Matchmakers is a brand of

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...

sticks currently owned and made by

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, 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 me ...

. Thin, twig-like and brittle, they were first launched in 1968 by

Rowntree's Rowntree's is a British confectionery brand and former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat (introduced in 1935), Aero (introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881), Smarties (introduced in 1937) brands ...

and were one-third of the length they are now - about the length of a match. For many years they were available in either

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

(from the brand's 25th anniversary) or

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

flavour (from its 10th anniversary). In 2003 Nestlé attempted to raise

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

awareness by changing the names of the flavours to ''Cool Mint'' and ''Zingy Orange'' and adding ''Brilliant

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, whe ...

'' and ''Sizzling

Strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

'' flavour – which counted 'black pepper flavoured sugar pieces' among its ingredients. Similarly, the packaging was altered in an attempt to appeal to 15- to 35-year-olds, and a new

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...

was adopted – 'The manic munch that packs a punch'. Brandysnap,

Cappuccino A cappuccino (; ; Italian plural: ''cappuccini'') is an espresso-based coffee drink that originated in Austria and was later popularized in Italy and is prepared with steamed milk foam ( microfoam). Variations of the drink involve the use of ...

Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

, Christmas Orange Spice, Nutty,

Coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

and Irish Cream varieties have been produced – sometimes as anniversary special editions – and are not currently available. Brilliant Blackcurrant and Sizzling Strawberry have also been withdrawn. In 2008, Nestlé rebranded Matchmakers as 'Quality Street Matchmakers', Quality Street also being a Nestlé brand. They are still available in 'Zingy Orange', 'Cool Mint' and last but not least 'Yummy

Honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey. Honey bees consume about of honey ...

' flavours. In 2017, before Matchmakers reached its 50th anniversary, Matchmakers became available in a new limited edition 'Salted

Caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of carameli ...

' flavour, and from the 50th anniversary in October 2018 another limited edition flavour of '

Gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as cr ...

'. September 2019 saw another limited edition flavour's appearance in a sky blue box called 'Maple & Pecan'. In 2022 the 'Salted Caramel', 'Gingerbread' and 'Maple & Pecan' flavours have all been withdrawn and 'Yummy Honeycomb' and 'Coffee' flavours have returned with the name changing due to merging 'Coffee' and 'Salted Caramel' flavours to ''Caramel Coffee'' and cutting the name to ''Honeycomb''.

References

External links

* Nestlé brands Rowntree's brands Brand name confectionery {{Food-product-stub