Chris Morley of the Birmingham Mail provides an update on the upcoming rally in support of the Birmingham HP Sauce factory. The factory which employs 125 people faces closure next year following the Heinz announcement that the production of HP Sauce is to be moved to a facility in Holland.

Support for the rally (originally reported here) has been gaining steady support since it was first organised by the Transport and General Workers Union earlier this month.

Local businesses, police and city council have worked together to help organise and support the rally. Birmingham police and council chiefs have supported a plan for a mile-long route for which people can march and voice a loud public outcry in opposition to close the historic Aston Cross factory. Aston Villa meanwhile is showing support by opening its car park at the Holte End and providing overspill parking at the club’s coach park in Witton Road.

It will also give Brummies a chance to show their affection for the wonderful brown sauce produced there, which has been described as a symbol of the nation. - Chris Morley

Accompanied by a marching band, the 125 strong HP workforce will lead the march from the park at 11:30 am. The HP employees will be flanked by Transport & General Workers’ Union leader Tony Woodley, Perry Barr Labour MP Khalid Mah-mood and Birmingham historian Dr Carl Chinn.

In a show of strength, Birmingham Mail staff will head the procession by holding high a banner proclaiming “Save Our Sauce”.

Protest march details are as follows:

Marchers will leave from the park and turn right on to Witton Lane, under Aston Expressway, and on to Queens Road. From there the route will turn right into Church Lane and on to Church Road.

At the A5127 Lichfield Road, the march will turn right and carry on all the way to the island at Park Lane/Rocky Lane before arriving at the gates of the HP Sauce factory. - The Birmingham Mail

The Transport & General Workers’ Union will also be flying 50 huge blue flags with various other placards. Other trade unions are also encouraged to fly their own banners in support.

Gerard Coyne, TGWU Midlands secretary, said:

“We need to send a message loud and clear to Heinz that this is not on and that this facility should remain where it has been for more than 100 years. Many are now saying that people have to get off their knees and start campaigning to save manufacturing in the UK - and this is where we start.”

Image courtesy of icbirmingham.co.uk

Chris Morley’s original article can be read here.

Would anyone be willing to provide me with photos, video and/or transcripts of speeches etc following the rally? The more feedback received the better! I would especially love to see photos of HP Foods employees shown together in solidarity, holding bottles of HP Sauce! I have afterall been looking for a suitable 200th picture for the HP Sauce Gallery!

From the now I’ve seen just about everything dept:

The Birmingham Mail continues their coverage of the Save Our Sauce campaign which has recently taken on a unique twist!

A Birmingham pub as developed a special Save Our Sauce beer in support of HP Sauce. The Save Our Sauce ale, which was developed to “look and taste” as close as possible to ‘the Sauce’ is now on sale at the Wellington in Bennetts Hill. The ale is brewed to not only match the colour of HP Sauce but also its fruitiness!

Read the full story here.

The Recipe:

Last week I received an email from an anonymous HP Foods employee informing me of the impending changes by Heinz to not only move the production of HP Sauce but to change the recipe itself. I was somewhat distraught over this news and I quickly wrote up a blog entry to which I hoped to rouse the emotions of fellow HP Sauce lovers. I later wrote “From My Perspective” where I stated that if this information were correct, the implications of such a decision to change the HP Sauce recipe would affect us all, not only those in the West Midlands area. Again my intentions were to bring out the passions of those who treasure HP Sauce as I do. Fortunately for all of us, the information I received that Heinz intends to change the recipe has since been proven to be incorrect.

I have received word from my “source” at HP Foods that this rumour simply is not true. My “source” tells me that Heinz’s intentions are to precisely replicate the recipe in Holland and mass produce it from that facility. Afterall, would it make sense to have paid 480 million for the brand only to change the recipe? Probably not. There will be however changes in supply of things like sugar, tomatoes and dates etc, to which Heinz already has its own suppliers.

My appologies for contributing to spreading rumours that simply were not true. My own “quick to believe the worst” frame of mind got the better of me.

The Boycott:

Chris Haden has an update regarding the boycott effort with a perspective from Premier Foods. For those of us who don’t know Premier Foods, they own Crosse & Blackwell, HP Baked Beans and Cadburys Drinking Chocolate among others. Chris recently spoke with a spokesperson regarding purchases of non-Heinz products from Premier Foods. Chris was informed that Premier Foods has recently received a giant order for Branston Ketchup from the UK’s largest supermarket chain, Tesco. Premier Foods also supplies ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons.

“The feeling i got from them was that the boycott must already be taking effect and would force them to rethink the closure. This might be wishfull thinking on my behalf, but talking to people and checking supermarket shelves, it would appear localy, customers are hoarding HP Sauce and snubbing Heinz. Just hope this is Nationwide.” - Chris Haden

Let’s hope Chris is right and Heinz is getting the message! Still, save us a pint of SOS ale won’t you Chris?

Thanks to Chris Haden for providing us with the following update.

icBirmingham is reporting that the Birmingham city council is “cautiously optimistic” about retaining the Aston HP Sauce factory after meeting with HP Foods parent company Heinz.

