Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles (rebranded in Australia as Wonka Fruit Pastilles after the 1988 acquisition of

Rowntree's Nestlé UK Ltd. ( ), trading as Rowntree's ( ), is a British confectionery brand and a former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat (introduced in 1935), Aero (introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881 ...

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

, Fruit Joy in Italy; Frutips in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan) 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 The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

(yellow), lime (green),

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...

(red),

blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, w ...

(purple) and orange (orange). Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles originated in

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

, England, in 1881. In 2023, production was moved offshore to the Czech Republic.

History

factory in Fawdon, Tyneside in 1881, Rowntree introduced Fruit Pastilles, and the product proved to be a great success, accounting for about 25 percent of the company's tonnage by 1887. In September 2020, Nestlé announced their intention to make Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles suitable for

vegans Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vega ...

after many years of requests from consumers. Tubes of Fruit Pastilles are wrapped in foil-backed paper (paper on the inside, foil on the outside) with a paper wrapper over the top. The paper wrapper is green in colour with "Fruit Pastilles" written along the front in large lettering. Along the bottom of the lettering there are pictures of different types of fruit all relating to the flavours within the packet, The top bears the "Rowntree's" brand name. Fruit Pastilles come in a small pack weighing , containing 14 pastilles, but are also available in larger bags weighing . They are also available in boxes and larger round cardboard tubes.

Marketing and advertising

The 1972 television advertising campaign used the song

Pistol Packin' Mama "Pistol Packin' Mama" was a "Hillbilly"- Honky Tonk record released at the height of World War II that became a nationwide sensation, and the first "Country" song to top the ''Billboard'' popular music chart. It was written by Al Dexter of ...

with the tag line "Pastille Pickin' Mama, pass those pastilles round". To drive awareness of the 25% fruit juice recipe in Fruit Pastilles, Rowntree conducted a 105-day experimental marketing campaign. At family events, top-end grocers and service stations they invited families to join in their 'What Can You Do But Chew?' talent shows, tying in with the brand's sponsorship of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

''. 427,240 product samples were distributed as brand ambassadors tried to engage parents with the '25% fruit juice' message. 93% of the consumers involved said they'd had a positive shift in brand perception, whilst more than half were 'highly likely' to purchase post campaign.

References

Sources

External links

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BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

{{Rowntree's Rowntree's brands Products introduced in 1881 British confectionery

History

Marketing and advertising

See also

References

Sources

External links