Ginsters facts for kids
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| Ltd | |
| Industry | Food, pastry |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Callington, Cornwall, UK |
| Products | Pasties, sandwiches, snacks |
| Owner | Samworth Brothers |
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Number of employees
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700+ |
Ginsters is a well-known food company. It is based in Callington, a town in Cornwall, in the south-west of England. Ginsters is the largest maker of pasties in the UK. They specialize in making many different kinds of pasties, sausage rolls, sandwiches, and other savory snacks. Since 1977, the company has been owned by Mark and David Samworth.
Contents
The Story of Ginsters
Ginsters started its journey in 1969. The founder, Geoffrey Ginster, moved to Cornwall. He decided to start a business making Cornish pasties. He began in an old building that used to pack eggs. At first, there were only four people working there.
Geoffrey Ginster started making pasties using a "secret recipe." He said he got it from a ship's cook! Production slowly grew. By 1970, about 30 people were making 48,000 pasties every day.
Initially, Ginsters pasties were sold in small shops. You could find them in pubs, cafes, and corner stores. They were sold in Plymouth and other nearby seaside towns. Later, they started selling them all over southern England.
Growth and Modernization
In 1977, Geoffrey Ginster retired. He sold the business to a company called Samworth Brothers. This led to even more growth and new ideas. An empty factory next door was bought and made new. It was filled with modern machines for baking and packing. This new factory was named the Tamar Bakery. It was later made even bigger with more automated machines.
By 1984, Ginsters was making 1.5 million pasties every week! It became the biggest employer in East Cornwall's private sector. In 1987, a brand new bakery was built next to the Tamar Bakery. It was named Lynher Bakery, after the nearby River Lynher.
Reaching More People
In 1990, Ginsters started advertising their products. They wanted more people to know about their tasty snacks. This helped their Original Cornish Pasty to be sold in big supermarkets. You could also find them in petrol stations, convenience stores, and motorway service stations across Britain.
Ginsters says their Original Cornish Pasty is the best-selling savory pastry. They claim to have sold 450 million of them over twenty years!
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A Ginsters delivery van
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A train with Ginsters' colors at Crewe railway station
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Rory Fallon from Plymouth Argyle F.C. wearing a Ginsters sponsored shirt
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Ginsters Products
Ginsters' most popular product is the Original Cornish Pasty. These pasties received a special status in 2011. It's called "protected geographical indication" (PGI). This means only pasties made in Cornwall, following a certain recipe, can be called "Cornish Pasties." Ginsters still uses its original recipe for this product.
Since the 1990s, Ginsters has added many new items to its range. These include different kinds of pasties, savory slices, sausage rolls, pork pies, hot pies, snacks, sandwiches, flatbreads, wraps, and packaged salads. Ginsters says they get their ingredients from farms close by in Cornwall.
Vegan Options
Since 2019, Ginsters has also started making vegan products. For example, their Moroccan vegetable pasty won an award in 2020. In 2021, they added more vegan pasty fillings. These include Bombay potato and spinach, and Cajun Spiced Sweet Potato and Chickpea.
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Ginsters vegan Bombay potato and spinach pasty
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Ginsters vegan quorn pasty
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Ginsters vegan Moroccan spiced vegetable pasty
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Sponsorships
Ginsters loves to support sports! From 2002 to 2011, they sponsored the football club Plymouth Argyle F.C.. They started sponsoring them again in 2016 with a new three-year deal. Ginsters also sponsors local sports teams like Callington Town FC, Callington Rugby Club, and Launceston Rugby Club.
In 2019, Ginsters became the main sponsor for Speedworks Motorsport. This team races Toyota Corolla cars in the 2019 British Touring Car Championship. The team was known as Team Toyota GB with Ginsters.
