Jordans (company)
Encyclopedia
Jordans is a company that makes brands of crunchy oat and nut cereal (similar to muesli
) based in Biggleswade
in Bedfordshire
.
Road in Biggleswade, situated next to the River Ivel
, was bought by William Herbert Jordan in 1855. It burnt down in 1899. It produced flour until 1972, when W. Jordan (Cereals) Ltd, the present-day company, was formed. It is run by Bill and David Jordan, who are partners
of the company. There is a factory shop in Langford, Bedfordshire
. Its main product it started with, and still produces, is called Crunchy Oats, which is based on Granola
.
In 1981, Waitrose
began to stock their products. Country Crisp was introduced in 1991. In 2005, Bill Jordan was made a MBE
. In April, 2003, it won a Queen's Awards for Enterprise
. Luxury Bars were introduced in 2004.
In September, 2007, it sold 20% of its company to Associated British Foods
(ABF), who make Ryvita
.
, the company is concerned about the rapid decline in the bee population
. It started the Big Buzz campaign in May 2009, with the help of the British Beekeepers' Association and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
.
. It produced vending machines for schools filled with healthy food.
, Nestlé
and Weetabix. 25% of their produce is exported, with France
being an important market with half their exports going there where it is the country's best-selling muesli cereal. The brand leader of crunchy muesli in the UK is their Luxury Crunchy. They belong to the Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers, which is a member of the European Breakfast Cereal Association.
, pecan
, Brazil nut
and almond
.
Muesli
Muesli is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital...
) based in Biggleswade
Biggleswade
Biggleswade is a market town and civil parish located on the River Ivel in Bedfordshire, England. It is well served by transport routes, being close to the A1 road between London and the North, as well as having a railway station on the main rail link North from London .-Geography:Located about 40...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
.
History
Holme Mills on LangfordLangford, Bedfordshire
Langford is a village and civil parish situated alongside the River Ivel in the county of Bedfordshire.-Origins:The village is of Saxon origin, first mentioned in 944AD. and at one time it had one or more fording points across the river. The name is based on the words long ford from the length of...
Road in Biggleswade, situated next to the River Ivel
River Ivel
The River Ivel is a river in the east of England. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse.-Course of the Ivel:The river Ivel rises just north of Baldock in Hertfordshire, but most of its course lies within Bedfordshire. It flows through Stotfold, Arlesey, Henlow, Langford, Biggleswade, Sandy and...
, was bought by William Herbert Jordan in 1855. It burnt down in 1899. It produced flour until 1972, when W. Jordan (Cereals) Ltd, the present-day company, was formed. It is run by Bill and David Jordan, who are partners
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
of the company. There is a factory shop in Langford, Bedfordshire
Langford, Bedfordshire
Langford is a village and civil parish situated alongside the River Ivel in the county of Bedfordshire.-Origins:The village is of Saxon origin, first mentioned in 944AD. and at one time it had one or more fording points across the river. The name is based on the words long ford from the length of...
. Its main product it started with, and still produces, is called Crunchy Oats, which is based on Granola
Granola
Granola is a breakfast food and snack food, popular in North America, consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey, and sometimes rice, that is usually baked until crisp. During the baking process the mixture is stirred to maintain a loose, breakfast cereal-type consistency...
.
In 1981, Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
began to stock their products. Country Crisp was introduced in 1991. In 2005, Bill Jordan was made a MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
. In April, 2003, it won a Queen's Awards for Enterprise
Queen's Awards for Enterprise
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses...
. Luxury Bars were introduced in 2004.
In September, 2007, it sold 20% of its company to Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods plc is a global food, ingredients and retail company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its ingredients division is the world's second largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major producer of other ingredients including emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose...
(ABF), who make Ryvita
Ryvita
Ryvita is a rye-based crispbread which up until 2009 was manufactured by The Ryvita Company. The company was founded in Birmingham, England, in 1930 and is today a subsidiary of Associated British Foods. Ryvita crackers are popular with dieters...
