Hovis

Hovis has a rich history that began way back in 1886 with a miller by the name of Richard ‘Stoney’ Smith.

Smith rightly believed that the wheatgerm was the most nutritionally rich part of the grain and should be used in the baking process. Until then it had been discarded by millers as it fermented too quickly. Smith found a way to separate the germ from the flour, lightly cook it and then return it to the flour without losing any of the nutritional content of the wheatgerm. And so the first product in the Hovis portfolio, Hovis Original Wheatgerm, was born.

Hovis has been communicating the nutritional value of its bread since 1892 when it began placing adverts in leading national magazines and newspapers, talking about the health benefits of wheatgerm. In 1924 scientists discovered yet another nutritional benefit of wheatgerm – the remarkable abundance of vitamin B that is essential for keeping the skin, hair, eyes and the liver healthy. Hovis contained six times as much wheatgerm as wholemeal bread and this claim was used to further increase Hovis’ popularity at the time.

Advertising has been a strong part of Hovis’ history and the brand was one of the first to advertise on British television in 1956, with the ‘Don’t say brown, say Hovis’ campaign. Hovis launched one of the most famous adverts of all time in 1973 – the classic ‘Boy on the Bike’ directed by Ridley Scott and featuring the unforgettable music from Dvorak Symphony No.9. The advert showed a young boy being rewarded for a hard day’s work with a slice of the Hovis Little Brown Loaf. During its launch year it won five major advertising awards and established itself as one of the best-known commercials of all time.

In September 2008, Hovis launched the iconic ‘Go on Lad’, a 122 second TV ad, one second for each year of the brand’s life. The narrative follows a young boy from 1886 buying a Hovis loaf then running home through seven scenes from British history, including world war one soldiers marching, suffragettes demanding the vote, WW2 bomb sites, the Queen’s coronation celebratory street parties and the miner’s strike. The ad has won multiple awards, including Campaign Magazine's 'Campaign of the Year' and the British Television Advertising Award Gold.

Since the wheatgerm discovery Hovis has continued to lead the way in innovation, continuously searching for new ways to bring health benefits into bread. Hovis invented the ‘half and half’ sector in 2001 with the launch of Hovis Best of Both, a white loaf with all the wheatgerm goodness of wholemeal.

A more recent addition to the range is Hovis Seed Sensations, launched in August 2007 and available in two delicious flavours, Rich & Roasted and Light & Nutty. Using the latest enrobing techniques ensures the loaves are completely enveloped in seeds in the baking process. Since launch Hovis Seed Sensations has achieved 15 per cent value share of the seeded sector and sales of more than £27 million annualised.

Today Hovis can be found in the cupboards of 73% of British households and is worth £442 million*.

The Hovis bread range includes:

Hovis Wholemeal
Hovis Farmhouse Wholemeal

Hovis Best of Both

Hovis Seed Sensations Rich & Roasted
Hovis Seed Sensations Light & Nutty

Hovis Granary
Hovis Wholemeal Granary
Hovis White Granary

Hovis Soft White
Hovis Farmhouse White

Hovis Original Wheatgerm 

Hovis Nimble White
Hovis Nimble Wholemeal
Hovis Nimble Malted Wholegrain

Visit the Hovis website at: www.hovisbakery.co.uk.

Or visit the Rank Hovis website at: www.rankhovis.co.uk.

* IRI: Total Grocery Outlets, 52 w/e data to 18 April 2009