Harvo Malt Bread

[mikejee]

The internet gives the following information:
"Harvo" was a brand of malt loaf which was made at the company's bakery at 257 Lawley Street, Birmingham until the company went bankrupt in 1973. In some areas, the name Harvo or Harvo Loaf is still often used to describe malt loaf, regardless of the brand.

 

[ER Allen]

I never had Harvo, but I do remember my Mum buying Hovis Bread, which is made by RHM. They also make a few other items I remember, and still use myself: Atora suet, Bisto gravy browning, Robertson's marmelade, and Sharwood's curry powder and chutney. Can't seem to get Hovis anymore, am trying to find a recipe for it.
The Two Ronnies had a spoof of the original Hovis TV advert:

 

[linbin]

My late husband worked at Harvo,s His name was Allan Williams he would bring one home most days. It was sad when it closed due to the new roads

 

[mw0njm.]

 

[NOTSHARP]

For those of you that enjoy a fruit loaf, if north of the wall, try a Selkirk Bannock.

They are good.

Steve.

 

[ER Allen]

I never had Harvo, but I do remember my Mum buying Hovis Bread, which is made by RHM. They also make a few other items I remember, and still use myself: Atora suet, Bisto gravy browning, Robertson's marmelade, and Sharwood's curry powder and chutney. Can't seem to get Hovis anymore, am trying to find a recipe for it.
The Two Ronnies had a spoof of the original Hovis TV advert:

I found this from Birmingham Museums Trust: Hovis' managing director giving a pep talk to staff, 1935.

 

[JohnCCD]

When I was a student I spent 2 summers working at Harvos. It must have been 1974/5 . I'd always liked malt loaf but it was a few years before i could ever eat it again. One job was pushing the dough down into the tins with your fists on a conveyor belt. The tins would get burnt bits stuck to them which would cut your knuckles. The oil would get in the cut and make it bleed. If there was too much blood on the dough you had to do it again.
I heard that one year they bought a huge job lot of cheap fruit. Eventually it started to go mouldy and got maggots. They used the mouldy stuff after spraying it but had to sell the maggoty fruit to a sauce factory. Happy memories!

 

[Stokkie]

I never had Harvo, but I do remember my Mum buying Hovis Bread, which is made by RHM. They also make a few other items I remember, and still use myself: Atora suet, Bisto gravy browning, Robertson's marmelade, and Sharwood's curry powder and chutney. Can't seem to get Hovis anymore, am trying to find a recipe for it.
The Two Ronnies had a spoof of the original Hovis TV advert:

Hovis bread is still in business and a British brand sold by Waitrose and Tesco and others.https://www.hovis.co.uk


Harvo isn't made since the 1970s, but Soreen another malt fruit loaf is widely available.

 

[Lincolnshire poacher]

The mention of Malt loaf takes me back to my being a nipper.
Mom used to take me to the Star cinema,bottom end of Slade Road and on the way she would buy me a malt loaf to munch during the film.
I still buy them today, lovely with butter.

 

[mw0njm.]

"Harvo" was a brand of malt loaf which was made at the company's bakery at 257 Lawley Street, Birmingham
the company went bankrupt in 1973. In some areas, the name Harvo or Harvo Loaf is still often used to describe malt loaf

The Harvo trademark expired in 2006.

 

[StePhipps]

I know exactly what happened to Harvo! Between 1972 and 1975 I worked for Rank Hovis McDougal (RHM Bakeries) which owned various local bakeries such as Hardys, Wilson's and of course Wimbush. Harvo was the number one malt loaf seller and Ranks wanted to get into the market. I was involved in their product development and did various trial bakes at Wimbush to try and get a product that matched Harvo for maltiness, sweetness and squiggyness. But the bosses also wanted a good profit margin so restricted ingredients. For example one recipe we tried used chopped dates instead of sultanas. It was rumoured that Harvo's recipe and process was closely guarded and that reps that visited the factory were never allowed to see the whole process which was spread over three floors. As far as I know Harvo was a one product operation. Anyway we got some good results and taste tests showed we were on a par with Harvo BUT senior RHM management got fed up with the effort put into it, bought Harvo and closed it down!! One way to eliminate the opposition. Then of course all our efforts were put aside and they went back to producing the usual malt loaf.

 

[JohnCCD]

I know exactly what happened to Harvo! Between 1972 and 1975 I worked for Rank Hovis McDougal (RHM Bakeries) which owned various local bakeries such as Hardys, Wilson's and of course Wimbush. Harvo was the number one malt loaf seller and Ranks wanted to get into the market. I was involved in their product development and did various trial bakes at Wimbush to try and get a product that matched Harvo for maltiness, sweetness and squiggyness. But the bosses also wanted a good profit margin so restricted ingredients. For example one recipe we tried used chopped dates instead of sultanas. It was rumoured that Harvo's recipe and process was closely guarded and that reps that visited the factory were never allowed to see the whole process which was spread over three floors. As far as I know Harvo was a one product operation. Anyway we got some good results and taste tests showed we were on a par with Harvo BUT senior RHM management got fed up with the effort put into it, bought Harvo and closed it down!! One way to eliminate the opposition. Then of course all our efforts were put aside and they went back to producing the usual malt loaf.

I find that quite sad. It's commercial vandalism really.
When I worked there as a summer job they only made malt loaves but there was a store room on the top floor that had big rolls of wrappers for other products. I think I remember a cherry loaf and a few others. I thought they sounded really nice but I never saw them for sale.

 

[StePhipps]

I find that quite sad. It's commercial vandalism really.
When I worked there as a summer job they only made malt loaves but there was a store room on the top floor that had big rolls of wrappers for other products. I think I remember a cherry loaf and a few others. I thought they sounded really nice but I never saw them for sale.

So did I. Absolutely awful behaviour but it wasn't the only action of that type. RHM bakeries couldn't get a contract to supply Marks & Sparks. So what did they do - bought a family bakery that had a contract with M&S. I think it was in Stourbridge. Then over a year or so they moved the M&S lines to their massive bakery in Garretts Green (known as Hardings I think). The rest of the Stourbridge production followed and then it was closed down. The move of M&S production was not without problems but they hung on to the contract.