Author: Sally Addenbrook

As the city of Manchester continues to be stripped of the brands that have acted as the foundation of our regional food identity, a local marmalade maker is set to create a new product for Mancunians to call their own.

F Duerrs & Sons, the Manchester jam, marmalade and sweet spread manufacturers, are stepping up to the breakfast plate in a bid to reclaim our regional identity with the launch of Manchester Marmalade, a specially created marmalade for the people of Manchester.

Duerr’s brought their 128 years of marmalade making know-how to produce the perfect marmalade for modern Manchester. The final formula has been made to just the right levels of sweetness, orange variety, fruit content and thickness of peel to tickle the tastebuds of Mancunians.

Duerr’s initially launched Manchester Marmalade in the 1950s, however the regional variation fell out of distribution as the national supermarkets looked for products they could sell from Lands End to John O’Groats.

Profits from the sale of each jar will be donated to ‘Forever Manchester’, a project by the Community Foundation of Greater Manchester which aims to raise a £4.4 million fund in the next three years, the interest of which will fund community based grass roots projects in the future.

Richard Duerr explains: “We’ve been producing jams, marmalades and sweet spreads in the city of Manchester for 128 years, it’s time this great city has a food that it can call its own again.

“Profits from the sale of Manchester Marmalade will be donated to Forever Manchester to support their campaign to create a sustainable resource to help the community of Manchester for ever.”

Tesco will stock the distinctive black and white labeled jars of Manchester Marmalade in stores across the Greater Manchester area from 25 April 2009.

F Duerr and Sons Ltd, the UK’s oldest remaining independent family preserves producer, has secured a new listing with Tesco for their Clear Blossom Honey.

Previously dominated by own-brand products, the move by Tesco to introduce a new branded honey to the fixture follows on from TNS research revealing that speciality clear honey is outperforming any other product, with sales up 22% in 2008.

The honey market continues to go from strength to strength with the overall category up 9.9% YOY, and currently valued at £28m.

The listing is the first major success following a campaign by the management team at Duerr’s, who are best known for their production of marmalade and jam, to widen their proposition in the sweet spread market.

Along with jam, marmalade and honey, the full Duerr’s range includes peanut butter, mincemeat and condiments along with a selection of own-label products.

Richard Duerr, sales and marketing director, comments: “Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the quality and provenance of their shopping basket and honey is no exception.

“The listing with Tesco is the first stage in a wider strategy to expand the range of Duerr’s products available to the consumer.”

Clear Blossom Honey is available in 454g from 800 Tesco stores nationwide RRP: £1.69

Duerr’s launch campaign to encourage the bear to ditch the yeast and return to marmalade on National Marmalade Day (15 February 2009).

Marmalade lovers across the globe are being called into action on National Marmalade Day (15 February 2009) to get Paddington Bear to ditch his recent flirtation with yeast and return to his true love of Marmalade sandwiches.

The loveable bear from Darkest Peru has been a part of our childhoods since 1958 famed for his old brush hat, battered suitcase . . . and love of marmalade sandwiches.

Then in 2007, Paddington Bear began a curious flirtation with a love-it or hate-it kind of spread with a large marketing budget behind them and a desire to profit from the publics affection.

No more! National Marmalade Day marks the start of a comprehensive campaign to bring Paddington back to marmalade.

Spearheading the campaign is marmalade maker Richard Duerr, whose family has been producing the orange stuff for five generations (or 126 years). He cries: “It’s only been eighteen months and already the nation is starting to become confused about what this small bear likes to eat.

“National Marmalade Day marks the start of a campaign that will wage a war on the organisations who seek to separate Paddington from his marmalade sandwiches.

“Anyone wanting to be a part of the campaign can join us on www.paddingtonlovesmarmalade.com, facebook or twitter.”

In a direct plea to the bear himself, Duerr adds: “Come back to us Paddington – we know they made you do it.”

The full details of the planned campaign are currently being finalised – but anyone wishing to make a suggestion can do so by emailing paddington@paddingtonlovesmarmalade.com

Duerr’s is launching a premium range of preserves as part of their ongoing commitment to market innovation.

F Duerr and Sons Ltd, the UK’s oldest remaining family owned preserves producer, has developed a range of five premium preserves that capture all the natural flavours of the fruit with no added colours or flavourings to deliver a fruit packed preserve ideal for desserts, cakes, scones or simply spreading on toast.

The range, available in 454g jars, includes:

The jars package together their latest innovation with their strong family heritage. Homage is paid to Mary Duerr, who started the business by making Jams in her own kitchen in Manchester for her husband Fred, with the emphasis on quality unadulterated ingredients.

The jars also feature the message ‘A family business since 1881’ along with a local “Produced In The North West” provenance stamp.

Richard Duerr, Sales and Marketing Director, comments: “The launch of the premium preserves is another step into our ongoing commitment to offer quality products made with quality ingredients”.

“For 125 years our family has been producing the finest products for Britain’s breakfast tables – we want our customers to know that each jar of our premium preserves is made with the care and attention that only an experienced family business can lavish on the recipes it produces, our aim was to create a product that was a close as possible to what Mary would have produced back in 1881 and we think that she would be pleased with the result.”

The range of premium preserves will be supported with retailer specific promotional campaigns and underpinned by a nationwide PR programme to convey the premium quality of the brand.

Marmalade makers celebrate in style with a preserve worth £80 per serving

JAM and marmalade maker Duerr’s is marking its 125th birthday with a very special jar of marmalade costing more than £5,000!

It is packed with amazing ingredients including gold, vintage champagne and some of the world’s most expensive whisky as well as the finest oranges.

The commemorative 1kg jar contains £3,450 worth of Dalmore 62 whisky, £348 worth of vintage champagne, £120 of edible gold leaf all encased in a specially designed hand-crafted jar valued at £1,100

Spread evenly it works out at £76 per slice of toast with each mouthful costing an eye watering £11.

The special jar will be eventually be auctioned for charity on EBay later this year.

The rare Dalmore 62-year-old malt whisky used in the marmalade sells at £32,000 per bottle.

It also contains exclusive vintage champagne by Pol Roger, the Cuvee Winston Churchill 1996 supplied by Vineyards of France, which supplies finest wines from a selection of the many thousands of vineyards spread across France

James Sherry of Vineyards of France said: “The choice of this champagne is fitting because Winston enjoyed a full English breakfast with toast and marmalade and his favourite first tipple of the day was a glass of Pol Roger champagne, which he famously justified by saying: ‘In victory, deserve it. In defeat, need it.’”

Rockware Glass was approached to produce a fitting jar and its Innovations and NPD manager, Chris Todd, created an elegant crystal glass decanter, which is beautiful and simple in its design.

Chris said: “We wanted to create a unique jar that screamed luxury and celebrated the use of glass as a packaging medium, mixing modern design techniques with traditional glass production methods.”

Richard Duerr, Sales and Marketing Director at Duerr’s, comments: “We have been creating marmalade for 125 years and decided to do something extra special for our anniversary. Thanks to some exclusive ingredients and a priceless one-off designer jar we believe that we have created the world’s most expensive jar of marmalade.”