Uncle Joe’s Mintballs – John Winnard

On Monday 17^th April, John Winnard, the great-great nephew of William Santus, the founder of Uncle Joe’s Mintballs, gave a wonderful talk to the Brindle Historical Society on the history of this famous sweet.  Uncle Joe’s Mintballs, now owned by John and his brother Antony, have been made in Wigan (and only Wigan) for 125 years and with a tiny workforce, manage to produce about 250 tonnes of sweets per year. 

In the early days, the sweets were enjoyed by miners, since cigarettes couldn’t be taken underground, and sucking on a peppermint sweet helped the men breathe in the dusty conditions.  In the early 20^th century the marketing was quite simple: just get people to sample the sweets!  The product was so good, that once people tasted them, sales would surely follow.  In those days, several methods of handing out free sweets to try would be frowned upon today.  They were given away to men at football matches and to women queuing outside cinemas and even to children outside school gates!  Once these methods stopped, the focus turned to attending trade fairs and today this remains the company’s primary marketing method. 

The traditional sweets contain only three natural ingredients of pure cane sugar, cream of tartar and the finest oil of peppermint.  They are hand cooked on open fires to caramelise and offer a unique minty taste.

John explained that when his father died suddenly in 1990, he and his brother found themselves having to run the factory, but having worked in the various departments all their lives, they already knew the practical side.  They simply had to learn how to run a business – quickly!  They continued to employ the same firms of solicitors and accountants who guided them in the early days, and after four years, they managed to post record profits. 

John was awarded an MBE in 2011, and when he received his award from (then) Prince Charles, he offered to show the Prince round the factory if he was ever in Wigan.  In 2019, at the hundredth anniversary of the opening of the current factory, Prince Charles duly visited and met all the staff.  No doubt he would also have been offered sweets to try.

After the disruption caused by the pandemic, the business has managed to get back to its previous production levels, but the company is constantly innovating and amongst other things is now looking at practical solutions to produce more environmentally friendly packaging.  They now produces a sugar-free version, and their flexible working practices means that they can increase production during the winter months when demand is about three times higher and allow the staff to have long weekends during the summer.