.
Cereal bars
In 1979, it produced the UK's first breakfast/cereal bar called Original Crunchy. Jordans now produces 4 different cereal bars including Frusli which contains 25% fruit, Breakfast Bars, Luxury Absolute Nut Bar and Original Crunchy Bars.Conservation Grade
Jordans use oats which are grown by Conservation Grade farmers around Britain who are paid a premium to create nature-friendly habitats on 10% of their farmed land.Nature reserve
Jordans also has its own Nature Reserve at Pensthorpe in Norfolk which is taking part in high profile projects to bring back the rare European Crane and safeguard British natives such as the red squirrel.Bees preservation
Similar to The Co-operative GroupThe Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
, the company is concerned about the rapid decline in the bee population
Colony Collapse Disorder
Colony collapse disorder is a phenomenon in which worker bees from a beehive or European honey bee colony abruptly disappear. While such disappearances have occurred throughout the history of apiculture, the term colony collapse disorder was first applied to a drastic rise in the number of...
. It started the Big Buzz campaign in May 2009, with the help of the British Beekeepers' Association and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
Bumblebee Conservation Trust
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is an organisation in the UK that makes efforts to conserve bumblebees and their habitat.-History:Due to its position, most of its research work takes place in Scotland. It was formed in June 2006.-News items:* * * * *...
.
Joint-ventures
In 2002, they formed the Organic and Natural Food Company with Yeo Valley OrganicYeo Valley Organic
Yeo Valley Organic is part of a family-owned farming and dairy company based in the village of Blagdon, in the Yeo Valley, and in Cannington, near Bridgwater, Somerset, England-History:...
. It produced vending machines for schools filled with healthy food.
Market share
From 2000-5, its cereals business grew 59%. The company grew 10% per year over the same period. It is the UK's fourth largest cereals manufacturer after KelloggsKellogg Company
Kellogg Company , is a producer of cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles, and vegetarian foods...
, Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
and Weetabix. 25% of their produce is exported, with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
being an important market with half their exports going there where it is the country's best-selling muesli cereal. The brand leader of crunchy muesli in the UK is their Luxury Crunchy. They belong to the Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers, which is a member of the European Breakfast Cereal Association.
Food contents
Types of nut used in the food products include hazelnutCorylus avellana
Corylus avellana, the Common Hazel, is a species of hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Iberia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, north to central Scandinavia, and east to the central Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and northwestern Iran. It is an important component of...
, pecan
Pecan
The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
, Brazil nut
Brazil Nut
The Brazil nut is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seed.- Order :...
and almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
.
Cereals
- MuesliMuesliMuesli is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital...
(Fruit & Nut, Truly Fruity, Nut & Seed, Fruity Fibre, Natural, Organic, Super Berry) - Country Crisp - crunchy oat clusters (Strawberry, Raspberry, Honey, Chunky Nut, Dark Chocolate, Raisin)
- Frusli - cereal/breakfast bar (Truly Tropical, Apple Sultana & Cinnamon, Raisin & Hazelnut, Cranberry & Apple, Red Berries, Blueberry Burst)
- Crunchy Oats (Super Nutty, Raisin & Honey, Special Fruits & Nuts, Tropical and Super Berry Granola)
- Porridge Oats (Chunky Traditional, Organic and Quick & Creamy)
- WheatgermCereal germThe germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed. Along with bran, germ is often a by-product of the milling that produces refined grain products. Cereal grains and their components, such as wheat germ, rice bran, and maize may be used...
& WheatbranBranBran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains. When bran is removed from grains, the grains lose a portion of their...
Cereal bars
- Original Crunchy - Honey & Almond, Coconut, and Butterscotch varieties
- Breakfast in a bar - cereal bar (four flavours)
- Absolute Nut Luxury Bar
External links
News items
- Bees in London in July 2009
- Bees in June 2009
- The Sun June 2009
- 20% of company sold to ABF in September 2007
- Upton Farm in May 2006
- Independent July 2005