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Spangles was a brand of boiled sweets manufactured by Mars Ltd in the United Kingdom from 1950 to the early 1980s. [1] They were sold in a paper packet with individual sweets originally unwrapped but later cellophane wrapped. They were distinguished by their shape which was a rounded square with a circular depression on each face.
When Spangles were introduced in 1950, sweets were still on ration, and the price of sweets had to be accompanied by tokens or points from one's ration book, but Spangles required only one point instead of the two required for other sweets and chocolate. [2] This bonus, accompanied by effective marketing, made Spangles even more popular. American actor William Boyd was chosen to front the advertising campaign as a character he made famous in numerous films, Hopalong Cassidy, along with the slogan "Hoppy's favourite sweet". [3] Another slogan was "The sweet way to go gay!" [4]
During the early 1970s Mars Ltd commissioned a redesign of the packaging using a ‘funky’ period appropriate bespoke typeface. The new typeface and packaging designs were created by Neville Uden.
Spangles were discontinued in 1984, and briefly reintroduced in 1995, including in Woolworths outlets in the UK, [1] though only four varieties were available – tangerine, lime, blackcurrant and Old English. [5] There are many nostalgic references to them from children who grew up with them. Spangles are associated with the post-war era and they, like Space Hoppers or the Raleigh Chopper, have become shorthand for lazy nostalgia for the time, as in the phrase "Do you remember Spangles?" [6] [7] In 2008, Spangles topped a poll of discontinued brands which British consumers would most like to see revived. [8]
Today the Tunes brand is the only remaining relation of the Spangles brand, sharing the shape and wrapping of the original product.
The regular Spangles packet (labelled simply "Spangles") contained a variety of translucent, fruit-flavoured sweets: strawberry, blackcurrant, orange, pineapple, lemon and lime, and cola. Originally the sweets were not individually wrapped, but later a waxed paper, and eventually a cellophane wrapper was used. The tube was striped, a bright orange-red colour alternating with silver. It bore the word "Spangles" in large letters. In the 1970s, a distinctive, seventies-style font was used.
Over the production period many different, single flavour varieties were introduced including Acid Drop, Barley Sugar, Blackcurrant, Liquorice, Peppermint, Spearmint and Tangerine. A white mint Spangle, complete with hole, was produced as a competitor to the Polo mint.
The Old English Spangles packet contained "traditional English" flavours. The standard line-up was liquorice (black), mint humbug (brown), pear drop (orange/red), aniseed (green) and treacle (opaque mustard yellow), [9] but other flavours appeared from time to time.
The sweets' individual wrappers were striped, distinguishing them from regular Spangles. The tube was black, white and purple, and designed for a more mature and sophisticated clientele than the regular variety.
At one point a mystery flavour was released where the wrappers had question marks on them and one was invited to guess the flavour. The flavour was eventually revealed as Fruit Cocktail.
Spangles were mentioned in The Kinks' song "Art Lover", from their 1981 album, Give the People What They Want . In 1977, the British novelty pop band Lieutenant Pigeon released an instrumental single titled "Spangles". The Fall song "It's A Curse" on their album The Infotainment Scan , also includes a reference to Spangles.
Tic Tac is a brand of small, hard mint manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero. They were first produced in 1969 and are now available in a variety of flavours in over 100 countries.
Fisherman's Friend is a brand of strong menthol lozenges manufactured by the Lofthouse company in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England.
Polo is a brand of breath mint whose defining feature is the hole in the middle. The peppermint flavoured Polo was first manufactured in the United Kingdom in 1948, by employee John Bargewell at the Rowntree's Factory, York, and a range of flavours followed. The name may derive from "polar", referencing the cool, fresh taste of the mint. Polo mints are also sold in other countries such as India and Sri Lanka by Nestlé. Polo mints are usually sold in a 34g pack containing 23 individual mints.
Starburst is the brand name of a box-shaped, fruit-flavoured soft taffy candy manufactured by The Wrigley Company, which today is a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Starburst has many different varieties, such as Tropical, Sour, FaveREDs, Watermelon, Very Berry, Superfruit, Summer Blast and Original.
