Category: Press Releases

JamFest Rocks Up £60,000 For Brainwave

Posted on by Sally Addenbrook

Peace, love and rock ‘n’ roll came together at The Mere Golf Resort & Spa for the Duerr’s Annual Charity Ball, this year raising a chart-topping £60,000 for Brainwave.

The UK’s oldest family-owned preserve and peanut butter producers are renowned for their annual themed knees-up, and with a stellar effort from all guests, this year’s ‘JamFest’ was no exception.

With wellies, wrist-bands and peace-signs galore, everyone from ‘Jimi Hendrix’ to ‘Janis Joplin’ made an appearance. Hall of fame musicians danced the night away alongside guests in Oktoberfest’s famous lederhosen and dirndls, in a festival free-for-all.

Party-goers were welcomed with a Bucks Fizz and feasted on a festival-inspired three course meal before rummaging in their bumbags to compete for auction prizes including backstage passes for Olly Murs, a money-can’t-buy trip to a Caribbean Island and VIP tickets to the X Factor final.

The money raised will go towards aiding Brainwave’s incredible work supporting families with disabled children, providing therapy and exercise programmes to help develop children with physical and cognitive disabilities such as cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome and autism.

Mark Duerr, managing director of F.Duerr and Sons comments: “This year had everything a good festival should have, apart from the mud and toilet queues! The room was rocking, but even better than that we raised an astonishing amount of money for a brilliant cause.

“Once again, we’ve been blown away by the generosity of our guests who are true Jamfest legends.”

Carole Headley, Development Manager at Brainwave added: “What a fantastic event! I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Duerr’s for raising such an incredible amount of money.

“The work we do is very important to families across the UK, helping children to reach their full potential; but it is dependent on donations, which is why we’re so incredibly grateful to Duerr’s for their support.”

Party goers in all their festival finery at Duerr’s JamFest

Jam-packed with talent

Posted on by Sally Addenbrook

Duerr’s inaugural apprentice promoted to the company’s youngest Food Manufacturing Operative

Duerr’s, the UK’s oldest independent jam maker, is hailing the success of its apprenticeship scheme after its first graduate qualified for a fast-track promotion.

Matthew Gannon, aged 20, from Altrincham has been appointed as the Wythenshawe company’s youngest Food Manufacturing Operative after completing his training.

Matthew, who left school with GCSEs and an NVQ qualification in engineering, has spent the last two years gaining diverse production experience in quality assurance, ingredient preparation, product formulation and processing and machine operation across both of Duerr’s Wythenshawe sites. He has also gained a level 2 NVQ in Food Manufacture from Reaseheath College in Nantwich.

His new role will see him become part of a skilled team responsible for the manufacture of a vast number of products. Food manufacturing is a very responsible profession as there are tight controls which need to be exercised at all times. All staff are responsible for the good manufacturing practises required to ensure Duerr’s remain at Green and A grade level demanded by the retailers we supply to. Matthew will continue structured training as part of his new job role, working towards his Level 3 NVQ qualification.

Duerr’s apprenticeship scheme was established in 2011 specifically to nurture local talent. After the scheme’s successful launch, it has extended its capacity to include two engineering and a development technician apprentices. All roles are sourced from the local area to maintain the company’s investment in the region.

Matthew’s appointment marks a year of investment in talent within the company whose employees now total 216, the highest number in Duerr’s history.

Richard Duerr, Sales and Marketing Director said: “Duerr’s is a leading manufacturer. That requires us to have the best and the brightest coming into the industry. We are firm believers in home grown talent like Matthew and his appointment today is a testament to a programme designed to develop the next generation of jam making talent.”

Duerr’s has a proud history of home-grown talent in the business being as it is in the hands of the great, great, grandchildren of founder Frederick Duerr. Duerr’s has seen generations of families come through the factory gates; Father and sons, mothers and daughters also work within the organisation as well as brothers, sisters and two sets of twins!

Duerr’s additionally invests in a dedicated CSR programme to support local communities. Most recently it helped raise £100,000 to transform Wythenshawe Hospital’s Children Outpatient department and since 2000 it has raised more than £525,000 for charity. The latest benefactor is Place2Be, which provides essential in-school counselling services to vulnerable children nationwide. Its patron the Duchess of Cambridge recently visited Wythenshawe’s Willows Primary School to launch a new counselling programme.

