Warburtons facts for kids
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Baking |
| Founded | 1876 |
| Founder | Thomas Warburton |
| Headquarters | Bolton, Greater Manchester, England |
|
Key people
|
Jonathan Warburton (Chairman) |
| Products | Bread and other bakery goods |
| Revenue | £574.4 million |
| Owner |
|
|
Number of employees
|
Over 4,500 |
| Parent | Warburtons Holdings Limited |
Warburtons Limited is a famous British company that bakes bread and other tasty treats. It was started by Thomas Warburton way back in 1876. The company's main home is in Bolton, a town in Greater Manchester, England.
For many years, Warburtons only had bakeries in the area of Lancashire. But it's still owned by the same family today! As of 2018, Warburtons has 12 bakeries and 14 delivery centers across the UK. They also employ more than 4,500 people.
In the late 1990s and 2000s, Warburtons grew a lot. They expanded across the whole United Kingdom. Before this, not many people outside of North West knew about them. By 2010, they made 24% of all the bread sold in the UK. This was a huge jump from just 2% when they were only in Bolton.
By 2012, Warburtons was the most popular bread brand in the UK. They were even more popular than other big names like Kingsmill and Hovis. In 2010, Warburtons was the second best-selling food and drink brand in the UK. Only Coca-Cola sold more! They were ahead of brands like Cadbury's chocolate and Walker's crisps.
Contents
How Warburtons Started and Grew
Early Days of Baking
The story of Warburtons began in 1876. Ellen and Thomas Warburton bought a small grocery shop in Bolton. Their business quickly grew. Thomas's nephew, Henry, joined the company when he was 16. He became a very skilled baker by the time he was 25.
Henry helped the business expand even more. The bakery moved four times in 25 years to bigger locations. In July 1915, the Back o'th' Bank Bakery opened. Henry Warburton also became involved in his local community. He even became the mayor of Bolton before he passed away in 1936.
Warburtons continued to grow by buying smaller baking companies. These were mostly in the North West of England.
Expanding Across the UK
For a long time, Warburtons only baked bread in Bolton. This meant that bread could lose its freshness when it traveled far away. But big supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, and Sainsbury's wanted to sell Warburtons bread.
So, in the late 1990s, the company started a big plan to expand. They opened new bakeries in places like Eastwood in Nottinghamshire, Bellshill, and Wednesbury. Warburtons started selling bread in Scotland in 1996. By 2003, they made 32% of all the bread sold there.
Becoming a National Brand
In October 2003, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh helped open Warburtons' eleventh bakery. This new bakery was in Enfield, North London. In 2004, Warburtons made even more bread in Scotland. This was after they finished the second phase of their Bellshill bakery.
In 2005, Warburtons bought bakeries in Stockton-on-Tees and Rogerstone near Newport. In March 2006, a huge new bakery opened in Normanton, West Yorkshire. It was so big that it was called the largest bakery in Europe! Other bakeries outside of Lancashire include one in Newburn near Newcastle upon Tyne.
In 2010, the company decided to close its Newport bakery. However, they kept a distribution center in Port Talbot. This allowed them to continue serving South Wales. The bread production from Newport moved to a new facility in Bristol.
In 2013, the Daily Mirror newspaper said that Warburtons was Britain's most loved shopping brand. It was even more loved than Coca-Cola, Heinz, and Cadbury.
Famous Faces in Warburtons Adverts
Warburtons is known for its fun adverts featuring famous people.
In early 2015, Sylvester Stallone appeared in a Warburtons advert. He acted out parts from his famous movies. Another advert featured The Muppets singing about new giant crumpets. The song sounded just like the opening theme of The Muppet Show. There was also an advert with Peter Kay that made a joke about the company's Bolton roots.
In May 2019, Robert De Niro starred in an advert for Warburtons bagels. In 2021, George Clooney appeared in a TV advert with Jonathan Warburton. Most recently, in 2023, Samuel L. Jackson played Jonathan Warburton in an advert for the Warburtons Toastie loaf.
Products Warburtons Makes
Warburtons bakes many different kinds of products. They have five main groups:
- Bread
- Rolls
- Bakery Snacks (like crumpets and potato cakes)
- Gluten Free products
- Weight Watchers products
Some of Warburtons' most popular products are their loaves of bread. These include the orange-wrapped Toastie loaf, the blue-wrapped Medium loaf, and the green-wrapped Thickest loaf. All of these are wrapped in special wax paper to keep them fresh.