Pacers is a discontinued British brand of mint flavoured confection, manufactured by Mars.
Angel Delight is a powdered dessert product produced in the United Kingdom. It is designed to be mixed and whisked with milk to create a mousse-like sweet dessert.
Liquorice or licorice is a confection usually flavoured and coloured black with the extract of the roots of the liquorice plant Glycyrrhiza glabra. A wide variety of liquorice sweets are produced around the world. In North America, black liquorice is distinguished from similar confectionery varieties that are not flavoured and coloured black with liquorice extract but commonly manufactured in the form of similarly shaped chewy ropes or tubes and often called red liquorice. Black liquorice, together with anise extract, is also a common flavour in other forms of confectionery such as jellybeans. In addition to these, various other liquorice-based sweets are sold in the United Kingdom, such as liquorice allsorts. In addition to the sweet variations typically found in the United Kingdom and North America, Dutch, German and Nordic liquorice characteristically contains ammonium chloride instead of sodium chloride, prominently so in salty liquorice, which carries a strong salty rather than sweet flavor.
Quality Street is a line of tinned and boxed toffees, chocolates and sweets, first manufactured by Mackintosh's in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, in 1936. It was named after J. M. Barrie's play Quality Street. Since 1988 they have been produced by Nestlé. Quality Street have long been a competitor to Cadbury Roses which were launched by Cadbury in 1938.
Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles are small round sweets measuring about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) in diameter; they have a jelly-like consistency, and are covered with sugar. They contain fruit juice, have no artificial colours or flavours, and come in five flavours: lemon (yellow), lime (green), strawberry (red), blackcurrant (purple) and orange (orange).
Fry's Chocolate Cream is a chocolate bar developed by J. S. Fry & Sons and currently manufactured by Cadbury. Launched in 1866, Fry's Chocolate Cream is the first mass-produced chocolate bar and is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand. The original chocolate bar consisted of a plain fondant centre enrobed in plain chocolate. Variants include Peppermint Cream, Orange Cream, Raspberry Cream and Strawberry Cream.
Fab is an ice cream brand made by Nestlé. Both the ice lolly on a stick brands 'Zoom' and 'FAB', were introduced in United Kingdom by J. Lyons & Co. Ltd., and were brought out in order to take advantage of the popularity of Gerry Anderson's television series Fireball XL5 and Thunderbirds.
Fruit-tella are chewy sweets similar to Sugus, Starburst and Chewits. They are made using real fruit juice, natural colours and natural flavours, sugar and gelatine. They are made by Perfetti Van Melle, the company that also manufactures Mentos and Chupa Chups.
York Fruits are a brand of fruit-flavoured jellies, traditionally popular in Great Britain at Christmas.
Rowntree's Fruit Gums are circular sweets formerly made by Rowntree's, who were later acquired by Nestlé. There are five flavours, each of a different colour: strawberry, orange, lemon, blackcurrant and lime.
Humbugs are a traditional hard boiled sweet available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. They are usually flavoured with peppermint and striped in two different colours. In Australia, the black and white striped humbugs are flavoured aniseed and sold at all major supermarkets. Humbugs may be cylinders with rounded ends wrapped in a twist of cellophane, or more traditionally tetrahedral formed from pinched cylinders with a 90-degree turn between one end and the other loose in a bag. Records of humbugs exist from as early as the 1820s, and they are referred to in the 1863 book Sylvia's Lovers as being a food from the North.
5 is a brand of sugar-free chewing gum that is manufactured by the Wrigley Company, marketed toward teenagers. The name "5" hints at the five human senses and that it has 5 calories.
Midget Gems are chewy, firm sweets similar to wine gums but much harder. They are manufactured from sugar and glucose syrup, corn starch and/or various other starches, animal gelatin, and various colourings and flavouring.
The Wham Bar is a confectionery bar produced by Tangerine Confectionery and sold in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Sherbet is a fizzy, sweet powder, usually eaten by dipping a lollipop or liquorice, using a small spoon, or licking it from a finger.
Rowntree's Randoms are a jelly sweet produced by Nestlé under its Rowntree's brand. The sweet was launched in the UK on 18 May 2009.
