Ginsters
Encyclopedia
Ginsters is a company based in Callington in Cornwall
, in the south-west of England. The biggest selling pasty
maker in the UK, it specialises in making mass produced pasties, sausage rolls, sandwiches
, pasta
bowls and other savoury snacks.
Geoffrey Ginster who had started to diversify his farm by starting an egg
-packing station in Callington with 30 employees, hit on the idea of starting a van sales service selling fresh pasties to local retailers. Eventually the pasty manufacturing business took over egg packing, and Ginster converted the egg-station to add to pasty production. In 1977, the Ginster family sold the business to Samworth Brothers
, giving birth to the company as it is today with over 700 employees.
and commercial radio
advertisements.
Samworth Brothers
have extended the brand to cover sausage rolls, sandwiches
, pasta
and other savoury snacks. The products are available across the UK at supermarkets, petrol stations, bakers, student unions, and convenience stores.
A number of trains (all Class 158
Sprinters) operated by Arriva Trains Wales
were in a Ginsters livery for a time, which was mostly black, with the red logo. This has since been removed, but on some trains the Ginsters logo remains on the roof.
word for bread. The product is made with a soft bread roll on the outside and a meat filling inside, and is marketed as 'the love child of a sandwich and a pasty.' A TV advert has been made, with the actor Darren Strange and directed by Armando Iannucci
, which features a man in a mid-life crisis who is confused by the unusual product combination of the Cornish Bara.
in the Football League 2 and Callington Town FC. It also sponsors Callington Rugby Club and Launceston Rugby Club
("The Cornish All Blacks").
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, in the south-west of England. The biggest selling pasty
Pasty
A pasty , sometimes known as a pastie or British pasty in the United States, is a filled pastry case, associated in particular with Cornwall in Great Britain. It is made by placing the uncooked filling on a flat pastry circle, and folding it to wrap the filling, crimping the edge at the side or top...
maker in the UK, it specialises in making mass produced pasties, sausage rolls, sandwiches
Sandwiches
"Sandwiches" is a song by American electronic band Detroit Grand Pubahs. It reached number 29 in the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.- Track listing :...
, pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
bowls and other savoury snacks.
History
In the 1960s, Cornish farmerFarmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
Geoffrey Ginster who had started to diversify his farm by starting an egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
-packing station in Callington with 30 employees, hit on the idea of starting a van sales service selling fresh pasties to local retailers. Eventually the pasty manufacturing business took over egg packing, and Ginster converted the egg-station to add to pasty production. In 1977, the Ginster family sold the business to Samworth Brothers
Samworth Brothers
Samworth Brothers are a Leicestershire-based food manufacturer, the owner of Cornish pasty maker Ginsters, and the largest maker of certified Melton Mowbray pork pies. It is listed at number four in The Times Top Track 250.-History:...
, giving birth to the company as it is today with over 700 employees.
Marketing
Ginsters is usually pronounced with a hard 'G' (ˈ), but sometimes with a soft 'G' (ˈ). The name of the company has become synonymous with pasties and sausage rolls. The company motto is “Cornish through and through,” and also uses the motto “Real, honest food” on many of its televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and commercial radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
advertisements.
Samworth Brothers
Samworth Brothers
Samworth Brothers are a Leicestershire-based food manufacturer, the owner of Cornish pasty maker Ginsters, and the largest maker of certified Melton Mowbray pork pies. It is listed at number four in The Times Top Track 250.-History:...
have extended the brand to cover sausage rolls, sandwiches
Sandwiches
"Sandwiches" is a song by American electronic band Detroit Grand Pubahs. It reached number 29 in the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.- Track listing :...
, pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
and other savoury snacks. The products are available across the UK at supermarkets, petrol stations, bakers, student unions, and convenience stores.
A number of trains (all Class 158
British Rail Class 158
British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 by BREL at its Derby Works. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains, and allowed cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly 'heritage' DMUs...
Sprinters) operated by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
were in a Ginsters livery for a time, which was mostly black, with the red logo. This has since been removed, but on some trains the Ginsters logo remains on the roof.
Cornish Bara
In March 2011 the company launched the "Cornish Bara", bara being a CornishCornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
word for bread. The product is made with a soft bread roll on the outside and a meat filling inside, and is marketed as 'the love child of a sandwich and a pasty.' A TV advert has been made, with the actor Darren Strange and directed by Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, satirist, writer, director, performer and radio producer. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Oxford University and left graduate work on a PhD about John Milton to pursue a career in comedy....
, which features a man in a mid-life crisis who is confused by the unusual product combination of the Cornish Bara.
Sponsorship
From 2002 to 2011, Ginsters sponsored football club Plymouth Argyle F.C.Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
in the Football League 2 and Callington Town FC. It also sponsors Callington Rugby Club and Launceston Rugby Club
Launceston RUFC
Launceston Rugby Club are a Cornish rugby club who play in National League 2 South of the English rugby union leagues.-History:The club was founded in 1948 after an inaugural meeting chaired by the then Headmaster of Launceston College, Mr Spencer Toy with Gordon Reeve, Eric Smith and Arthur...
("The Cornish All Blacks").