Golden Wonder facts for kids
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| Snack manufacturer | |
| Industry | Snack Products |
| Founded | 1947, in Stoneyburn, near Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Founder | William Alexander |
| Headquarters | North Lincolnshire, England |
| Products | Golden Wonder, Transform-A-Snack, Ringos |
| Owner | Tayto |
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Number of employees
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 800 (2012) |
Golden Wonder is a well-known British company that makes yummy snack foods, especially crisps. Some of their popular snacks include Ringos, Golden Wonder crisps, and Transform-A-Snack. Since 2006, it has been part of a company called Tayto, which is based in Northern Ireland. Tayto bought Golden Wonder when it was facing some financial difficulties.
Golden Wonder started in 1947. By the 1960s, it was the most popular crisp brand in Britain. It even became more popular than Smiths. However, later on, another brand called Walkers became the top crisp brand in the UK.
Contents
The Story of Golden Wonder
How Golden Wonder Started
The company was founded in 1947 by a man named William Alexander. He owned a bakery in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland. William started making crisps to use the deep-fat fryers when they weren't busy making doughnuts. He named his company after the Golden Wonder potato. He believed this type of potato was the very best for making delicious crisps.
Growing Bigger and Changing Hands
In 1952, Golden Wonder moved to a special factory built just for making crisps in Sighthill. A big company called Imperial Tobacco bought Golden Wonder in 1961. By the early 1960s, Golden Wonder was making crisps at three more locations. These were in Broxburn, Widnes, and Corby. Another factory in Crumlin even made "Pot Noodle."
In March 1987, a company called Dalgety plc bought Golden Wonder. This happened when Imperial Tobacco was being split up by its new owner, Hanson plc. Sadly, a fire at the Corby factory in 1988 destroyed many old company papers and photos. In February 1992, Dalgety plc also bought Sooner Snacks. This company made popular snacks like Nik Naks and Wheat Crunchies. Sooner Snacks then became part of Golden Wonder.
New Owners and Milestones
In 1995, the managers of Golden Wonder bought the company themselves for £54.6 million. Then, in 2000, another company called Bridgepoint Capital bought it for £156 million. Finally, in January 2006, Tayto bought Golden Wonder. Tayto is a company based in Tandragee, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
Some famous brands that used to be part of Golden Wonder include "Wotsits," "Ringos," and "Jungle Fresh" peanuts. "Pot Noodle" also used to be a Golden Wonder brand. However, the Pot Noodle brand was sold to Unilever, so it no longer had Golden Wonder's name on it. In July 1995, Best Foods paid Dalgety plc about $280 million for the Pot Noodle business. After Tayto bought Golden Wonder in 2006, the Nik Naks and Wheat Crunchies brands were sold to United Biscuits.
In 2022, Golden Wonder celebrated its 75th anniversary. This makes it one of the oldest crisp brands in Scotland!
Golden Wonder Products
New Flavours and Fun Shapes
Golden Wonder was a pioneer in crisp flavours. In 1962, they launched the cheese & onion crisp flavour. This idea for flavoured crisps was first created by Tayto in Ireland in 1953.
In the 1970s, Golden Wonder made a line of crisps shaped like shells. They were called Rock 'n' Roller Crisps. These crisps came in salt & vinegar, cheese & onion, and crispy bacon flavours. Golden Wonder stopped making them in the 1980s.
Famous Slogans
In the 1980s, Golden Wonder claimed on TV and on their packets to be Britain's Noisiest Crisp. This meant they were super crunchy! In the 1990s, they had a popular series of TV adverts. These ads showed grown-ups acting like kids. The ads had another famous slogan: You'll never grow old in Golden Wonderland!
Today's Products
In 2009, the Golden Wonder brand started to be used by Symingtons Ltd. They used the name for instant noodles like The Nation's Noodle and The Nation's Pasta. This new range of noodles is similar to the Pot Noodle range that Golden Wonder used to make. Now, Golden Wonder's name is also on snacks that used to be made by Red Mill. Red Mill was another snack company that Tayto took over.
Golden Wonder now makes many different flavours of potato crisps. They also own the XL Crisp brand. Golden Wonder used to own the Wotsits brand. But when the company changed hands in May 2002, Wotsits was sold separately to their rival, Walkers. Other snacks like Wheat Crunchies, Chips & Burgers, and the corn-based Nik Naks are now owned by KP.
Facing Challenges and New Beginnings
On January 9, 2006, Golden Wonder faced financial difficulties. This put about 800 jobs at risk. On January 13, 2006, it was announced that the Corby, Northamptonshire factory would be taken over by Tayto. Tayto also took over the contract for Mini Pringles, which Golden Wonder produced.
This news meant that 195 out of 350 jobs at the Corby site would be saved at first. On January 20, 2006, it was announced that Tayto would buy all of Golden Wonder's operations in the United Kingdom. This included the Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire factory. However, Tayto decided to sell the Wheat Crunchies and Nik Naks brands to United Biscuits.
