Mrs Elswood Haimisha Cucumbers Pickle 670 g

Product Information

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding. Last year, Empire Bespoke Foods, which owns Mrs Elswood, took the decision to give its homely ambassador a new look.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

Your registration is incomplete

Harvested in the height of cucumber season (June-July), they are crunchy with a delicious fresh and full flavour. Desperate to understand what happened, I spoke to Mat Moyes, head of the Mrs Elswood brand for Empire Bespoke Foods. “Over the years, and driven by consumer research, there were lots of comments suggesting that Mrs. Elswood was in need of a refresh,” he told me. He also said the rebranding process had included conversations with a Jewish food historian, as well as testing the new branding “with shoppers up and down the country.” In every study, “the new outperformed the old on all measures.” The time for a new direction, it seemed, was now. The first Mrs. Elswood was a model from an agency — a dark-haired woman in her early 20s who, frankly, looked like she crushed a lot of hearts in her Israel tour days. There isn’t not a touch of soft porn about the photo. This Mrs. Elswood was brief; the model sadly died young, and her family asked the owners to change the picture, as it was upsetting to see her smiling out from the supermarket shelves. Our challenge was to retain this lovely position of being close to communities and yet modernising it.”

But a couple of weeks ago, The Jewish Chronicle broke the big news. Mrs. Elswood was getting a rebrand. And they had evidence: Pictures of a new Mrs Elswood jar — with a new Mrs. Elswood. Mrs Elswood has been given a modern, more fashionable look with a sleek hairstyle and new red top which matches the classic green and red brand colours.In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people. By 1972 the Marela brand had disappeared. Ex-employees, Sam Goldman, Joe Rubin, and Dennis Mendel, saw an opportunity and started a new company which Donna Nathan, Joe’s daughter told me they called Elswood because Joe and Dennis came from Elstree, and Sam from St Johns Wood (not Borehamwood, by the way). Joe had the bright idea of creating a person for customers to identify with. They had a photoshoot, a pretty girl came from an agency and Mrs Elswood was born.

With Smylies, you can shop all the latest produce from Mrs Elswood, including their famous flavours; whole sweet, sweet ‘n’ sour, hot dill, dill spear and sweet cucumber spears.

Read Next

The plan was to keep her recognisable. Empire Bespoke Foods senior brand manager Mat Moyes told the JC: “People empathised with this character — Mrs Elswood. Smylies export leading British food and drink brands globally, across the grocery, chilled, frozen and non-food categories.

The designers didn’t want Mrs Elswood to lose any of her charm. Mrs Davis explained: “The most important thing was Mrs Elswood herself keeping her warmth, and her motherly qualities whilst bringing her up to date with a slightly more youthful face and hairstyle.” She was a real person for a while, a model from an agency, but was replaced by the smiling, illustrated lady some years later.”Mrs Elswood was founded in London in 1947 and has won the hearts of British consumers up and down the country ever since. As for the jar lid going from green to red, Mrs Davis said: “That works with the gherkins and really makes them pop. Food marketing experts Brilliant Agency devised the latest incarnation. Its creative director, Laurra Davis, told the JC: “She has been through several iterations. The decision wasn’t purely cosmetic, according to Mrs Davis. “She was looking a bit dated, but also, the brand was struggling to keep up-to-date in terms of technology. The illustration wasn’t equipped to be used on social media and online,” she said. There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.