Aunt Bessie
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food |
| Predecessor(s) | Tryton Foods |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Tryton House, Layerthorpe Road, Henry Boot Way, Priory Park East, Kingston-upon-Hull, HU4 7DY |
| Area served | UK |
| Key people | Nicholas Oughtred Chairman |
| Products | Frozen food |
| Employees | 350 |
| Parent | William Jackson |
| Website | www.AuntBessies.co.uk |
Aunt Bessie’s Limited (formerly known as Tryton Foods Ltd) is a UK producer of processed frozen food products. Its brand portfolio includes Yorkshire puddings, a wide range of potato products, meal accompaniments, ready meals, vegetables and desserts.
Contents |
[edit] History
Aunt Bessie’s frozen prefabricated Yorkshire puddings were originally created by the company for Butlins Holiday Camps in 1974. The company's name was taken from The Triton Inn, at Brantingham, then in the same ownership and noted for its Yorkshire Puddings. The company first entered the retail trade in 1995 with frozen Yorkshire puddings.
Three months after the Aunt Bessie's brand was launched, the factory on Trinity Street was burnt down. Jill Halfpenny featured in television adverts for their Yorkshire puddings. In August 2004, the supermarket division of the William Jackson company, Jacksons Stores based in North Ferriby, was sold to Sainsbury's for £100m as the company began to focus on food production rather than retail.
In early 2008, sales of their Homestyle mashed potato doubled when they featured in Delia Smith's How to Cheat at Cooking for use in a shepherd's pie.
[edit] Structure
Aunt Bessie's is now the world’s largest brand of frozen baked and ready to bake Yorkshire puddings. With factories in Hull, the business employs over 350 staff and can produce more than 20 million puddings a week. It is situated just north of the A63 in the west of Hull near the Priory Way junction next door to the Insurance Partnership. The main factory is on Freightliner Road in a former Hygena factory near the A63/A1166 junction in Gipsyville.
Aunt Bessie's Ltd is part of the William Jackson Food Group, a food manufacturing business founded in Hull in 1851, and based in Hessle just off the A63. It is owned by the Oughtred family. Aunt Bessie's factory and headquarters remain in Hull.
Other main manufacturers of Yorkshire puddings are Greencore in West Carr and the Real Yorkshire Pudding Company in Thorne.
[edit] Range of products
- Yorkshire puddings
- Potato products - roast potatoes, chips, mashed potato, croquettes, bubble and squeak
- Vegetable products - cauliflower cheese, mashed carrot and swede, honey glazed roast parsnips, creamed leeks
- Main dishes - toad in the hole and beefburgers
- Traditional puddings - chocolate roly poly, syrup sponge pudding, jam sponge pudding, Bramley apple crumble, lemon meringue pie,
- Cooking sauces - for casseroles including sausage, chicken, honey & mustard, beef in red wine, and beef in ale
- Ready meals - cottage pie
- Savoury additions - sage stuffing and dumplings
- Sweet additions - dairy custard
[edit] References
- Financial Times, page 13, 4 February 2004
[edit] External links
- Aunt Bessie's
- William Jackson
- Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber
- Real Yorkshire Pudding Company
