Ginsters is a company based in

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, in the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

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 ...

. The largest

pasty A pasty () is a British baked pastry, a traditional variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, South West England, but has spread all over the British Isles. It is made by placing an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegetab ...

maker in the UK in turnover, it specialises in making

mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...

pasties,

sausage rolls A sausage roll is a savoury pastry snack, popular in current and former Commonwealth nations, consisting of sausage meat wrapped in puffed pastry. Sausage rolls are sold at retail outlets and are also available from bakeries as a take-away food ...

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

es,

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

bowls and other savoury snacks. Since 1977, it has been owned by Mark and David Samworth.

History

The Ginsters family were in the business of supplying horse manure to foundries for mixing with sand for the moulds for casting. The business was based in West Bromwich before finally moving to Longwood Lane, Walsall. After the second world war, Geoff Ginster approached his father saying that he wished to move with his family down to the West Country. He asked his father if it would be possible to have his inheritance early in order to so do. Originally moving to Devon, Geoff Ginster started making

clotted cream Clotted cream ( kw, dehen molys, sometimes called scalded, clouted, Devonshire or Cornish cream) is a thick cream made by heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this t ...

and became very successful to the point where the

Milk Marketing Board The Milk Marketing Board was a producer-run product marketing board, established by the Agricultural Marketing Act 1933, to control milk production and distribution in the United Kingdom. It functioned as buyer of last resort in the milk market in ...

offered to buy him out. Geoff refused only to be met with the response, "if he did not sell the MMB would cease to supply his business with milk". Geoff Ginster having no choice moved to Cornwall and started his Cornish Pasty business in 1969. They started the business in a near-derelict egg-packing station, with a staff of four. Geoffrey Ginster started production of pasties from a 'secret recipe' he claimed to have obtained from a ship's cook. Production slowly increased until by 1970 a staff of 30 was producing 48,000 units a day. Initially Ginsters pasties were sold to pubs, cafés, corner shops and other small stores in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and nearby seaside towns, before expanding further to cover southern England.Patrick Beaver & Adam Lawrence (2005), ''A Way of Life'', Basic Books, pp.89–95, In 1977, Geoffrey Ginster retired and sold the business to

Samworth Brothers Samworth Brothers is a British food manufacturer which produces a range of chilled and ambient foods, both own-label and branded. It is the owner of Cornish pasty maker Ginsters and malt loaf manufacturer Soreen, and is also known as a make ...

, leading to further growth, modernisation and development. An adjoining factory was acquired, renovated and equipped with modern baking and packing facilities. It was renamed the Tamar Bakery, and was later extended with new, largely automated, machinery. When it went into operation the original Ginsters bakery was closed. In 1984, Ginsters was producing 1.5 million pasties a week and had become the biggest employer in East Cornwall's private sector. In 1987, a new bakery, named Lynher Bakery after the nearby

River Lynher The River Lynher ( kw, Linar) (or St Germans River downstream from its confluence with the Tiddy) flows through east Cornwall, England, and enters the River Tamar at the Hamoaze, which in turn flows into Plymouth Sound. Navigation The nor ...

, was built alongside the Tamar Bakery. In 1990, Ginsters commenced advertising and promotional campaigns to raise awareness of their product. This resulted in Ginsters Original Cornish Pasty being stocked by leading supermarkets, petrol stations, convenience stores and motorway service stations across Britain. Ginsters claim that their Original Cornish Pasty is the biggest selling product in the savoury pastry market, and that during a twenty-year period 450 million of them have been sold. Ginsters van 01.jpg, Ginsters delivery van 158819 in Ginsters livery at Crewe railway station (cropped).jpg, Ginsters liveried Class 158 Sprinter at

Crewe railway station Crewe railway station is a railway station in Crewe, Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.Rory Fallon Rory Michael Fallon (born 20 March 1982) is a New Zealand former professional footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He previously played for Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Swindon Town, Swansea City, Plymouth Argyle, Ipswich Town, Yeov ...

Plymouth Argyle F.C. Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in Ginsters sponsored shirt

Politics

The company has donated at least £32,000 to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

since 2002, on top of the £610,000 donated by the individual Samworth brothers since 2010.

Products

Ginsters’ most popular product is the Original Cornish Pasty. Cornish pasties were granted protected geographical indication (PGI) status from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

in 2011. This product is still made using Ginsters’ original recipe. Since the 1990s the product range has been extended to include a variety of pasties, savoury slices,

pork pie A pork pie is a traditional English meat pie, usually served either at room temperature or cold (although often served hot in Yorkshire). It consists of a filling of roughly chopped pork and pork fat, surrounded by a layer of jellied pork stock ...

s, hot pies, snacks,

es, flatbreads,

wrap Wrap, WRAP or Wrapped may refer to: Storage and preservation * Gift wrap or wrap paper, used to enclose a present * Overwrap, a wrapping of items in a package or a wrapping over packages * Plastic wrap, a thin, clear, flexible plastic used to co ...

s and packaged

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

s. Ginsters claim to source their ingredients from neighbouring farms in Cornwall.Ginsters: Products
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Vegan products

From 2019, Ginsters has been producing

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

products, for example its Moroccan vegetable

, which won an award in 2020. In 2021 the company introduced additional vegan pasty fillings, including

Bombay potato Bombay potato (sometimes called Bombay aloo or ''aloo'' (''alu'') ''Bombay''), is an Indian dish prepared using potatoes that are cubed, parboiled and then fried and seasoned with various spices such as cumin, curry, garlic, garam masala, turmeri ...

and

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

, and

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

Spiced

Sweet Potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

and Chickpea. Ginsters vegan Bombay potato and spinach pasty (4).jpg, Ginsters vegan Bombay potato and spinach pasty Ginsters vegan quorn pasty (6).JPG, Ginsters vegan

quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as b ...

pasty Ginsters vegan Moroccan spiced veg pasty (5).JPG, Ginsters vegan Moroccan spiced vegetable pasty

Sponsorship

From 2002 to 2011, Ginsters sponsored football club

, rekindling this sponsorship in 2016 with a 3-year deal. It also sponsors Callington Town FC, Callington Rugby Club and

Launceston Rugby Club Launceston Rugby Club (also known as the Cornish All Blacks, the name of the 1st team) is a Cornish rugby club which play at Polson Bridge, Launceston, Cornwall. They are currently in South West Premier, at the fifth tier of the English ru ...

("The Cornish All Blacks"). Ginsters became the title sponsor for

Speedworks Motorsport Speedworks Motorsport is a British motor racing team based in Sandbach, Cheshire. The team was formed in 2005 by Christian and Amy Dick. They are best known for competing in the British Touring Car Championship since 2011. They also compete in t ...

in the

2019 British Touring Car Championship The 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (commonly abbreviated as BTCC) was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing ...

season with the manufacturer backed Toyota Corolla. The team entry was known as ''Team Toyota GB with Ginsters''.

References

External links

official websiteGinsters Original Cornish Pasty
{{British pies 1960 establishments in the United Kingdom Bakeries of the United Kingdom Food brands of the United Kingdom British pie brands British brands Companies based in Cornwall Cornish cuisine Food and drink companies established in 1960 Food manufacturers of the United Kingdom Meat companies of the United Kingdom Callington