Cheekies (formerly Chicos) is a chocolate-flavoured
jelly lolly (i.e.
sweets
Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...
in British English or
candy in American English).
Description
They are similar to
Jelly Babies
Jelly Babies are a type of soft sugar jelly sweets in the shape of plump babies, sold in a variety of colours. They were first manufactured in Lancashire, England, in the nineteenth century. Their popularity waned before being revived by Basset ...
, but rather than being fruit flavoured and in a variety of colours, they are all dark brown and are flavoured with
cocoa. They were previously called Chicos in Australia.
Production
Cheekies are Australian made and contain no artificial colours. They are made by the
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...
Corporation and marketed under their Australian brand
Allen's Lollies.
The product previously contained
gelatin but the ingredient was removed in 2015 to make Cheekies suitable for vegetarians. Cheekies are noted as a lolly that the public has a polarised opinion on.
Name change
In June 2020, along with
Red Skins, Nestlé announced that the name will be changed to represent the inclusive nature of modern society. The company said the decision was made to ensure "nothing we do marginalises our friends, neighbours and colleagues". The statement added "These names have overtones which are out of step with Nestle's values, which are rooted in respect." The word "chico" in Spanish translates as "boy". It can also be considered a derogatory term for people of
Latin American descent, although this is not in common usage in Australia. The announcement of a name change occurred in the wake of
widespread name changes following the George Floyd protests. On 16 November 2020, Nestlé announced that the new name for Chicos would be ''Cheekies''. Packaging bearing the new name would be available in stores in early 2021.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicos
Nestlé brands
Australian confectionery
Gummi candies
Name changes due to the George Floyd protests
Hispanic and Latino American-related controversies