Hovis facts for kids
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| Limited company | |
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | Macclesfield, Cheshire, United Kingdom (1886) |
| Headquarters | High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire |
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Key people
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Jon Jenkins CEO |
| Products | Bread, flour |
| Owner | Endless LLP |
Hovis Ltd is a British company that makes flour, yeast, and bread. It started making a lot of products in Macclesfield in 1886.
Hovis joined a bigger company called Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) in 1962. RHM, which owned brands like Hovis, was later bought by Premier Foods in 2007. In 2014, Hovis became its own company again. This happened when Premier Foods sold part of Hovis to The Gores Group.
In 2020, both The Gores Group and Premier Foods sold their shares in Hovis. A British company called Endless LLP bought Hovis.
Hovis is known for its special wholemeal flour. This flour has a lot of wheat germ, which is the part of the grain that helps it grow. Hovis also makes a lighter bread called Nimble.
Contents
The Story of Hovis
The Hovis brand began in 1886. A man named Richard "Stoney" Smith created the special Hovis process in 1887. S. Fitton & Sons Ltd helped develop the brand. They milled the flour and sold it with Hovis baking tins to other bakers.
The name "Hovis" was created in 1890. A student from London named Herbert Grime won a competition to find a name for the special flour. He won £25 for coming up with "Hovis." The name comes from the Latin words hominis vis, which mean "the strength of man." In 1898, the company became the Hovis Bread Flour Company Limited.
Hovis became even more popular in 1924. This was when people learned that wheat germ had many important B vitamins.
Famous Hovis Adverts
Hovis has had many memorable advertisements over the years. In 1926, an advert showed electric trains with special codes. These codes spelled out H-O-V-I-S. This helped people remember the brand.
The "Boy on the Bike" Advert
In 1973, Hovis made a very famous TV advert called Boy on the Bike. It was filmed by Ridley Scott, who later directed movies like Alien. The advert showed a boy pushing his bike up a steep hill. The music was a slow part of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, played by brass instruments.
This advert was filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset. Many people have voted it Britain's favourite advert of all time. The boy in the advert, Carl Barlow, was 13 years old at the time. He later became a firefighter.
In 2006, the "Boy on the Bike" advert was shown on British TV again. This was to celebrate Hovis's 120th birthday.
The "Go On Lad" Advert
In 2008, Hovis created a new advert called Go On Lad. This advert looked back at 122 years of British history since Hovis started. It showed how Hovis has been a part of people's lives. The British public voted Go On Lad the "Advert of the Decade" in 2009.
Hovis Map Books
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Hovis Ltd. also published map books. These books included adverts for their products. In 1899, they made eight map books for cyclists, covering England and Wales. Later, in 1920, they published Where to Go and How to Get There: Hovis Road Map of England, Wales and Scotland. Several versions of this book were printed over the years.
Hovis Biscuits
Since 1980, Hovis has allowed Jacob's to make a digestive biscuit called Hovis. These biscuits are now made by United Biscuits. They look like a small, flat version of a Hovis loaf of bread. They even have the word "HOVIS" stamped on top.
Recycling Bread Bags
Hovis cares about the environment. They worked with TerraCycle on The Bread Bag Recycling Programme. This program helps people recycle used bread bags. You can drop off bags at special places or mail them. The bags are then recycled at a special plant. People who join the program can earn points. These points can be used for gifts to charities or payments to non-profit groups.
