Jordans is a British manufacturer of

breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in We ...

s and cereal bars founded in 1855. It is based at

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its e ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, England.

History

Holme Mills is on Langford Road in Biggleswade, situated next to the

River Ivel The River Ivel is a north-flowing river in the western part of east of England. It is primarily in Bedfordshire; it is a tributary of the River Great Ouse and has sources including in the Barton Hills. Course The river Ivel has four headwater ...

. A mill was recorded on the site in 1086, as noted in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. It was bought by local farmer William Herbert Jordan in 1855. The mill caught fire in 1894 and burnt down again in 1899. It produced flour until 1972 when W. Jordan (Cereals) Ltd was formed. It was run by Bill and David Jordan, who are brothers and were partners of the company until 2010. W. Jordan (Cereals) Ltd has been dormant since 2010 and the business now operates as The Jordans & Ryvita Company Limited, a subsidiary of

Associated British Foods Associated British Foods plc (ABF) is a British multinational food processing and retailing company headquartered in London, England. Its ingredients division is the world's second-largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major ...

. There is a factory shop in

Langford, Bedfordshire Langford is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census gives the population as 3,091. Geography Langford lies alongside ...

. Its main product it started with, and still produces, is called ''Crunchy Oats'', which is based on

granola Granola is a breakfast and snack food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until crisp, toasted and golden brown. The mixture is stirred while baking ...

. In 1981, Jordans began production of a cereal bar called ''Original Crunchy''. It now produces four different cereal bars including Frusli which contains 25% fruit, Breakfast Bars, Luxury Absolute Nut Bar and Original Crunchy Bars. Country Crisp was introduced in 1991. Luxury Bars were introduced in 2004. In 2002, they formed the joint venture 'the Organic and Natural Food Company' with

Yeo Valley Organic Yeo Valley () is a large UK organic brand established in 1994. The Yeo Valley Organic range includes organic yogurt, cream, milk, butter, cheese, ice cream and, compote. Yeo Valley is located in Somerset, UK, and the Yeo Valley corporation is o ...

. It produced vending machines for schools filled with healthy food. In April 2003, the company won a

Queen's Awards for Enterprise The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting opportunity (through social mobility). They are the highest ...

. In 2005, Bill Jordan was made a MBE. In September 2007, 20% of the company was sold to

, followed by a further 42% in June 2008, becoming fully owned by ABF by 2013.

Conservation efforts

Jordans use oats which are grown by Conservation Grade farmers around Britain who are paid a premium to create nature-friendly habitats on 10% of their farmed land. Bill Jordan owns the Nature Reserve at Pensthorpe in Norfolk which is taking part in high profile projects to bring back the rare Eurasian Crane and safeguard British natives such as the red squirrel. The company is concerned about the rapid decline in the bee population. It started the ''Big Buzz'' campaign in May 2009, with the help of the

British Beekeepers' Association The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales that was founded in 1874. It is made up of 75 associations in England & Wales plus one in Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey. At end of ...

and the

Bumblebee Conservation Trust The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is an organisation in the UK that makes efforts to monitor and conserve bumblebees and their habitat. History The Bumblebee Conservation Trust was established by Dave Goulson in 2006 with a grant of £49,900 from ...

Visitor Centre at Jordans Mill (geograph 3458691)

Holme Mill itself became a museum in 2013, with the opening of a visitor centre on the site after production transferred to a new facility in Biggleswade's Saxon Gate development area.

Market share

It is the UK's fourth largest cereals manufacturer after

Kelloggs The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toast ...

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 ...

and Weetabix. 25% of their produce is exported, with France being an important market; half their exports go there, and it is the country's best-selling muesli cereal. The brand leader of crunchy muesli in the UK is their ''Luxury Crunchy''. They belong to the Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers, which is a member of the European Breakfast Cereal Association.

Product range

Cereals

* Muesli (Fruit & Nut, Truly Fruity, Nut & Seed, Fruity Fibre, Natural, Organic, Super Berry) * Country Crisp – crunchy oat clusters (Strawberry, Raspberry, Honey, Chunky Nut, Dark Chocolate, Raisin) and a low sugar granola (2.9%) * Frusli – cereal/breakfast bar (Truly Tropical, Apple Sultana & Cinnamon, Raisin & Hazelnut, Cranberry & Apple, Red Berries, Blueberry Burst) * Crunchy Oats (Super Nutty, Raisin & Honey, Special Fruits & Nuts, Tropical and Super Berry Granola) * Porridge Oats (Chunky Traditional, Organic and Quick & Creamy) * Wheatgerm & Wheatbran

Cereal bars

* Original Crunchy – Honey & Almond * Breakfast in a bar – cereal bar; Fruit & Nut, Cranberry & Raspberry, Maple & Pecan flavours * Absolute Nut Luxury Bar * Absolute Berry bar

References

External links

Jordans Cereals website

Jordans Big Buzz

News items

Bees in London in July 2009

Bees in June 2009

20% of company sold to ABF in September 2007

Upton Farm in May 2006

Audio clips

''The Bottom Line on 18 November 2006
{{Authority control Breakfast cereal companies Companies based in Bedfordshire Food and drink companies established in 1855 Cereal bars Organic farming organizations British brands Food manufacturers of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1855