 

 

DUERR’S FUEL PARALYMPIANS

Posted on by Sally Addenbrook

Britain’s oldest jam and marmalade maker is proud to fuel three paralympians, Tom Young and Natalie Jones and Rik Waddon in this summer’s Paralympic Games.

Duerr’s are sponsoring swimmers Tom Young, 21 Natalie Jones, 27 (a former Times Young Sportswoman of the Year) and Natalie’s husband, cyclist Rik Waddon, 35. They are providing financial support to the North West based athletes while they train for this year’s Games.

In addition, Duerr’s will provide their peanut butters and range of super honeys, to fuel the 25 plus hours of training that the athletes put in every week in their quest to outperform the competition as they fly the flag for Britain.

The sponsorship of the three paralympians is part of Duerr’s ‘Proud to be British,’ campaign which launched  this summer and is set to whip people the length and breadth of the nation up into a patriotic frenzy!

Not only is the company getting behind our nation’s Paralympic hopefuls, they are showcasing the best of British with a technological twist.  At the heart of the campaign are 2012 edition marmalade jars, carrying a QR code and a ‘Proud to be British’ crest. When scanned, the QR code links through to a specially designed microsite where a fresh piece of footage, chosen to raise a smile and reignite British pride, will be hosted every day.

This means that while Brits are tucking into their breakfast, they can see Tom, Natalie and Rik talk about what makes them proud of our nation, relive moments from the Royal Wedding, enjoy a great British joke, or even watch vox pops from the factory floor!

The three paralympians have visited Duerr’s Floats Road site, spending time with managers and staff, talking about their Olympic hopes and their inspirational journeys so far. Duerr’s will be tracking the athletes’ progress over the summer and cheering them on.

Duerr’s made steps to sponsor the trio after MD Mark Duerr attended a business breakfast hosted by former paralympian and motivational speaker Marc Woods. Marc Woods, himself the winner of a staggering 12 Paralympic medals from 5 Games, spoke about the financial pressure that the young paralympians face, moving Mark Duerr, himself a keen cyclist, to get in touch and offer the firm’s support.

Mark Duerr comments: “With our strong British heritage, it seems natural that we support this fresh talent that will be representing our country on the world stage. The three paralympians are an inspiration to us all and it’s a bonus that they enjoy our products so much!”

Duerr’s create commemorative Jubilee Ma’amalade

Posted on by Sally Addenbrook


Queen Elizabeth II joins list of royals honoured by the spread

 

Duerr’s is celebrating the Queen’s jubilee with commemorative Jubilee Ma’amalades for employees and 60 lucky Facebook fans, one for every year of the Queen’s reign.

Duerr’s, a family run company since 1881, launched its Proud to be British campaign in May, hosting clips on its website ranging from the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to The Queen’s coronation.

The one-off label for the luxurious marmalade comes in patriotic colours and features bunting as well as images from the Queen’s coronation in 1952.

Duerr’s is giving away 60 limited edition Jubilee Ma’amalades on its Facebook page over the jubilee weekend starting on Friday. To win, Facebook users just need to answer a question about the monarchy correctly.

Duerr’s is also celebrating the jubilee with a series of monarchy-related clips on its ‘proud’ website, which celebrates the best of British every morning. The Queen’s coronation and the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday celebrations are set to be unveiled at breakfast time with QR codes on marmalade jars linking to the content. Brits will be able to enjoy quintessentially British moments over a quintessentially British breakfast.

Marmalade has very royal origins beginning with Queen Mary Tudor who used a mélange of quinces, orange peel, sugar, almonds and mace to help her get pregnant when in 1608 marmalade was widely believed to be an aphrodisiac.

Mary Queen of Scots was also reputed to have used orange marmalade, sent from her childhood home in France, as a medicine. One historical account holds that marmalade was created by a doctor treating Mary for seasickness by mixing crushed sugar with oranges. The story infers the term marmalade is a derivation of “Marie est malade,” a French phrase roughly meaning “Mary’s illness.”

Richard Duerr, Sales and Marketing Director comments: “The staff here are incredibly enthusiastic about the jubilee and are behind our Proud to be British campaign.

“60 years on the throne is a fantastic achievement and under the Queen’s reign our business has grown to become the largest independent producer of jams and marmalades in the UK. At times like this, it’s fitting to reflect on how we’ve all changed in the past 60 years, our Jubilee Ma’amalade does just that.”

The earliest record of marmalade on British shores is 7th March 1495, when it first arrived at the Port of London from Portugal. The entry into the port log in March of that year is believed to be the first ever written record of the word marmalade.

