Branston (brand)

Branstonis an English foodbrandbest known for the originalBranston Pickle, a sweet pickle first made in 1922 in the village ofBranstonnearBurton upon Trent,Staffordshire, byCrosse & Blackwell.The Branston factory proved to be uneconomical, and production was moved to Crosse & Blackwell subsidiary, E Lazenby & Sons inBermondsey, London, where it invested in new buildings in 1924 and 1926, which remained in use until 1969.
In 2004, the pickle business was sold byNestlétoPremier Foodsand production was moved toBury St EdmundsinSuffolk.Premier Foods sold the brand toMizkanin 2013,at which time it ceased to be labelled as Crosse and Blackwell because in Europe this name was sold separately toPrinces Group. Over 17 million jars a year are sold in the UK.
Branston Pickle is made from a variety of diced vegetables, includingswede, carrots, onions and cauliflower pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and spices.While not achutney, 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 aploughman's lunch, a popular menu item in Britishpubs.It is also frequently combined with cheese in sandwiches, and many sandwich shops in the UK offercheese and pickleas an option.It is available in the standard 'chunky' version, a 'small chunk' variety, and a 'smooth' variety that is pureed, which makes it easier to spread onto bread; convenient squeeze-bottle packs are amongst the range. Branston also has flavoured pickles including Sweet Chilli and Beetroot flavoured pickle.
Additional Branston products includemayonnaise,tomato ketchup,piccalilli,brown sauce,salad cream, andbaked beans.
In October 2005,Premier Foodslaunched Branston Baked Beans. The marketing and promotion of this product were aimed at challengingHeinz's dominance of the UKbaked beanmarket.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.
Premier Foods also 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 andbrown saucelines in single-servingsachetpackaging.
Walkersonce produced a variety of crisps called "Cheese and Branston Pickle".
In late 2012, it was announced that as part of an aggressive debt reduction strategy, Premier Foods would be selling the Branston brand to Japanese food manufacturerMizkanGroup for £92.5 million, joiningSarson'svinegar andHayward's pickled onionsas recent Premier Foods to Mizkan brand acquisitions.The Bury St Edmunds plant continues to manufacture Branston products.