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

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 ...

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 ...

, 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 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 ...

(yellow),

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

(green), strawberry (red), blackcurrant (purple) and

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 * ...

(orange). Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles originated in

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

, England in 1881, where they are still made to this day.

History

factory in

Fawdon Fawdon is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is also close to the A1 western bypass. The population of the ward is 10,890, reducing to 10,090 at the 2011 Census, 5.7% of the total population of Newcastle upon Tyne. Car ownership in ...

, 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 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 Troup, ...

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 (colloqui ...

''. 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. A more recent TV commercial shows a man about to chew on a Fruit Pastille when he is surrounded by medieval people who declare whether he'd chew the pastille or go out on a date with a fair maiden. In the end he has to chew. The commercial concludes with the message "Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles with real fruit flavour. You can't help but chew!" A commercial from the 1980s has recently been revived, featuring a child daring a basketball player to not chew on a pastille. The slogan from the previous ad is still used.

References

Sources

External links

*
Royal Marines chew for survival
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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