![]() ![]() ‘Rowntree’s also helped change the eating habits of the country by making boxes of chocolates affordable and helping chocolate bars become part of a grocery shop and not just a luxury item. ‘Previously products were named after members of the Royal family, but this changed and products got their own names and became brands in themselves. ‘The company was the first to conduct market research and provide what the customers wanted. ‘He also made Chocolate Dragée known as Chocolate Beans. His pastilles were called ‘Rowntree’s Pastilles’ and of course it was pronounced in a Yorkshire accent. ‘Rowntree hired him and made the decision to sell sweets. No frills and fancy: The standard assortment range (left) in the 1950s, versus the luxury range with hand-painted boxes In 1882 Gaget created ‘Chocolate Beans’ - or Smarties as they became known when they were rebranded in the 1930s. The company then became known for its sweets and chocolate. These later became Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums. They were called Rowntree’s Pastilles and Rowntree’s Clear Gums. There was also an element of luck involved in the early success because shortly after Joseph joined the firm, a Frenchman arrived at the factory trying to sell his ‘Pastilles’.Ĭlaude Gaget was hired in 1879 and asked to create a new range of sweets. Rowntree’s also introduced a ‘frypan and egg poacher’ packed with chocolate as well as a coffee percolator also stuffed with goodies - neither flourished.Īnd the firm made bars that failed the test of taste, including the 1920s ‘motoring chocolate’ and the ‘extra cream’ product of the 1930s. The chocolate bar containing meat and hailed as a health food did not last long and the novelty chocolate ‘vanity set’ was short lived. The company was also famed for what it provided for staff: a library, ballroom, village, school rooms, theatre, swimming pool, bank, dentist, allotment and sports ground to name but a few.īut while some of its inventions - such as Smarties, Kit Kats and Aeros - have become institutions, other products have fallen flat.īranding: A 1950s logo for the Rowntree's cocoa works in York It went from simply making the ingredients for a chocolatey drink to creating a host of sweets that have stood the test of time - and, on the way, became pioneering in market research and developing the concept of branding. Luckily Joseph, who ran the business under strict Quaker principles – like Cadbury’s – soon turned the company’s fortunes around. He almost sent the firm bankruptcy before his elder brother Joseph joined him in 1869. The photographs include those of Henry Isaac Rowntree, who founded firm after buying Tuke’s department store’s cocoa production on July 1, 1862. Founders: Henry Isaac Rowntree (left), who launched the firm in 1862, and his brother Joseph Rowntree, pictured with a grandchild, who helped stave off bankruptcy
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