Mr Kipling Factory: Where is the sweet brand Mr Kipling factory in Yorkshire, when was it founded and who owns the brand?

Mr Kipling is a brand of cakes, pies and baked goods and has been marketed in the UK as well as Ireland, Australia and North America. Surprisingly, a ‘Mr Kipling’ never existed, he was a fictional character invented by marketers who were looking to give a traditional family environment.

When was Mr Kipling founded and where is the factory in Yorkshire?

The brand was first introduced in May 1967, when cakes were more often bought from local bakers, to sell cakes to supermarkets, and grew to become the UK’s largest cake manufacturer by 1976.

The trademark is owned by Premier Foods, after its acquisition of Joseph Marassery (RHM) in 2007.

The cakes are made in a factory based in Carlton, South Yorkshire. Mr Kipling’s Cakes were made by the RHM subsidiary known as Manor Bakeries Ltd, which has also produced products under the Lyons and Cadbury names.

Who owns the Mr Kipling brand?

The brand was created in the 1960s by Rank Hovis McDougall, which wanted to boost cake sales and utilise a new bakery.

The brand was launched in 1967 and included 20 products sold in premium boxes.

The company Rank Hovis McDougall, now named RHM plc, was founded by Joseph Rank in 1875, as a flour milling business when he rented a small windmill. In the beginning, he lost money and took a co-tenancy at West’s Holderness Corn Mill. In 1885, he built a mechanically-operated flour mill in Hull to beat competition from abroad. He used steel rollers instead of mill stones and produced six sacks of flour an hour instead of one and a half.