Branston (brand)

Background

During the British Raj in India, Anglo-Indians discovered Indian pickles and chutneys, and cooked many kinds. Sailors found that the preserve-like varieties were useful accompaniments to their maritime diet of salt meat and dry ship's biscuit. Quantities were brought home to Britain, soon to be copied by cooks and further modified from the Indian originals.

Branston Pickle is made from a variety of diced vegetables, including swede, carrots, onions and cauliflower pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and spices. Branston Pickle is sweet and spicy with a "chutney-like" consistency, containing chunks of vegetables in a thick brown sticky sauce. It is commonly served as part of a ploughman's lunch, a popular menu item in British pubs. It is frequently combined with cheese in sandwiches, and many sandwich shops in the UK offer cheese and pickle as an option. It is available in the standard 'chunky' version, a 'small chunk' variety, and a 'smooth' pureed variety, which makes it easier to spread onto bread; convenient squeeze-bottle packs are amongst the range. The Indian Express comments that the product is "much like Bengal's date and tomato chutney and Rajasthan's meetha-nimbu chutney", being "more sweet-savoury than spicy". It suggests that the pickle could be "one of India’s most long-lasting gifts to the British."

Brand history

Branston Pickle was first made in 1922 in the village of Branston near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, by Crosse & Blackwell. The Branston factory proved to be uneconomical, and production was moved to the Crosse & Blackwell subsidiary E Lazenby & Sons in Bermondsey, London, where it invested in new buildings in 1924 and 1926, which remained in use until 1969.

Additional Branston products have included mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, salad cream, baked beans, piccalilli, and "rich and fruity" brown sauce. From around 2003, Walkers produced a variety of crisps called "Cheese and Branston Pickle". They had been discontinued by 2023.

In 1960, Nestlé bought the Crosse & Blackwell Group. In 2004, Nestlé sold the pickle business to Premier Foods and production was moved to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. In late 2012, Premier Foods sold the Branston brand to Japanese food manufacturer Mizkan Group for £92.5 million, joining Sarson's vinegar and Hayward's pickled onions as recent Premier Foods to Mizkan brand acquisitions. The Bury St Edmunds plant continues to manufacture Branston products. in Europe, the Crosse & Blackwell brand was sold separately to Princes Group. Over 17 million jars a year are sold in the UK.

In October 2005, Premier Foods launched Branston Baked Beans. The marketing and promotion of this product were aimed at challenging Heinz's dominance of the UK baked bean market. This marketing included an advert, featuring a Branston Bean Tin explaining how Branston Beans are very "saucy". Promotional activities included a 'Great British Bean Poll' where members of the public across the country were invited to blind taste both 'the brand leader' (assumed to be Heinz) and Branston. In the poll, 76% of participants picked Branston over Heinz. Heinz elected to change their recipe in the face of this aggressive activity. Also in 2005, Premier Foods attempted to leverage the traditional Branston Pickle brand name by producing Branston Relishes in four different flavours: Hot Chilli & Jalapeño, Gherkin, Sweet Onion and Tomato & Red Pepper.

Around November 2015, a sweet chili-flavoured pickle was launched, and the brand's rich and fruity sauce was re-launched, along with two new sauce flavours, rich and spicy and rich and smoky. In 2017, Branston launched its tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and brown sauce lines in single-serving sachet packaging.

References

Sources

References

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12. "Walkers Cheese and Branston Pickle Flavour Crisps".
13. (7 October 2023). "All of the Walkers crisp flavours you can no longer get after Worcestershire sauce axe".
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16. (1992). "Tuttle guide to the single European market: a comprehensive handbook". [[C. E. Tuttle Co.]].
17. (2 November 2004). "Pickle 'demand rises' after fire".
18. (30 October 2012). "Branston sold by Premier Foods to Japan's Mizkan". [[BBC News]].
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21. Gill, Joe. (21 February 2006). "Heinz to change baked beans recipe as it faces Branston challenge".
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23. (4 November 2015). "Branston launches new flavoured pickle and table sauces".
24. Panthaki, Fabian. (27 October 2017). "Mizkan Expands Foodservice Offers From Branston, Sarson's".