Tayto (Northern Ireland) facts for kids
Logo since 2019.
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| Founded | 1956 |
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| Headquarters | Tandragee, County Armagh, Northern Ireland |
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Area served
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Northern Ireland |
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Key people
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Stephen Hutchinson, Chairman |
Tayto Group Limited is a company that makes popular crisps and corn snacks. Their main base is in Tandragee, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They are known as one of the biggest snack makers in the United Kingdom.
The company employs about 300 people at its factory. This factory is right next to Tandragee Castle, which they call "Tayto Castle" in their ads. Tayto is the top-selling crisp brand in Northern Ireland. It's also the third largest crisp and snack business in the whole United Kingdom. Tayto Group owns other well-known brands like Golden Wonder, Ringos, Mr. Porky, Real Crisps, and Jonathan Crisp. You can also find Northern Irish Tayto crisps sold a lot in County Donegal, especially in places like East Donegal and Inishowen.
It's important to know that this Tayto company is completely separate from another company called Tayto in the Republic of Ireland. Even though they both make similar snacks, they are different businesses. The Tayto in the Republic of Ireland owns the name and the famous mascot. The Northern Irish Tayto uses these under a special agreement. Northern Irish Tayto is sold widely in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The Republic of Ireland brand is sold mainly in the Republic of Ireland.
The History of Tayto Crisps
Tayto (Northern Ireland) was started in 1956 by the Hutchinson family. They got permission to use the Tayto name and recipes from the Tayto Crisps company in the Republic of Ireland. That company had started two years earlier. Even though they share a name, these two companies have always worked separately.
In 2006, Tayto (NI) bought parts of the former Golden Wonder business. This included factories in Corby and Scunthorpe. They also got a deal to make Mini Pringles for Procter & Gamble. This helped save about 195 jobs that were at risk.
In December 2007, Tayto bought another company called Sirhowy Valley Foods Ltd. This company makes the popular Real Crisps range.
Then, in March 2008, Tayto announced they would buy Red Mill Snack foods. This made Tayto the third biggest crisp maker in the UK. Most of the Red Mill brands became part of Golden Wonder. However, Mr. Porky's pork scratchings are still made by Tayto. They are produced at a factory in Westhoughton, Bolton.
In January 2009, Tayto bought Jonathan Crisp. This company was known as Natural Crisps Ltd and was based in Staffordshire, England. The main office for the Tayto group is still in County Armagh. The Hutchinson family privately owns the company. Today, the Tayto group makes about £150 million each year. It also employs more than 1,400 people.
Tayto's Snack Range
Just like the Tayto company in the Republic of Ireland, Tayto's most famous crisp flavour is cheese & onion. They also sell many other tasty flavours. These include beef & onion, ready salted, smoky bacon, and salt & vinegar. You can also find worcester sauce, prawn cocktail, spring onion, roast chicken, and pickled onion crisps. Most Northern Irish Tayto crisps are also suitable for vegetarians.
Palm Oil and the Environment
Tayto NI uses palm oil in some of its products. They have a low score on the Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard. This scorecard checks how companies source their palm oil. It is supported by the World Wildlife Foundation. In 2016, Tayto NI scored only 1 out of 9 points. This low score means they are not very open about where their palm oil comes from. Even though they are a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, they need to show more clearly that their palm oil is sourced in a way that helps protect the environment.
