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Rowntree's is a British confectionery brand and former business based 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 ...
, England. Rowntree developed the
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 Sta ...
(introduced in 1935),
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 ...
(introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881),
Smarties Smarties are colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about ...
(introduced in 1937) brands, and the
Rolo Rolo (pronounced /ˈrəʊləʊ/), referring to the roll-styled chocolates, is a brand of truncated cone-shaped or conical frustum-shaped chocolates with a caramel inside. First manufactured in Norwich, Norfolk in the United Kingdom by Mackintos ...
and Quality Street brands when it merged with
Mackintosh's Mackintosh's was a British confectionery firm founded in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. It was known for its toffee and the Quality Street and Rolo brands. Beginnings The firm was founded by John Mackintosh (1868-1920) and his wife, Violet (n ...
in 1969 to form
Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery was a British company formed by the merger of Rowntree's and John Mackintosh Co. The company was famous for making chocolate brands, such as Kit Kat, Aero and Quality Street. It was purchased by Nestlé in 19 ...
. Rowntree's also launched
After Eight 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 sin ...
thin mint chocolates in 1962. The Yorkie and
Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
bars were introduced in 1976. Rowntree's also pioneered the festive
selection box A selection box is a boxed gift consisting of a variety of edible items, usually chocolate based. They are generally associated with Christmas, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History Selection boxes became common around the e ...
(a gift consisting of assorted bars and sweets) which in the UK have been a staple gift at Christmas for over a century. Founded in 1862, the company developed strong associations with
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
philanthropy. Throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was one of the big three confectionery manufacturers in the United Kingdom, alongside
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 ...
and Fry, both also founded by Quakers. In 1981, Rowntree's received the
Queen's Award 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 ...
for outstanding contribution to international trade. In 1988, when the company was acquired 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 ...
, it was the fourth-largest confectionery manufacturer in the world. The Rowntree brand continues to be used to market Nestlé's jelly sweet brands, such as Fruit Gums and Fruit Pastilles. Rowntree’s ceased to exist as a corporate entity in 1991, becoming Nestlé UK.


History


Victorian era

In 1862, Rowntree's 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 ...
, a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, 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 ...
. 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. In 1881, Rowntree introduced Fruit Pastilles, competing against French imports of the time, and the product proved to be a great success, accounting for about 25% of the company's tonnage by 1887. This success allowed the company to invest in a Van Houten press, which enabled it to produce chocolate with the cocoa butter removed, to compete with Cadbury's successful Cocoa Essence. In the 1890s, Rowntree transformed from a small family business into a large-scale manufacturer, as sales more than quadrupled due to an increased demand among the public for confectionery. In 1889,
Seebohm Rowntree Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, CH (7 July 1871 – 7 October 1954) was an English sociological researcher, social reformer and industrialist. He is known in particular for his three York studies of poverty conducted in 1899, 1935, and 1951. The fi ...
established a small research and testing laboratory for analysing ingredients and rival company products. In 1890, to cater for this increased demand, Rowntree acquired a 20-acre site at Haxby Road on the outskirts of York. The Tanners Moat site had become too small for Rowntree's needs, and the company had noted the success of Cadbury's purpose-built factory in Bournville. In 1893, the company introduced
Rowntree's Fruit Gums Rowntree's Fruit Gums are circular sweets formerly made by Rowntree's, who were later acquired by Nestlé. There are five flavours, each of a different colour: strawberry (originally raspberry), orange, lemon, blackcurrant and lime. The sweets w ...
. By 1897, the unlimited partnership needed external funding for its expansion, and became a public
limited liability Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company or partnership. If a company that provides limited liability to it ...
company called Rowntree & Co. Robert Fitzgerald has accused the company of being slow in new product development and marketing compared to its major competitor of the period,
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 ...
. Fitzgerald suggests that Joseph Rowntree imitated the successes of competitors (Cadbury's Cocoa Essence, French fruit pastilles) and that under his leadership, the company did not introduce any innovations of its own. Around 1898, the company acquired its own cocoa plantations in the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. In 1899, Rowntree introduced its first milk chocolate block.