Ken Hardeman, cabinet member for regeneration, who chaired last night’s meeting, insisted it was not a foregone conclusion Heinz would go ahead with its threat to close the Aston Cross factory and move production to Holland.

Coun Hardeman confirmed discussions with the Government Office for the West Midlands, Advantage West Midlands and the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry would continue in an attempt to identify cash grants that might be used to offer Heinz an alternative site in Birmingham.

He said: “They (Heinz) looked at a lot of different options but the bottom line as far as they are concerned is that the economic case does not support continuing at the existing factory.”

This news follows the launch of a new “Save Our Sauce” campaign website in recent weeks by Birmingham businessmen aiming to help keep HP Sauce production at the Aston factory. I encourage everyone to visit and pledge support! The BBC has some additional (video) coverage of the “Save Our Sauce” campaign here.

Those of you who have visited the site recently have undoubtedly arrived here after hearing of the petition to save the HP Sauce factory in Birmingham, England. From the comments I’ve received, it is a good likelihood that many of you are from the Birmingham area and may have ties with those who work at the HP Sauce factory - perhaps you work there yourself. It is quite understandable then, that the announced closure of the Aston plant is perceived as a both a Midlands labour issue and one that strikes at the local sense of pride as HP Foods has been a beloved employer of the local community for a number of generations. My own obvious fondness for HP Sauce has also lead some to believe that I too must be from the Birmingham area, for why else would I be so passionate about it as to create my own blog celebrating it?

I would like to dispel the notions that 1) I am from Birmingham, and 2) the closure of the Aston factory is a solely a Birmingham issue. It is much more than that, and here’s why.

I live and work far away from the HP Foods factory in Winnipeg, Canada, and although I have visited the UK I have never been to Birmingham. HP Sauce is however something Canadians have enjoyed for nearly as long as our British cousins. Canada was one of the first countries to which HP Sauce exported in the early 1900’s; other countries included Australia & New Zealand as well as some European countries. HP Foods even kept track of when the St. Lawrence River (Canada) was frozen in order to avoid disappointment as a result of late shipments! Then, much later during World War II, HP Sauce became a scarcity due to the hazards of transatlantic shipping. It was then that HP Foods enhanced their relationship with E.D. Smith of Ontario, who had already supplied HP Foods with shipments of tomato puree for many years. HP Foods made the monumental decision to license E.D. Smith with rights to produce the Sauce for the first time in Canada. It was still wartime however and the secret recipe was translated into code, halved into two parts and sent separately across the Atlantic! The method and description of the plant followed later in a third envelope. Canadians have benefited from this decision ever since.

Today, HP Sauce is very much entrenched in Canadian kitchens, but it’s usage, or dare I say cultural identity has evolved somewhat differently than how I perceive it to be in the UK. In Canada, it’s not known as “brown sauce”?, but rather as simply HP Sauce. Although it can be asked for in most restaurants, it is not as prominently used in place of ketchup (red sauce) but rather for meals of special occasion where say a roast might be served. In fact, it wasn’t until about a year ago when I was chatting with some British friends on MSN that I discovered just how differently we used HP Sauce. At first, I wasn’t even really aware of what “brown sauce”? was! Mention “brown sauce”? to a Canadian and they might think you’re talking about gravy. It was then that one of my friends sent me a recipe she’d found on-line for me to try. Over the next week, I gathered up the needed ingredients and made a batch of it one night while my wife was at work. It was ready by the time she arrived home, and when she stepped in the door, I rushed downstairs with a dollop of the sauce on a wooden spoon for her to taste. “It tastes just like HP Sauce!”? she said. It was then that I realised that it was in the fridge all the while yet upon further reflection it was probably the most anonymous item there! I knew nothing about it – it had always just been there! It was then that I sought out to find more about it and by doing so I created this site to expand my own knowledge of it and to share my experiences with others. Over the course of the following 12 months I discovered more than I ever thought I’d want to know about HP Sauce, and in those months I’ve developed a genuine fondness for it. It is no longer relegated to just special occasions, but is used very regularly and enjoyed thoroughly.

HP Sauce is enjoyed the world over by millions of people and although a great many things have changed since its inception as the Midland Vinegar Company at Aston Cross, two things have remained constant; it has always been made at the original factory, and the original recipe itself has not changed. The closure of the Aston plant directly affects those who live and work in the area, both on a financial and emotional level and is very much a Birmingham issue. However, if what my anonymous HP Foods employee tells me is true, and Heinz does end up changing the recipe – this will ultimately affect ALL of us who both enjoy HP Sauce and respect its historical importance. This holds true for people living both inside the UK and internationally. The two constants which ARE HP Sauce will have changed. From my own perspective, it is outrageous to throw something like this away should at the very least invoke a national outcry in the United Kingdom! This is a national issue, please see it as such! Keep voicing your concerns to anyone who will listen. Perhaps once people start to realise the implications of what Heinz is doing, the (perceived) apathetic response will turn into something more productive.

-Brad

P.S: Contrary to popular belief, it’s not me who’s wearing the towel.