 

Terms and conditions

Open to UK residents aged 21 years or over, excluding employees of Duerr's,and anyone else connected with this promotion.
The Promoter accepts no responsibility for entries which are delayed, corrupted or otherwise rendered invalid owing to technical errors or malfunctions.
The Promoter reserves the right to select alternative winners, should an original winner fail to validate his/her identity and age to the Promoter’s satisfaction and within the time period set out above.
The prizes are as stated, are non-transferable and there is no cash alternative.
The Promoter reserves the right to award an alternative prize of equal or greater value should the original prize become unavailable for any reason.
The Promoter reserves the right to withdraw or amend this promotion in the event of any unforeseen circumstances outside its reasonable control.
The decision of the Promoter in all matters connected to this draw is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Entrants are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions by participating in this promotion.
Promoter: Democracy PR Ltd, 62 Beech Road, Chorlton

 

WAKE UP WITH PRIDE

Posted on by Sally Addenbrook

Jam maker spreads more than marmalade

A new limited edition jar of Duerr’s marmalade will encourage the nation to swell with pride each morning as they tuck in to their toast.

QR codes on pack will direct breakfasters to 365 famous moments in British history. From Will and Kate’s first kiss on the balcony and Tommy Cooper’s famous sketches to Red Rum winning the Grand National and other peculiarities that make us British – there will be a new moment every day giving the nation a fresh reason to remember why it’s great to be British.

Marmalade has been the preserve of the British gentleman for generations, Winston Churchill loved the stuff, naming his cat ‘marmalade’ in honour of the orangey spread. Paddington Bear won’t leave home without a marmalade sandwich under his hat and is widely considered to be a taste of England, anywhere in the world.

Although best enjoyed from a mobile device over toast and marmalade, people can also access the daily delight through the Duerr’s website proud page or via social media channels: twitter.com/duerrs1881 and facebook.com/duerrs1881.

The QR code and crest appear on Duerr’s best-selling Seville Orange Fine Cut Marmalade, Seville Orange Half Sugar Fine Cut Marmalade, Seville Orange Thick Cut Marmalade, Spanish Grapefruit Fine Cut Marmalade and Ginger Chunky Preserve. They are stocked in Sainsbury’s, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Co-op and Waitrose, RRP £1.39.

DUERR’S NEW JAR LID SOLVES AN AGE-OLD PROBLEM

Posted on by Sally Addenbrook

New innovation makes opening jam jars easy

A new innovation for glass jar lids is set to bring welcome relief to anyone who relies on tea towels, hot water or a strong partner every time they are faced with opening a jar of their favourite preserve.

Duerr’s, the independent jam maker, is introducing the innovative OrbitTM lid across their range of jams and marmalades nationwide following a successful trial in Morrisons stores.

Consumer response to the new lids was overwhelmingly positive. While 100% of survey respondents found the Orbitä lid easier to open than a normal jar, 86% considered it ‘much easier’.

The simple mechanism, developed by Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK), a world leader in metal packaging, reduces the effort required to get the jar open. The appearance of the OrbitTM lid is very similar to a normal twist-off lid, but it is actually in two parts: a central panel is sealed to the jar by vacuum, and an outer ring is screwed in place to provide further protection.

To open the jar, the user simply twists the ring in the same way as opening a normal twist-off lid. Twisting the ring firstly loosens the ring, then smoothly pushes the panel away from the jar to break the seal. In this way, the ring acts as a tool to break the seal. As the panel is free to move within the ring, the sound made by breaking the seal is accentuated, assuring the consumer of the contents’ freshness. Once opened, the jar may be reclosed and reopened as usual.

The Orbit Easy Open lids are now gradually being phased in on the range of Duerr’s marmalade and jam products and are already in stores nationwide.

Richard Duerr of Duerr’s comments: “The simplest innovations are the ones that truly have the biggest impact on our everyday lives. This isn’t just a product for those with arthritis or weak wrists; it’s a product that everyone can use.

“Duerr’s has a long history of investing in market changing technology. In 1905 my great, great, great, great grandfather Fred Duerr pioneered the method of vacuum sealing jars helping our jams and marmalades to retain their natural colour, a method now commonly used everywhere.

“The new Orbit Easy Open lid has the potential to be just as everyday life changing. The trouble is, I’m not sure that my wife needs me around the house anymore!”