1900 to 1945

Rowntree had struggled to make a milk chocolate product of comparable quality or value to Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Joseph Rowntree even described the growing market for milk chocolate as a fad. Rowntree's poor performance in the category became a major problem from 1914 onwards, as British public preference continued to move towards milk chocolate, and away from the more bitter cocoa essence products. Rowntree's two major rivals, Cadbury and Fry, merged in 1918, and although Rowntree was invited to participate in the merger, the company declined to do so. Meanwhile, the Rowntree board was torn as to whether it should become a low-turnover, high-quality product company or a mass producer of cheaper lines. Seebohm Rowntree inherited a struggling company when he succeeded his father as chairman in 1923. By 1930, as a result of all its problems, Rowntree was approaching bankruptcy. In 1926, Cowan Company of Toronto Limited (founded in 1890 as Cowan Cocoa and Chocolate), in Toronto, Canada, was acquired for $1 million. From 1931, Rowntree of Canada began to manufacture
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' ...
toffee Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepared, toffee is ...
s under licence. In 1927, the company began to market its fruit gums, and its pastilles from 1928, in the now familiar tube packaging. George Harris was appointed marketing manager for chocolate bars in January 1931. Harris had learned the latest marketing techniques while he was in the United States. According to Robert Fitzgerald, "It was Harris's drive and insight which inspired his firm's renaissance in the 1930s." In 1932, Rowntree appointed a new advertising agency, the London branch of
J. Walter Thompson J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...
. Thompson undertook extensive market research to discover what consumers wanted. As a result of this research, the
Black Magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...
assorted chocolate box was launched in 1934. In January 1935, Rowntree decided to abandon its attempt to compete with Cadbury Dairy Milk. In May 1935, Rowntree launched the
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 ...
, an aerated milk chocolate. The Chocolate Crisp, a wafer-and-chocolate bar later known as the
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 Sta ...
, was also launched in 1935. In 1937, the Dairy Box of assorted chocolates was launched, using the market research that had been undertaken for Black Magic. Chocolate beans were first sold loose in 1938, but were later packaged in a cardboard tube and branded as
Smarties Smarties are colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about ...
.
Polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
, the distinctive
mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
with a hole in the centre, was developed in 1939, but its introduction was delayed by the onset of war. Harris was made company chairman in 1941.


1945 to 1988

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, o ...
.
After Eight 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 sin ...
thin mint chocolates 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 truncated cone-shaped or conical frustum-shaped chocolates with a caramel inside. First manufactured in Norwich, Norfolk in the United Kingdom by Mackintos ...
, Munchies, Caramac, and Quality Street. Hershey's began U.S. distribution of Kit Kat in 1970 and followed in 1971 with Rolo. In 1971, Rowntree Mackintosh acquired
Menier Chocolate The Menier Chocolate company (french: Chocolat Menier) is a French chocolate manufacturing business founded in 1816 as a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Paris, at a time when chocolate was used as a medicinal product and was only one part of the ov ...
of France. In the same year, the board attempted to diversify the business, and made a bid for
Bovril Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick and salty meat extract paste similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar, and as cubes and granules. Bovril is owned and distrib ...
, but lost out to
James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His contr ...
's
Cavenham Foods Cavenham Foods was one of the United Kingdom's largest food processing businesses. History The company was founded by Sir James Goldsmith in 1965 when he bought up a series of bakeries. In 1971 Cavenham acquired the Bovril Company but then sold ...
. In 1972,
Hoadley's Chocolates Hoadley's Chocolates was an Australian confectionery company founded in 1913 famous for the Polly Waffle and Violet Crumble chocolate bars. The company was bought by Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery in 1972, which would then be acquired by N ...
of Australia was acquired by Rowntree Mackintosh. This company had invented such products as the
Violet Crumble Violet Crumble is an Australian chocolate bar. The bar is a crumbly honeycomb toffee centre coated in a layer of compound chocolate. It was first made by Hoadley's Chocolates in South Melbourne around the year 1913; and is currently made in Adel ...
and
Polly Waffle Polly Waffle is a 50 gram Australian chocolate bar. It is a waffle wafer tube filled with marshmallow and coated in compound chocolate. The confection had been introduced in 1947 by the Hoadley's Chocolate Company, then taken over by Rowntree M ...
. The Yorkie and
Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
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.
Ken Dixon Kenneth John Dixon (born October 17, 1960), is a former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1987. He was drafted in 1980 by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round out of Amherst County High School. D ...
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 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% of the total.


