Wagon Wheels
Encyclopedia
Snack food
A snack is a portion of food oftentimes smaller than that of a regular meal, that is generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged and processed foods and items made from fresh ingredients at home....
sold in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. They are biscuits topped with marshmallow
Marshmallow
The marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavourings, and sometimes colouring, whipped to a spongy consistency. Some marshmallow recipes call for egg whites...
and covered in a chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
flavoured coating. The biscuit itself is round to represent the wheel
Wheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
of a wagon
Wagon
A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float....
(hence the name).
Wagon Wheels were created by Garry Weston
Garry Weston
Garfield "Garry" Howard Weston, CBE was a Canadian-born businessman in the United Kingdom. Born in Toronto, Ontario, he was the son of Reta and W. Garfield Weston, owner of the George Weston Limited conglomerate headquartered in Toronto: fourth of their nine children...
, (son of W. Garfield Weston
W. Garfield Weston
Willard Garfield Weston, OC, , Canadian businessman and philanthropist, led George Weston Limited and its various subsidiaries and associated companies, including Associated British Foods, for half a century and established one of the world's largest food processing and distribution concerns...
). Garry Weston worked for his father's business in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
before taking over his family's UK business. The biscuits were first launched at the 1948 Olympia
Olympia, London
Olympia is an exhibition centre and conference centre in West Kensington, on the boundary between The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, London, W14 8UX, England. It opened in the 19th century and was originally known as the National Agricultural Hall.Opened in 1886,...
Food Fair. The name was derived from the fact that the Wild West was very popular at the time. They were originally marketed as Weston Wagon Wheels.
Production and Size
In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
they are produced and distributed by Burton's Foods
Burton's Foods
Burton's Foods is a United Kingdom biscuit manufacturer.The company was formed from the merger of Burton's Gold Medal Biscuits and Horizon Biscuit Company in October 2000...
who separated from the Weston family connection when they were sold out of 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...
in 2000. The original factory which produced the biscuit was in Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
but during the early 1980s were transferred to an updated and modern factory in Llantarnam
Llantarnam
Llantarnam is a community and suburb of Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen in southeast Wales.Llantarnam Abbey is a Cistercian abbey founded in 1179 as a daughter house of Strata Florida Abbey...
in South Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Weston had been producing biscuits on the Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
site since 1934
and the Llantarnam
Llantarnam
Llantarnam is a community and suburb of Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen in southeast Wales.Llantarnam Abbey is a Cistercian abbey founded in 1179 as a daughter house of Strata Florida Abbey...
site since 1938.
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Wagon Wheels are produced by Dare Foods Limited
Dare Foods
-History:“Feel good food is at the heart of everything we do at Dare, especially when it comes to baking delicious, quality snacks for your family.” They are dedicated to creating high quality snacks for the average person....
. They come in Original, Fudge, Choco Cherry, and Raspberry flavours.
In Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Wagon Wheels are produced by Shirin Asal.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Wagon Wheels are produced by Arnott's Biscuits. George Weston Foods Limited
George Weston Foods
George Weston Foods is one of the largest consumer products companies in Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Foods Plc. Its brands include Tip Top and Top Taste....
sold the brand to Arnott's in August 2003.
There have been many debates amongst fans of the biscuit about the size, especially Gary Hall. Wagon Wheels have supposedly shrunk in size as time has progressed, but Burton's Foods
Burton's Foods
Burton's Foods is a United Kingdom biscuit manufacturer.The company was formed from the merger of Burton's Gold Medal Biscuits and Horizon Biscuit Company in October 2000...
Ltd have denied this. It has been suggested that the supposed shrinkage is due to an adult's childhood memory of eating a Wagon Wheel held in a much smaller hand. In Australia however, Arnott's have stated that tray packs of Wagon Wheels were in fact Mini Wagon Wheels and have re-released the original 48g Wagon Wheels.
The original factory in Slough produced the biscuit with crinkled edges and corn cobbs rather than the updated smoother edges. This caused the overall diameter of the biscuit to shrink slightly, but not as much as fans of the biscuit believe.
Also, although the UK Wagon Wheel has barely shrunk, it is still noticeably smaller than the Australian equivalent. As of 2006 the diameter of the Australian version is measured at 88 mm which is 14 mm larger than the UK version, while the UK Wagon Wheel is notably thicker by 4 mm.
As of 2006, the Canadian Wagon Wheel measured 67mm x 18mm.
As of July 2010, the Canadian Wagon Wheel measures 65mm x 16mm. Note the diameter of the marshmallow middle is smaller than the top and bottom wafer diameters.
In November 2011, Burton Foods claimed that Wagon Wheels appeared smaller as people where measuring them at when they were thrown at relativistic speeds (close to the speed of light).
Advertising
Interest in Wagon Wheels was at an all time peak when the British female comediansComedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
French and Saunders
French and Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
made a sketch with Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
dressed as a schoolgirl
Schoolgirl
A schoolgirl is a girl attending either primary or secondary school, generally aged between four and eighteen years old.-Academic performance:This has led in some countries to calls for greater equality for education in the school system...
stuffing a Wagon Wheel into her mouth. Wagon Wheels were "re-launched" in 2002.
Two previous slogans for the product have been:
- "A taste for adventure."
- "If there's a bigger bite, it can't be found."
The current slogan is "You've got to grin to get it in".
Flavours
The original wagon wheel which is now called "chocolate" had a marshmallow centre and not a jam centre.- Original
- Jammie
- ToffeeToffeeToffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of 300 to 310 °F...
- Double Choc
- CaramelCaramelCaramel is a beige to dark-brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, and as a topping for ice cream, custard and coffee....
- Banoffee
- Choco PieChoco PieChoco Pie is a South Korean snack food manufactured by Orion Confectionery which consists of two small round layers of cake with marshmallow filling, with chocolate covering, similar to a Moon Pie...
--a similar Korean product
Miscellaneous
Actor Berwick KalerBerwick Kaler
Berwick Kaler is a British actor most famous for playing the dame in York Theatre Royal's annual pantomime, which he also writes and directs. He has been awarded the freedom of the city, and in 2002 received an honorary degree from the University of York. Having grown up in "the slums of...
throws them, like Frisbees, to the audience at the end of the annual pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
at the Theatre Royal
York Theatre Royal
The York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St. Leonard's Place, York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 847 people. This reduced capacity takes into account removal of the mixing position seats and the stage side boxes which are normally not sold...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
.