Bernard Matthews Farms - History

History

  • 1950 – Company founded
  • 1955 – Its headquarters were moved to its present location, Great Witchingham Hall near Norwich.
  • 1960 – Bernard Matthews entered the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest turkey farmer in Europe.
  • 1971 – The company was publicly listed.
  • 1980 – The company launched its first TV commercial featuring Turkey Breast Roast, with Matthews himself introducing the famous 'Bootiful' catchphrase in his thick Norfolk accent.
  • 2000 – Bernard Matthews successfully fought off a take-over bid from US food giant Sara Lee.
  • 2001 – The company was bought back by the Matthews family and taken private again.
  • 2006 – Two contract workers were convicted of animal cruelty for playing 'baseball' with live turkeys.
  • 2007 – The company's farm in Holton suffers an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
  • 2007 – The company's factory B plant closes and staff moved to A plant causing many to leave or be relocated at its parent plant up the road.
  • 2008 – In July, the company re-branded from Bernard Matthews Foods to Bernard Matthews Farms and stated that all its turkey products would be made with British turkey from its own farms.
  • 2010 – In April, Bernard Matthews began a new advertising campaign, bringing back its 'Bootiful' catchphrase that was previously used between 1980 and 2007.
  • 2010 – 25 November, the founder, Bernard Matthews, died.

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