Type Subsidiary Predecessor Tryton Foods Ltd Products Frozen food Number of employees 350 | Industry Food Area served United Kingdom Founded 1995 Headquarters Kingston upon Hull, Leeds | |
Key people Nicholas Oughtred (chairman) Parent organization William Jackson Food Group Profiles | ||
Aunt Bessie’s Limited (until 2008 known as Tryton Foods Ltd) is a UK producer of frozen food products under the brand name Aunt Bessie’s. The company is best known for its frozen Yorkshire puddings, producing more than 20 million puddings a week. The company also offers a wide range of potato products, meal accompaniments, ready meals, vegetables and desserts. The company has its factories in Hull and employs over 350 staff.
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Since 2010, food manufacturer Symington's in Leeds has manufactured many of the Aunt Bessie’s branded mixes and stuffings on behalf of the company.
History
Aunt Bessie’s Limited is a subsidiary to the William Jackson Food Group, a food retail and manufacturing business founded in Hull in 1851. The current chairman, Nicholas Oughtred, is the great-great grandson of the founder, William Jackson.
The William Jackson Group's frozen Yorkshire puddings were originally created for Butlins Holiday Camps in 1974. In 1995 the company started producing its Yorkshire puddings for British supermarket chains under the label Aunt Bessie's, so a special food manufacturing company was set up, called Tryton Foods. Its name was taken from The Triton Inn at Brantingham, which then was part of the William Jackson group and noted for its Yorkshire puddings.
In August 2004, the supermarket division of the William Jackson company, Jacksons Stores, based in North Ferriby, was sold to Sainsbury's for £100 million, and the company began to focus on food production rather than retail.
In early 2008, sales of the Aunt Bessie’s Homestyle mashed potato doubled when it featured in Delia Smith's How to Cheat at Cooking for use in a shepherd's pie. The same year, the company name was changed to Aunt Bessie's Ltd.