
and numerous railways facilitated the easy, cheap shipping of the required coal, sugar, and
gelatin
Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...
. London itself provided a ready market of some ten million people, and the world's largest commercial port was within five miles.
![Maynards Harringay Factory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Maynards_Harringay_Factory.jpg)
Around the turn of the century, Charles Gordon, heir to the confectionery firm, suggested to his father that they diversify into making "wine gums", an idea that outraged Charles senior, a strictly
teetotal
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
. Nevertheless, Charles Riley gradually came round to the idea when his son persuaded him that the projected new sweets would not contain alcohol. Maynards
Wine Gums were introduced in 1909.
The works grew consistently to become a four-figure employer in the Harringay area. As Maynards grew, it expanded its manufacturing operations to other locations. These included a toffee factory in
Ouseburn,
Newcastle.
The brothers' roots in sweet shop retailing were instrumental in the growth of retail operations to 140 shops. These were disposed of by sale in 1985.
In 1990, Maynards merged with the Tottenham liquorice mill
Bassett's, and
Trebor. In 1988, following the acquisition of the company by
Cadbury
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
, the London factory closed and Maynards Wine Gums and associated sweet manufacture was continued at a
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
premises that had come on-stream in 1991. By 2002 worldwide sales of Maynards Wine Gums were forty million pounds sterling per annum.
The Harringay premises is now a warehouse for The Oriental Carpet Company. The Ousebur
toffee factoryis part of a multimillion-pound urban regeneration programme.
Charles Riley Maynard was the grandfather of engineer
Kenneth Maynard Wood, co-founder of kitchen appliance company
Kenwood Ltd, manufacturer of the Kenwood Chef food mixer.
Products
''Excluding items that are licensed by
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
and/or
Nestle, such as Sour Patch Kids bar.''
![Maynards-Wine-Gums](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Maynards-Wine-Gums.jpg)
* Maynards
Wine Gums
* Maynards Wine Pastilles
* Maynards Wine Sours
* Maynards
Sports Mixture
Sports Mix is a confectionery product manufactured in the UK under the brand-name of Maynards Bassetts, which is itself part of the Cadbury UK brand now owned by Mondelēz International and was formerly produced by Lion Confectionery. Both Maynards ...
* Maynards Midget Gems
* Maynards Wine Gums Light
* Maynards
Swedish Berries
300px, A bag of Swedish Berries.Swedish berries are red berry-shaped soft chewy candies which are manufactured by the candy company Maynards. The name Swedish Berries is trademarked by Vanderlei Candy, a division of Cadbury Canada. Their ingredi ...
* Maynards Fuzzy Peaches
* Maynards
Swedish Fish
Swedish Fish is a fish-shaped, chewy candy originally developed by Swedish candy producer Malaco in the late 1950s for the U.S. market. They come in a variety of colors and flavors.
Ingredients
Swedish Fish contains:
* Sugar
* Invert suga ...
* Maynards Sour Cherry Blasters
* Maynards Sour Watermelons
*
Maynards Sour Patch Kids
* Maynards Ultra Sour Patch Kids
* Maynards Sour Patch Kids Soda Popz (UK only)
![Sour-Patch-Kids](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Sour-Patch-Kids.jpg)
* Maynards Sour Chillers
* Maynards Juicy Squirts Berry
* Maynards Blush Berries
* Maynards Blackberry Bushels
* Maynards Orange Twists
* Maynards Sour Grapes
* Maynards Granny Smith
* Maynards Gummy Bears
* Maynards Fruit Mania
External links
Maynards Advert - Joose Loose aboot this Hoose!
Sources
*
Former Cadbury UK Maynards information page(archived)
References
{{Mondelez
Confectionery companies of the United Kingdom
Harringay
British companies established in 1896
Food and drink companies established in 1896
1896 establishments in England
Cadbury brands
Mondelez International brands