Mr Kipling facts for kids
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A pink Mr Kipling French Fancy cake
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| Product type | Cakes |
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| Owner | Premier Foods |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1967 |
| Markets | UK & Ireland |
| Previous owners | Joseph Marassery (RHM) |
Mr Kipling is a very popular brand of cakes, pies, and other baked treats. These yummy snacks are made in places like Carlton, South Yorkshire, and Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom. You can find Mr Kipling cakes not just in the UK, but also in Ireland, Australia, and North America!
The brand started in May 1967. Back then, most people bought their cakes from small, local bakers. Mr Kipling wanted to sell cakes that tasted just as good as those from a local baker, but in supermarkets. This idea worked really well! By 1976, Mr Kipling had become the biggest cake maker in the United Kingdom. Today, the brand is owned by a company called Premier Foods.
Mr Kipling's Cakes were originally made by a company called Manor Bakeries Ltd. This company also made cakes under other well-known names like Lyons and Cadbury. The Cadbury cakes are made with special permission from Cadbury plc, who own the Cadbury brand name.
Contents
How the Brand Started
The Mr Kipling brand was created in the 1960s by a company called Rank Hovis McDougall. They wanted to sell more cakes and use a new bakery they had built. The brand officially launched in 1967 with 20 different products. These cakes were sold in fancy, high-quality boxes. The name "Mr Kipling" was made up just for marketing and advertising!
Famous Slogan and Look
Mr Kipling became famous for its advertising slogan: "exceedingly good cakes." Early TV adverts even featured the voice of actor James Hayter. Thanks to this great advertising, Mr Kipling became the top cake brand in the United Kingdom by 1976. It has kept that leading spot for over forty years! They also started selling smaller, individually wrapped cakes, which are perfect for snacks.
In the early 2000s, the Mr Kipling brand tried a new, more modern look. They used a red oval logo with "Mr Kipling" written in a fancy script. The slogan was shortened to just "Exceedingly Good." Also, the descriptions on the back of the cake boxes no longer sounded like they were written by Mr Kipling himself.
Around 2005, they tried another new logo and package design. The front of the packs simply said "Mr Kipling" and the name of the cake, along with "Exceedingly good cakes" in a more classic style. The only picture of the cake was a close-up used as a background. At this time, the write-ups on the back of the packs again sounded like they were from Mr Kipling. But soon after, the brand went back to its classic, traditional look. The logo they use now is very similar to the original one, with a traditional font and gold edges. The packs show clear pictures of the cakes.
In 2009, the package designs were updated a little. They put more focus on the name of each product. However, the descriptions on the back of the packs no longer pretend to be written by Mr Kipling.
Premier Foods also introduced a new type of packaging called 'Snap Pack' (now called 'Snack Pack'). These are cakes in sealed plastic packs that keep them fresh. This new packaging quickly became a best-seller for the brand.
In 2018, Mr Kipling updated its packaging for customers in North America and Australia. The goal was to make the brand look more modern and unique to attract new buyers, moving away from its old-fashioned image. However, the "Mr Kipling" logo itself stayed the same. For these international markets, the UK slogan "exceedingly good cakes" was changed to "make every day delicious."
Popular Products
Mr Kipling makes many different kinds of delicious treats. Here are some of their most famous products:
Slices
- Almond slices
- Carrot cake slices
- Angel slices
- Lemon layered slices
- Bakewell slices
- Chocolate slices
- Country slices
- Unicorn slices
- Trifle tarts (since 1990)
Pies and Tarts
- Bramley apple & blackcurrant pies
- Bramley apple pies
- Mini fruit pie selections
- Cherry bakewells
- Mini bakewells selections
- Jam tarts
- Mini sponge tart selections
Goodies
- French fancies
- Lemon fancies
Biscuits
- Viennese whirls
Cakes
- Manor house cake
- Battenberg
- Mini battenbergs
French Fancies
Mr Kipling French Fancies are small, yummy sponge cakes. They have a round top made of "buttercream" (which is actually made from vegetable oil). The whole cake is covered in fondant icing. Many varieties also have a drizzle of a second color on top. The most common types are pink (which tastes like vanilla) with white drizzle, yellow (lemon flavor) with brown drizzle, and brown (chocolate flavor) with dark brown drizzle.
Even though cocoa is listed as an ingredient, strawberry and lemon flavors are not actually in the cakes. About 30% of these cakes are sugar!
French Fancies were one of the original 20 types of cakes that Mr Kipling launched back in 1967.
In September 2008, Mr Kipling introduced the Big French Fancy. This was a much larger cake that you could slice into several portions. In 2012, a special limited edition called British Fancies came out. These cakes were red, white, and blue! You might also see similar cakes from other supermarkets or homemade versions, which are often called Fondant Fancies.
