Hovis is Britain's most well known bread brand, and they are most famous for their tasty brown loaves. Hovis' founder, Richard 'Stoney' Smith believed that wheatgerm offered significant health benefits and registered a trademark in 1886. Four years later, the name "Hovis" was coined. Hovis is a contraction of the Latin phrase "Hominis Vis" - the Strength of Man.

Hovis is still going strong today, and has diversified into white bread and flour for home use. However, there have been no Hovis television advertisements recently. This is sad, since Hovis produced several unique ads with their easily-recognisable theme, Dvorak's "New World Symphony". The most famous of these featured a small boy who would ride his rickety bicycle over cobblestones to deliver bread to needy souls.