Monday 28 August 2017

WHAT'S IN A NAME...?




I've just scoffed a KitKat with a luverly cup of char - a Nestle's KitKat, though I'm old enough to recall when they were by Rowntree's.  This started me thinking as to how many of today's young adults grew up never knowing anything other than Nestle's KitKats, or Nestle's Caramacs (which used to be made by MacKintosh's), and other familiar confectionery items from childhood that were once the product of other companies.  Remember Raspberry Ruffle bars, made by Jameson's?  In the early '90s, Cadbury's name suddenly started to appear on Ruffle bars, though I'm unaware as to whether they bought out Jameson's or already owned them.  After a short while, it changed from plain (dark) chocolate to milk chocolate, and it wasn't very long before the bar disappeared off the shelves, seemingly forever.  (I don't know why they didn't just have two versions of the bar, one plain, the other milk, but there you go.  H'mm, now that I think about it, maybe they did for a while, before phasing out the plain one and just leaving the milk.)



However, nothing is forever, and a few years later, Ruffle bars resurfaced, again bearing the Jameson's name, but this time manufactured by a company called Monkhill Confectionery (which, it turns out, was owned by Cadbury, but for how long that was the case, I just don't know).  Today (still with the Jameson's name on the wrapper), they're produced by a company called Tangerine (who bought Monkhill from Cadbury in 2008), proving that you can't keep a good chocolate bar down.  One of the things I really miss about the legendary Woolworth's is that I can no longer purchase (from their renowned Pic 'n' Mix counter) individually wrapped Raspberry Ruffle sweets in whatever quantity I want.  However, they are available (still in individual wrappers) in bags from pound shops and, no doubt, other stores.



Talking of Rowntree's (as I was in the first paragraph), the last time I looked (not too long ago), the only sweets still carrying the name was Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles.  (Just found out that there's also Rowntree's Randoms, whatever they might be.  Oh, and we mustn't forget Jelly Tots.)  In fact, some years ago, I purchased a tubular, zip-up pencil case which looked like a giant-size tube of Fruit Pastilles.  I dimly remember seeing some item of confectionery bearing the MacKintosh name only relatively recently, but can't for the moment recollect precisely what it was.  Toffees perhaps?  Anyone know?  As well as Caramac, MacKintosh used to make Quality Street, Rolo, and Toffee Crisp, as well as a few others, I'd imagine.  Anyway, Rowntree and MacKintosh merged in 1969 to become - you guessed it - Rowntree MacKintosh, but Nestle bought them over in 1988.



Does anyone else miss the original manufacturers' names on their favourite sweets, or am I (as usual) the only one?  And is it just me who still calls Snickers by their original name of Marathon?  Ah, KitKats, Fruit Pastilles, Smarties, and Jelly Tots - they'll always be by Rowntree's to me.  (I notice they've now dropped the apostrophe from their name.)  And Caramacs, Rolos, Toffee Crisp, and Quality Street by MacKintosh, natch!  What can I say?  I just don't like change (on the whole).  Nestle's should have stuck with Milky Bars - after all, the Milky Bars are on them.

******

(Regarding the original Raspberry Ruffle bars, back in the '60s, they used to come on a little cardboard tray (like Bounty), wrapped in a deep red cellophane wrapper, lined inside in the middle with a strip of silver foil.  Anyone remember that?  I used to amuse myself by peeling the silver strip of foil from off the back of the cellophane.)

(Below - some of the above-mentioned items.)




26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember some of those, I do not eat many sweets nowadays as too much sugar not good at all.
Do you remember the fizzy drink bottles with bubbles or dimples on them I can not remember the company?

Terence

Kid said...

I don'r remember the name of the drink, T, though your description of the bottle rings a bell. The drinks I remember are Cresta (It's frothy, man!) and Zing. Cresta disappeared decades ago (but still seems recent to me) and I thought Zing had likewise disappeared, but I've seen it (been a few years now, right enough) in drink-dispensers (y'know, where you push the cup up against a 'nozzle') on the counters of roadside cafeterias.

Lionel Hancock said...

Anybody remember the Walls Ball...The tennis ball sized plastic ball which you pulled the top off and was filled with ice cream...came out in the late sixties I recall....those were the days..

Dave S said...

I still refer to Starburst as Opal Fruits. Something else I remember is a Bar Six- don't know if I'm imagining this, but I think you could only get them in vending machines rather than in shops (although maybe it's just that none of my local shops sold them).

I always associate Fruit Pastilles with Wine Gums as I had an old aunt (she was actually my great-grandmother's sister - I think that makes her my great-great-aunt) who always brought a packet of each to anyone she visited.

I used to enjoy Toffos as well - if I remember rightly, there was a navy blue packet that were all toffee flavoured and differently coloured packet with assorted flavours. However, my most-missed snack from days gone by is Football Crazy crisps - bacon flavoured football shaped crisps, kind of like spherical Frazzles. While there's loads of crisps from the 80s that I'd love to try again (Smith's Bovril crisps for example), I think if they brought Football Crazys back, I wouldn't buy them - I remember them as being the best tasting thing ever and I'd hate to be disappointed if they weren't as good as I recall.

As far as I'm concerned though, there has never been a chocolate bar to beat a Fry's Five Centres. Pure perfection.

Kid said...

It wasn't by Walls, LH - it was a Tonibell Miniball - and you can see my original one in the post entitled 'Old Balls, Please'.

