Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery was a British company formed by the merger of
Rowntree's
Rowntree's is a British confectionery brand and former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat (introduced in 1935), Aero (introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881), Smarties (introduced in 1937) brands, ...
and
John Mackintosh Co. The company was famous for making chocolate brands, such as
Kit Kat
Kit Kat (stylised as KitKat in various countries) is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, United Kingdom, and is now produced globally by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree's in 1988), except in the United Stat ...
,
Aero
Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane).
Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to:
Aeronautics Airlines and companies
* Aero (P ...
and
Quality Street. It was purchased by
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
in 1988, with products rebranded under its own brand.
Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery owned Mackintosh's former
Halifax headquarters and factory. The factory is still in use, located next to
Halifax railway station, for production of
Quality Street and other confections.
The former Rowntree's factory and headquarters were in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. Nestlé still operates in York with one of the world's largest confectionery factories and a global research centre for confectionery base.
History
Background
In 1862,
Rowntree's
Rowntree's is a British confectionery brand and former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat (introduced in 1935), Aero (introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881), Smarties (introduced in 1937) brands, ...
was founded at
Castlegate, in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
by
Henry Isaac Rowntree
Henry Isaac Rowntree (1838–1883) was the founder of Rowntree's, one of the United Kingdom's largest confectionery businesses.
Career
Having served his apprenticeship in his father's shop at The Pavement in York, and following his father's dea ...
, as the company manager bought out the
Tuke family
The Tuke family of York were a family of Quaker innovators involved in establishing:
*Rowntree's Cocoa Works
* The Retreat Mental Hospital
*three Quaker schools - Ackworth, Bootham, and The Mount
They included four generations. The main Tukes w ...
.
[History of Nestlé Rowntree]
/ref> In 1864 Rowntree acquired an old iron foundry at Tanners Moat for £1,000, and moved production there. In 1869 the factory was staffed by 12 men. By 1869 Rowntree was in financial difficulties and his brother, Joseph Rowntree, joined him in full partnership, and H. I. Rowntree & Co was formally established.
Rowntree had struggled to make a milk chocolate product of comparable quality or value to Cadbury's Dairy Milk. In 1927, the company began to market its fruit gums, and its pastilles from 1928, in the now familiar tube packaging.
Rowntree entered the continental Europe market in the 1960s, establishing production facilities in Hamburg, Dijon, Elst and Noisiel
Noisiel () is a commune in the French department of Seine-et-Marne, administrative region of Île-de-France. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris.
The commune of Noisiel is part of the Val Maubuée sector, one ...
. After Eights
After Eight Mint Chocolate Thins, often referred to as simply "After Eights", are a brand of mint chocolate covered sugar confectionery. They were created by Rowntree Company Limited in the UK in 1962 and have been manufactured by Nestlé since ...
were launched in 1962.
In 1969, the Rowntree board rejected a £37 million takeover bid from General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
. That same year, Rowntree entered into a long-term agreement with Hershey whereby Hershey would produce Rowntree products under license in the US. Rowntree merged with John Mackintosh and Co in 1969, to become Rowntree Mackintosh. Mackintosh produced Rolo
Rolo (pronounced /ˈrəʊləʊ/), referring to the roll-styled chocolates, is a brand of truncation (geometry), truncated cone-shaped or conical frustum-shaped chocolates with a caramel inside. First manufactured in Norwich, Norfolk in the United ...
, Munchies, Caramac and Quality Street.[
]
Formation of Rowntree Mackintosh
In 1969, Rowntree's merged with John Mackintosh and Sons Ltd. to form "Rowntree Mackintosh Ltd." The company signed a long-time agreement with Hershey Foods Corporation to market and even produce some of its products in the U.S., starting with Kit Kat
Kit Kat (stylised as KitKat in various countries) is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, United Kingdom, and is now produced globally by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree's in 1988), except in the United Stat ...
. The following year, the company expanded opening plants in Castleford and Leicester. In 1971, French business "Chocolate-Menier SA" joined the group. The company released its own newspaper, ''Rowntree Mackintosh News'', with a circulation of 26,000 copies.[Rowntree Mackintosh Ltd.]
history on The Rowntree Society
The Yorkie and Lion chocolate bars were introduced in 1976. In 1978 the Hershey contract was renegotiated, giving Hershey the rights to the Kit Kat and Rolo brands in the US in perpetuity.
Kenneth Dixon was appointed as chairman and chief executive in 1981. Between 1981 and 1987, Rowntree invested nearly £400 million in upgrading its manufacturing facilities and developing high volume, product dedicated equipment for several of the company's brands, including Kit Kat, After Eights and Smarties.
Between 1983 and 1987, Rowntree spent nearly £400 million on acquisitions, including Tom's Foods for £138 million (1983), Laura Secord Chocolates
Laura Secord s.e.c is a Canadian chocolatier, confectionery, and ice cream company. It was named after the Canadian heroine Laura Secord. In 1813, Laura Secord, pioneer wife and mother of seven children, made a dangerous 19-mile (30-km) journey on ...
for £19 million (1983), Hot Sam Pretzels
Hot Sam Pretzels was an American restaurant chain selling soft pretzels.
Julius Young opened the first outlet at Livonia Mall in a Detroit suburb in Michigan.
In 1971, the owners sold the company to General Host, who then owned the Detroit-based ...
for £14 million (1986), the Sunmark confectionery business in the US for £156 million (1986) and Gale's
Gale's is a UK brand of honey, currently owned by Premier Foods. The former company had been established in 1919, remaining independent until it was acquired by Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery in 1986.
History
The company was established in ...
honey for £11 million (1986).
Between 1982 and 1987, the number of UK staff was reduced from 19,700 to 15,600.
In 1987 Rowntree operated 25 factories in nine countries and employed 33,000 people, including close to 16,000 in its eight UK operations. Group turnover was £1.4 billion, with the UK and Ireland accounting for 40 percent of the total.
Purchase by Nestle
In 1988, Swiss company Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
purchased Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery, re-branded all of its products and took over the Halifax and York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
headquarters and factories.
After the acquisition, Nestlé slowly began to re-introduce the brand under the name "Rowntrees". These include Rowntree's Randoms
Rowntree's Randoms are a jelly sweet produced by Nestlé under its Rowntree's brand. The sweet was launched in the United Kingdom, UK on 18 May 2009.
Product information
The sweets have six natural fruit flavours: blackcurrant, cherry, strawber ...
, and Fruit Pastilles. These are the only two non-Nestle branded sweets as no Mackintosh
The Mackintosh or raincoat (abbreviated as mac) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made of rubberised fabric.
The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, although many writers added a letter ''k' ...
sweets have been re-branded.
References
Sources
*
*
{{Rowntree's
Rowntree's
1969 establishments in England
1988 disestablishments in England
Companies based in York
Confectionery companies of the United Kingdom
Defunct companies based in Yorkshire
British chocolate companies
Nestlé
Food and drink companies established in 1969
Food and drink companies disestablished in 1988
British companies established in 1969
British companies disestablished in 1988
1988 mergers and acquisitions