Griffin's Foods facts for kids
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Formerly
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| Fate | Acquired by Nabisco in 1962 |
| Founded | 1864 |
| Founder | John Griffin |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Cookies, chocolate confection, crackers, cereal bars, snacks |
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Number of employees
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800 (2014) |
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List
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The Griffin's Foods Company is a well-known New Zealand food company. It makes popular snacks like cookies, crackers, and chocolate treats. The company started way back in 1864 in Nelson, New Zealand. It was founded by John Griffin, who first opened a flour and cocoa mill. Griffin's began making biscuits in 1890. Today, its main office is in Auckland. Over the years, Griffin's has been owned by several different companies. Since 2021, it has been fully owned by Intersnack.
Contents
The Story of Griffin's
Griffin's was started by John Griffin, who came from England. He began his business in Nelson, New Zealand, in 1864. John first opened a bakery shop in 1855. After an earthquake damaged it, he moved away. A few years later, he returned to Nelson.
By the 1880s, Griffin's was making biscuits. They started selling confectionery in 1886. In the 1890s, they also produced candied fruit peels. By the late 1900s, they were even selling drinking cocoa. Most of their products were made at their factory in Christchurch.
Growth and Changes
John Griffin passed away in 1893. His sons, J.H. and G.R. Griffin, continued the family business. In 1895, a big fire caused a lot of damage. To help rebuild and grow, they turned the company into a public company. This meant they could get more money from investors. In 1897, they bought a chocolate factory.
Griffin's grew even more during World War II. They made special biscuits for the army. This helped the biscuit industry become very important in New Zealand. In 1938, Griffin's opened a new factory in Lower Hutt. All their biscuit making moved there. The Nelson factory then focused only on confectionery. In 1959, Griffin's bought a rival company called Southern Cross Biscuit Factory.
New Owners and Expansions
In 1962, a big company called Nabisco bought Griffin's. Griffin's then bought another confectionery maker, Sweetacres, in 1971. They also added Huntley & Palmers crackers to their products. Two years later, Griffin's bought "Eta Foods," which included snacks and potato chips.
In 1988, Nabisco closed the original Nelson factory. This change affected many jobs. In 1989, Griffin's bought Hudson's, another biscuit company. With this, they gained the rights to the famous Cookie Bear character.
Nabisco later split up its businesses. In 1990, Britannia Foods bought Griffin's. But by December of that same year, Danone bought Griffin's from Britannia Foods.
Recent Years
In 2006, Danone sold Griffin's to Pacific Equity Partners. A year later, Griffin's bought "Nice & Natural Wrapped Snacks." This made Griffin's a top snack food maker in New Zealand.
In 2008, the Lower Hutt factory closed. All production moved to the Auckland sites. In 2009, Griffin's moved some of its biscuit production to Fiji.
In 2014, Pacific Equity Partners sold Griffin's Foods. A company from the Philippines, Universal Robina, bought it for NZ$700 million. In 2015, Universal Robina announced plans to sell Griffin's products in Southeast Asia.
In 2019, Universal Robina and a German company called Intersnack created a joint company called Unisnack ANZ. This included Griffin's and Snack Brands Australia. In 2021, Universal Robina sold its share of Unisnack ANZ to Intersnack. This means Intersnack now fully owns Griffin's.
What Griffin's Makes
The company makes many different food products:
| Brand | Products |
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| Griffin's | Cookies, chocolate confection, crackers, muesli bars |
| Eta | Potato chips, nachos, cheese puffs |
| Nice & Natural | Muesli bars, protein bars |
| Huntley & Palmers | Crackers |
| Kettle | Potato chips |
Popular Biscuits
- Cameo Creme
- Chit Chat
- Chocolate Fingers
- Digestive
- Squiggles
- Toffee Pops
- Cookie Bear Hundreds & Thousands
See also
- Huntley & Palmers
- List of food companies
