Jacob's facts for kids
Jacob's is a well-known brand that makes many kinds of biscuits and crackers. You can find Jacob's products in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The brand is owned by different companies in different parts of the world. In Ireland, it's part of the Valeo Foods group. In the UK, United Biscuits (which is part of Pladis) makes Jacob's products. In Asia, Mondelez International handles the brand.
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The Story of Jacob's Biscuits
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Jacob's started as a small bakery in 1851. It was founded by two brothers, William Beale Jacob and Robert Jacob, in Waterford, Ireland. A year later, in 1852, they moved their business to Dublin. Their factory in Peter's Row became quite famous. During the Easter Rising in 1916, rebels even used the Jacob's factory building.
In 1914, Jacob's opened its first factory in England. This factory was in Aintree, Liverpool. It still makes many Jacob's products today, like Cream Crackers and Twiglets.
How Jacob's Companies Grew Apart and Came Back Together
In 1922, the English part of Jacob's became a separate company. The Dublin company kept the name W. & R. Jacob. The Liverpool company was called Jacob's Bakery Ltd. Later, in 1966, the Dublin company joined with another biscuit maker to form Irish Biscuits Ltd. They moved to a new factory in Tallaght, Dublin, in 1973.
The Liverpool factory joined a group called Associated Biscuits in 1960. Then, a company called Nabisco bought them in 1982.
But in 1990, the two Jacob's companies came back together! A French company, Groupe Danone, bought both of them. However, in 2004, the Jacob's Biscuit Group was split again. United Biscuits bought the UK part, and an Irish company called Fruitfield Foods bought the Irish part. Fruitfield Foods later became the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, which is now part of Valeo Foods.
Even after these changes, the companies had some disagreements about using the Jacob's brand name. Also, in 2007, Kraft Foods bought Danone's biscuit business. This meant that Mondelez International (which is now part of Kraft Foods) started making and selling Jacob's biscuits in Malaysia.
The Aintree factory in the UK is very busy. In 2015, it made over 55,000 tonnes of products. By 2022, it was making 4,000 tonnes of crackers each year.
Workers' Rights and Jacob's Factories
The Jacob's factory in Dublin had tough working conditions a long time ago. A brave activist named Rosie Hackett worked there as a messenger. In 1911, she helped women workers stop working to support their male colleagues who were already on strike. A strike is when workers stop working to demand better pay or conditions. With the women's help, the men got better conditions and more pay.
Two weeks later, Rosie Hackett helped start the Irish Women Workers' Union. This union helped women workers. During a big worker dispute in Dublin in 1913, Rosie helped Jacob's workers join other workers in solidarity. Because of her actions, Jacob's fired her in 1914.
In 2009, after 156 years of making biscuits in Ireland, Jacob Fruitfield closed its Tallaght factory. About 220 jobs were lost, but the company kept around 100 staff in other roles.
More recently, in November 2022, workers at the Aintree factory in the UK went on strike. They were trying to get a better pay agreement. The company temporarily moved some production to Portugal. The workers are supported by their union, the GMB.
Jacob's Products: Crackers and Biscuits
Jacob's makes a huge variety of crackers and biscuits. Here are some of their popular products:
Crackers for Toppings
These crackers are great for putting cheese or other toppings on.
- Cream crackers
- Biscuits For Cheese
- Savoury Favourites
- Flatbreads (like Salt & Pepper or Mixed Seeds)
- Crispbreads (like Chive or Mixed Seed)
- Ciabatta (Sundried Tomato & Basil or Original)
- Krackawheat
- Choice Grain
- Sourdough
- Butter Puffs
- Cornish Wafers
- High Fibre
Snackable Crackers
These are perfect for snacking on their own.
- Savours (Salt and Pepper, Sour Cream & Chive, Cheese, Sweet Chilli)
- Cheddars (Pickle, Cheese, Smoky BBQ)
Mini Cheddars
Mini Cheddars are small, cheesy crackers.
- Mini Cheddars Original
- Mini Cheddars Red Leicester
- Mini Cheddars Smoky BBQ
- Mini Cheddars Nacho Cheese & Jalapeño
- Mini Cheddars Chipotle Chicken Wings
- Mini Cheddars Lime & Chilli
- Mini Cheddars Strathdon Blue Cheese
- Mini Cheddars Dragon's Breath Chilli Cheddar
- Mini Cheddars Ploughman's Cheshire Cheese
Mini Cheddars Sticks
These are shaped like sticks.
- Rich & Tangy Cheddar
- Grilled Cheddar & Sizzling Steak
Cracker Crisps
Thin and crispy crackers.
- Salt & Vinegar
- Sour Cream & Chive
- Sour Cream & Chive Caddies
Bites
Small, bite-sized crackers.
- Red Leicester
- Mature Cheddar & Caramelised Onion
- Smoked Paprika
- Sweet Chilli & Sour Cream
Crinklys
Crinkly-shaped crackers.
- Variety Pack (Cheese & Onion, Chilli Beef, Salt & Vinegar)
- Cheese & Onion
Twiglets
Twiglets are crunchy, savoury snacks shaped like twigs.
- Twiglets Multipack
- Twiglets Caddies
Cheeselets
Small, cheesy snacks.
- Cheeselets Caddies
- Cheeselets 125g
Mallow Biscuits
These biscuits have a soft, sweet marshmallow filling.
- Mikado: Has marshmallow, desiccated coconut, and raspberry jam.
- Kimberley: Ginger-flavored biscuits with a marshmallow center and sugar crystals.
- Elite: A Mikado biscuit covered in chocolate.
- Coconut Cream: Biscuits with a pink and white marshmallow center and coconut.
- X's & O's: Sold in the 1970s and 1990s.
- Camelot: A square version of Mikado, sold in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
- Chocolate Mallows
Other Popular Biscuits
Jacob's also makes many other classic biscuits.
- Digestive
- Fig Rolls
- Polo
- Rich Tea
- Shortbread
- Shortcake
- Goldgrain
- Crunchers
- Rings
- Ginger Nut
- Lincoln
- Marietta
- Windmill
- Lemon Puff
- Custard cream
- Bourbon
- Nice
- Wafer (often used in ice cream sandwiches)
Chocolate Bars
Jacob's has also made some chocolate bars.
- Club Milk: Comes in Dark, Original, Orange, Mint, White Chocolate, Wafer, and Chunky versions.
- Trio
- Busker (1984–1987)
- Telax (late 1970s and most of the 1980s)
Jacob's Advertisements
Jacob's has had many memorable advertisements on Irish television.
- One popular phrase was "How To Get The Fig Into The Fig Rolls."
- Around 1975, an ad for Club Milk encouraged people to take a break.
- In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were funny ads for chocolate biscuits featuring actors Frank Kelly and Maureen Potter. These ads showed a German professor and South Americans disagreeing on how to say "Jacob's."
- In the mid-1980s, a space science ad was used for the Telax bar.
- The late 1980s and early 1990s had a popular series of ads called "Take The Biscuit."
- In 1992, a song for the Chocolate Collection went, "It's The Same Chocolate With A Different Biscuit Under It."
- When Camelot biscuits were around, a cartoon about the Children of Lir featured Irish history.
- In 1996, an ad for "The Chocolate Biscuit" featured a cake.
- In the late 2000s, a jingle called "Somekind Of Wonderful" was used.
See also
- Jacob's Awards
