Trebor ( ) is a British confectionery brand-name owned by

Mondelez International Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, Holding company, holding, drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual rev ...

, and formerly a company of the same name.

History

Trebor was founded on 4 January 1907 in south west

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

by W.B. Woodcock, Thomas Henry King, Robert Robertson and Sydney Herbert Marks from

Leytonstone Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...

and was located on Katherine Road in Forest Gate, London. The name ''Trebor'', the spelling of "Robert" backwards, was registered as a trademark four days after the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. On 18 April 1944, the factory in Katherine Road was hit by a German bomb. It bought

Moffat toffee Moffat toffee is a boiled sweet originating from and made in the Scottish town of Moffat Moffat is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire. Part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland, it lies on the River Annan, with a p ...

in 1959, and Jamesons Chocolates in 1960. By the end of the 1960s, the company was exporting to over fifty countries; 20% of its output from its three factories was exported. The largest export market was the United States. By 1966, it had doubled its exports in four years. In the

1967 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1967 were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, on the occasion of the official birthda ...

, the Chairman John Marks (son of the founder) was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for the company's exports; he was president from 1956 to 1959 of the Cocoa, Chocolate and Confectionery Alliance. By the end of the 1960s, it was the fourth largest confectionery manufacturing group in the United Kingdom; its main competitors were

Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery Rowntree Mackintosh plc (file no. 00051491) ( ), Trade name, trading as Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery, was an English confectionery company based in York, England. It was formed by the merger of Rowntree's#History, Rowntree's and Mackintosh ...

and

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...

. Early advertising used the jingle, "Trebor mints are a minty bit stronger". In January 1969, it bought the confectionery interests of Clarnico. In 1970, John Graham Marks, the grandson of the company's founder, became chairman of the company, and owned the company with his brother Ian; the company was family run and also had a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

paternalistic Paternalism is action that limits a person's or group's liberty or autonomy against their will and is intended to promote their own good. It has been defended in a variety of contexts as a means of protecting individuals from significant harm, s ...

ethos ''Ethos'' is a Greek word meaning 'character' that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the ...

. In 1981, the company discontinued night shifts, as it believed that night shifts were possibly damaging to family life. In December 1985, it bought

Maynards Maynards was a British confectionery manufacturer best known for manufacturing wine gums. It was acquired by Cadbury in the 1990s, which in turn was acquired by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) in 2010. In 2016, the brand was j ...

for £7.5 million. In the middle of the 1980s, the company was the British

market leader Market dominance is the control of a economic market by a firm. A dominant firm possesses the power to affect competition and influence market price. A firms' dominance is a measure of the power of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative ...

in branded

mints A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach, given their association with natural byproducts ...

and boiled sweets.

Acquisition by Cadbury

On Thursday 14 September 1989,

Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods, Inc., Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest c ...

bought the company for £147 million. The company was run as a subsidiary company of Cadbury. At the time, the company employed around 3,000 people. From 1 March 1990, the company was known as Trebor Bassett, a division of Cadbury. Production would eventually move to North

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, off the A61.

Structure

The company was headquartered in what was south-west Essex, in Woodford, Greater London. It initially had a factory at

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. ...

called the ''Trebor Works'' from 1935 in what is now the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by ...

. Its main headquarters were at

Clayhall Clayhall is a district of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge in east London, England. It is a suburban development. The name is derived from an old manor house that stood within the current area. It is first mentioned in a document of 1203 ...

. In 1939, a factory on a five-acre site was opened on

Brimington Brimington is a large village and civil parish in the Borough of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 8,788. The town of Staveley is to the east, and Hollingwood is nearby. The pari ...

Road in Chesterfield, on the site of a former brewery next to

Chesterfield railway station Chesterfield railway station serves the market town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Midland Main Line, which connects with . Four tracks pass through the station which has three platforms. It is currently operated by Eas ...

; the factory closed in 2005. The Trebor Bassett national distribution centre was in

Holmewood Holmewood is a village in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. Historically a coal mining village, it has close links to the villages of Heath, North Wingfield and Temple Normanton. It is in the civil parish of Heath an ...

North East Derbyshire North East Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The council is based in the large village of Wingerworth. The district also includes the towns of Dronfield and Clay Cross as well as numerou ...

. In 1978, a £15 million factory was opened in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

. It closed in March 2000.

Awards

In April 1966, Trebor won the

Queen's Award to Industry The King's Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen's Award for Enterprise, is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting oppor ...

Cultural References

In 1987 the

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel were an English rock band who formed in the early 1970s in London. Their music covered a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years, they have had five albums on the UK Albums Chart and twelve s ...

song

Mr. Soft "Mr. Soft" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley, which was released in 1974 as the second single from their second studio album '' The Psychomodo''. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and ...

was used in television adverts for Trebor Softmints and Softfruits, sung by Phillip Pope, imitating Harley's vocal style. EMI re-released the song as 7-inch single in the UK on 7 March 1988 "due to popular demand". Its release date was scheduled to coincide with Softmints' spring campaign, which ran nationally between March and the end of April 1988.

Products

* Refreshers, launched in 1935 * Extra Strong Mints, known as ''Extra Strong Peppermints'' when launched in 1937 * SoftMints, peppermint or spearmint flavours * SoftFruits, orange, lemon and strawberry flavours

References

{{reflist

External links

Britain from Above in 1950

Trebor Story
British companies established in 1907 Cadbury brands Chesterfield, Derbyshire Confectionery companies of the United Kingdom Economy of Derbyshire Manufacturing companies based in Sheffield Food and drink companies established in 1907 Forest Gate History of the London Borough of Newham History of the London Borough of Redbridge Cadbury