We're still making them as we did in 1898 and long may it reign. Our father and grandfather basically said 'if it's not broke don't change it'. It was a good recipe to start off with." The comic magazine Viz made a strip called 'Uncle Joe's Mint Balls' which was about Joseph Stalin, who was sometimes called 'Uncle Joe' by Western media, and his quest to show off his untarnished testicles to the world's press (such testicles would be known as 'mint balls' in the vernacular of Northern England, where the comic is printed.)

Redevelopment of all in house systems and procedures to continually achieve SALSA accreditation ensures consistent high produce and service quality.Uncle Joe's Mint Balls are mints produced by William Santus & Co. Ltd. in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England since 1898. [1] Despite their name, the mints are not truly spherical but oblate spheroids. The ingredients of Uncle Joe's Mint Balls are pure cane sugar, oil of peppermint and cream of tartar and are described on the tin as "suitable for vegans". We have products that cover Gluten-Free, Vegan, Sugar Free and Traditional. All aimed at impulse buying, gift and seasonal markets. The brand may be spotted around the world, but take a walk through the Dorning Street building which produces Uncle Joe's and you soon realise how small the company really is. Every sweet produced by Uncle Joe's is made downstairs in the factory, with the production of the sweet itself taking place in just one room. Read More Related Articles It's only in the next room where Uncle Joe's enters the 21st century - and it is where the brand's global reach becomes clear. A modern machine bought eight years ago is capable of wrapping 2,000 sweets a minute - more than 30 sweets every single second.

After a successful few years in business with his brother, William sold his market stalls in Bolton and St. Helens to focus on production in Wigan. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. I think one of the proudest moments for me was going into Bloomingdale's in New York and seeing our Uncle Joe's Mint Balls on the shelves there, then Ant and I went to San Francisco and they were in the airport shop there. It's a major buzz really - a little Wigan delicacy in famous places."Uncle Joes (William Santus Co Ltd) is a traditional British sweet retailer selling old-fashioned, traditional sweets, retro sweets and candy gifts. With a fantastic range of old-school, retro sweets that taste delicious. Brown cane sugar is boiled in copper pans up to the perfect temperature - hot enough to caramelise it for a distinctive flavour, but not too hot that it burns. Once at that point, it is poured onto a table for cooling before peppermint oil is added, causing a rush of minty steam to soar into the air and clear any nostril in the room.

The early mint balls were made by William Santus' wife, Ellen, before production moved to a factory near Wigan Wallgate railway station in 1919. [3] John hopes the company will continue to do Wiganers proud. He added: "I think when people talk about Wigan they generally mention Uncle Joe's in their favourite things about the town. I think pies are probably high up there as well." Antony says it's a 'basic' production method that has remained since 1898 (Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News) Sadly, not all those small businesses have survived the coronavirus pandemic, and Santus admits turnover is still not as high as three years ago. And, as with so many other small firms, the company is currently facing rising costs - yet it still uses the same ingredients and works with the same company for its iconic red tins, fiercely refusing to compromise on quality in a way bigger firms might be tempted to.

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We extended our sugar free collection with a range of Mint with a Hint. This range of sweets was created by accident earlier this year after a member of staff making a batch of sugar-free mint balls at the Toffee Works, added liquorice extract by mistake. Colleagues tasted the end result and we liked them so much that we put them into production and started working on other flavours. The company has worked with other businesses on spin-off products over the years, from Uncle Joe's gin to ice cream. With another trade exhibition in the US coming later this year, John and Antony are looking forward to taking Mint Balls to even more corners of the earth ahead of the company's 125th anniversary. Enjoy yourself as you take a trip down memory lane, you’ll even be able to listen to comedian Mike Harding sing the song he wrote for us as a fan of Uncle Joes Mint Balls. Buying Our Sweets John Winnard MBE next to the factory's iconic red gable end (Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News) After the success of our Halloween and Christmas bag designs, our lever lid tins range has been expanded to include seasonal tins and we are so pleased with the results! It is certainly looking like they will be just as successful as the seasonal bags.

That tight-knit ethos is clear to see at the Dorning Street factory - where just 12 locals work including John, Antony and Anita. The workforce includes Denise Banks, who has been with the company since leaving school in 1978. Today, the business is in the hands of brothers John and Antony Winnard. Their great-great-uncle focused sweet sales on Wigan, Bolton and St Helens - but now Uncle Joe's is a global brand. A new range of lever lid tins now available including flavours such as Wildberry Gin, Dark Rum, Apple Cider and many moreFind sources: "Uncle Joe's Mint Balls"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( October 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) At the moment we've got customers in Japan, the US, Australia and New Zealand," said John, who received an MBE in 2012. "We're scattered all over the world. Naturally, the Second World War posed a problem for sweet production leaving the factory with almost no sugar boilers as they all headed off.