History

Founded in Stoneyburn

Stoneyburn

Stoneyburn is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. Nearby towns include Bathgate, Whitburn, Addiewell and Blackburn.- Geography :Stoneyburn is situated in the middle of central Scotland, some 4 miles from Bathgate in the north and 5 from Livingston in the east...

 in 1947 by the Scottish bakery owner William Alexander, the company was named after the Golden Wonder potato

Golden Wonder potato

Golden Wonder is a late maincrop russet skinned variety of potato. It is very dry and floury and is ideal for baking, roasting, frying but especially boiling.The potato was originally found in the UK, by a Mr. Brown of Arbroath, Scotland in 1906...

. The company was acquired by UK-based Dalgety plc

Dalgety plc

Dalgety plc was a major British conglomerate. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...

 in 1987. Its notable brands have included "Jungle Fresh" peanut

Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

s and Pot Noodle

Pot Noodle

Pot Noodle is a brand of ramen-style instant noodle snack foods, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. Its dehydrated mixture consists of wide noodles, textured soya pieces, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. The product is prepared by adding boiling water, which softens...

, which ceased to carry Golden Wonder branding after the brand (but not the manufacturing business itself) was sold to Unilever

Unilever

Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....

. In July 1995 Best Foods paid Dalgety plc

Dalgety plc

Dalgety plc was a major British conglomerate. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...

 about $280 million for its Golden Wonder Pot Noodle instant hot snacks manufacturing business.

In 2006, the company was bought by Tayto

Tayto (Northern Ireland)

Tayto Limited is a manufacturer of crisps and corn snacks based in Tandragee, County Armagh. It employs 300 people at its plant in Tandragee Castle and remain the largest selling brand of crisps in Northern Ireland and the third biggest crisp and snack business in the United Kingdom.-History:Tayto...

.

Products

Golden Wonder now produce a number of different flavours of potato crisp. They are also the current owners of the XL Crisp brand. Golden Wonder were the former owners of the Wotsits

Wotsits

Wotsits is a brand of cheese puffs sold by Walkers. The most common form are cheese flavoured curly shapes. However over the years various other shapes and flavours have also been sold...

 brand, but when the company changed hands in 2002, it was sold off separately to their rival Walkers

Walkers (snack foods)

Walkers is a British snack food manufacturer operating mainly in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and to a lesser extent on the European continent. They are best known for manufacturing crisps. They hold 47 per cent of the British crisp market...

. Previous snacks Wheat Crunchies

Wheat Crunchies

Wheat Crunchies are a crisp wheat snack currently in production under KP Snacks Ltd. They come in four flavours including: Crispy Bacon, Spicy Tomato, Salt and Vinegar, and Worcester Sauce. A regular multipack bag contains 25g and a normal retail pack contains 30g. Wheat Crunchies were originally...

, Chips & Burgers and the corn based Nik Naks

Nik Naks

Nik Naks are a type of extruded corn snack previously manufactured by Golden Wonder in the United Kingdom, following the successful take over of Sooner Snacks. The brand was purchased by United Biscuits in 2006...

 are now owned by KP

KP Snacks

KP Snacks is a British producer of branded and own-label maize and potato based snacks, "Choc Dips" and nuts. The KP originally stood for Kenyon Produce. The company is based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England....

.

The company launched the cheese & onion crisp flavour in 1962. This was their first flavoured crisp, the concept having been devised by Tayto

Tayto

Tayto is a major Irish crisps and popcorn manufacturer, founded by Joe Murphy in 1954. Tayto invented the first Cheese & Onion crisps as well as the process of the seasoned potato chip/crisps. Tayto crisps are a cultural phenomenon in Ireland, and "Tayto" is sometimes used in Ireland as a synonym...

 in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 (not the same company as that which bought Golden Wonder over in 2006) in 1953.

In the 1980s Golden Wonder claimed on television and on their packets to be Britain's Noisiest Crisp. In the 1990s, a popular series of TV commercials with adult actors indulging in childish antics carried another famous slogan: You'll never grow old in Golden Wonder-land!

In 2009 the Golden Wonder brand started to be used by Symingtons Ltd, under licence, for the production of 'Nation's Noodles' and 'The Nation's Pasta'. The new range of instant noodles is very similar to the Pot Noodle

Pot Noodle

Pot Noodle is a brand of ramen-style instant noodle snack foods, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. Its dehydrated mixture consists of wide noodles, textured soya pieces, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. The product is prepared by adding boiling water, which softens...

 range previously produced by Golden Wonder.

Golden Wonder branding now features on snacks previously marketed by Red Mill, another snack manufacturer taken over by Tayto.

Administration

Golden Wonder entered into administration

Administration (insolvency)

As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...

 on 9 January 2006, threatening about 800 jobs. On 13 January 2006 it was announced that the Corby

Corby

Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...

, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

 site and the contract to Mini Pringles, as produced by Golden Wonder, would transfer to Northern Irish crisp manufacturer Tayto

Tayto (Northern Ireland)

Tayto Limited is a manufacturer of crisps and corn snacks based in Tandragee, County Armagh. It employs 300 people at its plant in Tandragee Castle and remain the largest selling brand of crisps in Northern Ireland and the third biggest crisp and snack business in the United Kingdom.-History:Tayto...

. The announcement brought the news that 195 of 350 jobs would be saved initially. On 20 January 2006, it was announced that Tayto was to buy all Golden Wonder's UK operations including the Scunthorpe

Scunthorpe

Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...

, North Lincolnshire

North Lincolnshire

North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....

 site, although it would sell the Wheat Crunchies and Nik Naks brands to United Biscuits

United Biscuits

__FORCETOC__United Biscuits is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of the BN biscuits, McVitie's biscuits, KP Nuts, Hula Hoops, The Real McCoy's crisps, Phileas Fogg snacks, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets...

.