******

I still call them Opal Fruits as well, DS. Bar Six WAS sold in shops, and you can see the wrapper in my old post entitled 'Bar Six - The Best Bar None?' Also liked Toffos. As for Fry's Five Centre - guess what? You can see one on my old post called 'Anyone Remember Fry's 5 Centre?' I loved 'em.

Dave S said...

I don't eat chocolate often these days but I'd wolf down a Five Centres if someone put one in front of me right now!

I might have mentioned this before, but when Marathon changed their name to Snickers, I wasn't as taken aback by it as some were, cos I'd seen Snickers advertised in american comics for several years by that point!

Kid said...

I'd seen Snickers advertised in US comics myself, but as far as I recall, never associated them with Marathons. However, back in the mid-'80s, Bob Paynter, the editor of the humour department of the IPC Youth Group, came back from America with a batch of various chocolate bars, Snickers among them, which he explained was their equivalent of Marathon. Therefore, I wasn't too surprised about the later name change, but was definitely disappointed by it.

Lionel Hancock said...

That's it...I could have sworn it was by Walls but nope Tonibell Miniball... love it....

Dave S said...

Any idea why the underside of Smarties lids had a lower-case letter on them? I remember a rumour at primary school that if you collected the whole alphabet, you got a free tube of Smarties but never saw this advertised anywhere (and it sounds made-up anyway).

Kid said...

And that's my original, LH. Just think, I've now had it back for 26 years - more than a quarter of a century - yet the 19 years which preceded it, where it was lying up in my old loft, still seems like a longer period of time. Having said that, it almost feels like I never left it there at all, 45 years ago, and that I took it with me in 1972.

******

That's a good question, DS, and I honestly don't know the answer. In fact, I don't think it's ever occurred to me before to wonder - but I find myself doing so now. Any other readers know?

Lionel Hancock said...

An amazing find...Its like having part of your life lost then returned to you...great stuff !

Kid said...

That's exactly what it's like, LH. And it's almost like a 'reset' button is pressed, taking you back to that time. When I first saw it, I reached out for it, but then stopped myself, deciding to take photos first, to record it as I'd left it 19 years before. Only once I'd snapped some pics did I reclaim it into my possession.

Chris Sobieniak said...

Living in the US, much of this wouldn't matter to us otherwise given how Rowntree's KitKat and Rolo had been sold under another namesake anyway (though Hershey never really tried to stick their name above the brand's name anyway), but I'm sure there's a few names I don't see very often these days.

Kid said...

And speaking of names I don't see very often these days, CS (on this blog anyway), YOURS is one of them. Good to see you're still around. I've never had a Hershey Bar - what are they like?

Chris Sobieniak said...

Yeah, thanks for noticing my absence. I've been rather busy lately so I haven't been looking through my blog feed.

It's hard to describe a Hershey bar I think, it certainly has a certain taste different from Cadbury's chocolate, of course it came from different ingredient used over here.

Kid said...

I'll get to try a bar one day, and let you know what I think of it when I do.

Chris Sobieniak said...

Thanks, I'm sure it'll be an interesting experience to see what you think. I suppose the only reason Hershey's became such an iconic name over here was simply because we didn't have the likes of Cadbury or Rowntree trying to take up stake in America early on (I guess it's easier getting into Commonwealth nations than here).

Kid said...

I think Hershey sold their own versions of some iconic British chocolate bars under licence in America, but the ingredients (and therefore the taste) would've been slightly different.

Phil S said...

Hershey sued Cadbury to stop importation of original chocolate. I don't know why they bother because the US made versions are hardly ever sold here anyway. You have to go to fancy store which sell imported chocolate and you end up with faux British chocs anyway, Yes Cadbury sold the rights but Hershey is barely using it. The US versions don't use cocoa butter. I believe they use cocoa oil or something so they end tasting less rich and milky and more oily. When it comes to chocolate bars the British ones are far superior . But I do like American Candy bars. The ones with peanuts, peanut butter cups those kinds of things. Also when you were a kid Pop Rocks!

Kid said...

Never heard of Pop Rocks, PS, any good? We used to have a good candy bar in Britain, but I've forgotten its name. (Puff Candy maybe?) I also suspect that it might've been different to Americas's idea of what candy is.

Phil S said...

Pop Rocks taste like....the flavor on the packet. Sort of like pixie sticks What they did was pop like mad! I think you can still find them. The taste was nothing to write home about it was the popping like fizz that made it fun.

Kid said...

Now I need to know what Pixie Sticks are, PS. Please don't say they were like Fairy Logs, as that won't help. (Especially as I just made them up.)

WOODSY said...

Ruffles Bars were simply the best chocolate bars around Kid weren't they! I remember the individual chocolates in a bag too. My fave chocs at the mo are Droste's, a yummy choc pastilles in a sort of tube. They're not for sale everywhere but when I see them I ditch my Munchies and grab those Droste's!

Kid said...

I loved 'em, W, and still scoff them on occasion (probably more than I should). However, I miss the process of unwrapping the red foil with the silver strip and taking them out of the cardboard tray. They're just in an ordinary 'rip open' wrapper nowadays.

Chris Sobieniak said...

Yeah Pixie Sticks and Pop Rocks are perfect when you're into sour-tasting candies.

Kid said...

We used to have a chocolate puff-candy bar over here (might've been made by Jameson's, not sure), which I really enjoyed. Haven't seen it in a few years though, so I don't know if it's still made these days.



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