Takeover by Nestlé

On 13 April 1988, the
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...
confectioner Jacobs Suchard began a dawn raid on Rowntree's shares, which had been under-performing the market, although they were beginning to improve, taking a 14.9% stake in the company by 9:15 am. As a result, the managing director of Nestlé,
Helmut Maucher Helmut Oswald Maucher (9 December 1927 – 5 March 2018) was a German businessman. He served as the CEO of Nestlé from June 1990 to June 1997. He joined the company at a young age, completing an apprenticeship at the Nestlé SA factory in Ei ...
, contacted Kenneth Dixon, the chairman of Rowntree, offering to act as a white knight. Nestlé was the largest food company in the world, and had been interested in Rowntree previously, but the Rowntree board would aggressively contest any attempted takeover, and Nestlé had never undertaken a
hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
before. However, Nestlé was worried about the potential of Rowntree falling into the hands of one of its major competitors. Rowntree was the fourth-largest chocolate manufacturer in the world, after
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
, Hershey, and Cadbury, with a 7% global market share. Nestlé eventually won control with an offer valuing Rowntree at £2.55 billion. Strategically, Nestlé had always seen Rowntree as a perfect fit for its own operations. Nestlé had strength in the block chocolate bar business, and Rowntree had strength in the countline branded chocolate business. Rowntree's strong global brands were the key reason for Nestlé's interest. Due to potential synergies between the two companies, Nestlé believed that savings between 5 and 15% of Rowntree's operating costs could be made if the companies were to combine. The takeover was controversial, as Nestlé was effectively protected from similar takeover attempts under Swiss law. After the Nestlé takeover, the Rowntree chocolate ranges began to use the branding "Nestlé Rowntree", before eventually the Rowntree name was dropped from the packaging altogether, except on Rowntree's Cocoa and the Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums lines. The Mackintosh branding was dropped from all former Rowntree Mackintosh products except for Mackintosh's Toffee. Between 1988 and 1994, the Nestlé Rowntree workforce was reduced by 2,000. The Nestlé Rowntree factory in
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
closed in 1994, and
Rolo Rolo (pronounced /ˈrəʊləʊ/), referring to the roll-styled chocolates, is a brand of truncated cone-shaped or conical frustum-shaped chocolates with a caramel inside. First manufactured in Norwich, Norfolk in the United Kingdom by Mackintos ...
, Yorkie, and Easter-egg production was moved to York. In September 2006, it was announced that the manufacture of Smarties would be relocated to Hamburg, resulting in 645 job losses at the York factory. Production of Dairy Box was relocated to
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, and Black Magic to the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. In May 2009,
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 ...
launched a new jelly sweet, Rowntree's Randoms, and in April 2012, another new jelly sweet, Fruit Bottles, both under the Rowntree's brand. Nestlé has invested more than £200 million in the Rowntree business since 1988, making the York site one of the world's largest confectionery factories. Nestlé's global research centre for confectionery is also based in York, and recently doubled in size following a £7 million investment.


Current branded products

The best known products that are still branded under the Rowntree name are
Rowntree's Fruit Gums Rowntree's Fruit Gums are circular sweets formerly made by Rowntree's, who were later acquired by Nestlé. There are five flavours, each of a different colour: strawberry (originally raspberry), orange, lemon, blackcurrant and lime. The sweets w ...
,
Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles (rebranded in Australia as Wonka Fruit Pastilles after the 1988 acquisition of Rowntree's by Nestlé, Fruit Joy in Italy; Frutips in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan) are small round sweets measuring about ...
and Jelly Tots. Jelly Tots are soft, chewy fruit-flavoured sweets. They are round, sugar-coated gumdrop-like confections about 13mm in diameter, and contain 25% fruit juices and no artificial colours or flavours. Jelly Tots were invented by Dr Brian Boffey of Horsforth, Leeds when he was working for Rowntree's. Jelly Tots were launched in 1965 and quickly became established as a popular children's
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
. Rowntree's Randoms were introduced in 2009. The Rowntree brand is also used on a number of ice lollies (made by
R&R Ice Cream Froneri is a global ice cream manufacturer with its headquarters in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest producer of ice cream in Europe by volume, and the second-largest in the world, after Unilever. Froneri was establish ...
) for Nestlé. The brand has a similar marketplace to that of the
Trebor Bassett 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 Mars ...
division of
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 ...
's, and competes head-to-head with this company in a number of fruit-gum categories.


Advertising

The company largely eschewed advertising before its establishment as a public company in 1897, when it employed S. H. Benson as its agency. Before 1930, the company considered that quality products would speak for themselves, and did not need advertising to sell their benefits. In 1932, Rowntree changed their agency to the London branch of J. Walter Thompson.


References


Further reading

* *


External links

*
History of Rowntree & Co

A 1993 profile of the company in Management Today

The Rowntree Society
{{Authority control Nestlé brands Companies based in York Food and drink companies established in 1862 Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Confectionery companies of the United Kingdom 1862 establishments in the United Kingdom British chocolate companies Companies established in 1862