Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Hovis and 100% British Wheat

• 1. Where is the wheat grown for Hovis loaves?

All Hovis loaves made in mainland Britain are made with flour milled from 100% British wheat. This wheat is grown throughout mainland Britain, with the majority grown in the traditional wheat growing belt from Yorkshire down to East Anglia and the south coast, where the climate is best suited to wheat growing

• 2. What does this mean for British farmers?

We used to import £18 million worth of wheat from abroad. This money will now go to British farmers

• 3. Is Hovis the only bread brand to do this?

Hovis is the only major national bread brand to use flour milled from 100% British wheat across its entire range of bread, morning goods and toasting products made in mainland Britain

• 4. Where did Hovis previously get their wheat from?

We’ve always used a proportion of British wheat in our loaves, but until recently, to get the best quality bread-making wheat, we had to import from countries such as Canada. This didn’t seem right to us, so for the last 6 years we’ve been working with British farmers to find a way to grow the best quality wheat, exclusively for Hovis, right here in Britain. At the start of 2010 we were able to switch all our sourcing to 100% British Wheat for our products baked in mainland Britain

• 5. What happens if there is a bad wheat harvest?

The strain of premium wheat that’s being grown for us has proven exceptionally successful through two of the wettest harvests in the last decade and is, we believe, less likely to fail than some other British bread-making wheat varieties. We're very confident that regardless of harvest, we will be able to continue making Hovis using flour milled from 100% British wheat.

In the extremely unlikely event this wouldn’t be possible, all communication around 100% British wheat will be removed from Hovis packaging and all other communications. Under no circumstances would we include flour made from non-British wheat in Hovis product packed in packaging which stated otherwise

• 6. So will I notice a change in Hovis product quality?

We’ve been working for 6 years with British farmers to ensure the premium quality wheat we’re growing here in Britain is comparable with the best bread-making wheats grown elsewhere in the world. We’ve conducted numerous product tests, both at our bakeries and in independent taste tests, and have found Hovis bread made with 100% British wheat to be every bit as good quality as Hovis bread made using imported wheat. We're therefore extremely confident that Hovis bread will continue to be as great quality as ever

• 7. Is there a change in price because of this move? 

We’re paying slightly more for the wheat to be grown here in Britain, as the wheat being grown for us has a lower yield when grown here than when its grown abroad. We're not passing this increase on to our customers

• 8. Does this mean Hovis products are now made from 100% British ingredients?

A small proportion of our ingredients continue to be sourced from overseas, e.g., some of the seeds used in our seeded products. We will continue to look for ways to source these from Britain

• 9. Are Hovis 100% British wheat products available in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland?

A limited range of Hovis 100% British wheat products is available in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The other Hovis products are of the same high quality and great taste and made using predominantly British wheat but with some premium wheat from overseas.

Unfortunately we couldn't make the full range available in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland as the Belfast mill that supplies our bakery is also used by several other companies, meaning we wouldn't have been able to guarantee Hovis was made with 100% British wheat. We investigated a wide variety of options to address this, including shipping in loaves from one of our mainland bakeries. However, this could have jeopardised some jobs in our Belfast mill and bakery, hence it wasn’t an option for us

• 10. Where does the wheat used in Hovis products made in Northern Ireland come from?

Hovis products made in Northern Ireland are made using predominantly British wheat but this is combined with some premium wheat from overseas, eg, Canada