Chewits is the

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

of a

cuboid In geometry, a cuboid is a hexahedron with quadrilateral faces, meaning it is a polyhedron with six Face (geometry), faces; it has eight Vertex (geometry), vertices and twelve Edge (geometry), edges. A ''rectangular cuboid'' (sometimes also calle ...

-shaped, soft chewy

candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

manufactured by Cloetta.

History

The sweets were first produced in 1963 as "Chewzits", manufactured by J A & P Holland in

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

. In 1965, J A & P Holland were acquired by

James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His controversial business and finance career led to ongoing clashes with British media, fr ...

and amalgamated into

Cavenham Foods Cavenham Foods (also known as Cavenham) was a retail and food processing conglomerate started by Sir James Goldsmith in 1964. The company started out as a group of struggling UK food brands, including Carr's and Hollands Toffee purchased and br ...

along with several other confectionery companies, forming Cavenham Confectionery. Following the merger the name was changed to "Chewits". In 2006, the UK manufacturing facility closed and the production was moved to

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. Chewits has greatly expanded its line of flavours; however, the original flavours consisted of

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 ...

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 ...

, Orange and

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

. Over the years, more exotic flavors such as Ice Cream, Cola, Rhubarb & Custard, and Blue Mint were introduced as limited edition flavours. In 2000,Sweet Success
accessed July 14, 2011 the sour flavoursSour flavours
accessed July 14, 2011 Apple and Tutti Frutti were launched, and other fizzy and hot flavours were available for a limited time. New Chewits pack designs, formats, and flavours were launched in 2009. Currently, Chewits’ core flavour range includes Strawberry, Blackcurrant, Fruit Salad, Lemon Xtreme, Cola, Blue Raspberry and

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

.Chewits products
accessed July 14, 2011 Ice Cream Chewits, originally released in 1989, were re-introduced in 2009 following an

online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...

"Bring back ice cream chewits"
on Bebo, accessed September 30, 2009 and demand expressed on Facebook and Bebo.

Television advertising

Chewits was first advertised on television in 1976. The original advertisements featured Chewie the Chewitsaurus, a Godzilla-resembling mascot on the hunt for something chewy to eat. The first ad featuring Chewie threatening New York was made by French Gold Abbott and created by John Clive and Ian Whapshot. The first ad was successful, but the sequel was delayed. Chewie chomps and tramples humorously local and well-known international landmarks such as

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

Bus Depot, a London block of flats,

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

, the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

, the

Leaning Tower of Pisa The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( ), or simply the Tower of Pisa (), is the , or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable Foundation (engineering), foundation. The tower is on ...

, and the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

. Chewie could only be quelled by a pack of Chewits. A spin-off computer game, ''The Muncher'', was released for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

in 1988. The original adverts used Claymation special effects, similar in style to those made famous in the movies of

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...

. They also included a voiceover style reminiscent of a 1950s radio serial. A subsequent advertisement, which originally aired in 1995, plays on the over-the-top advertising style of the post-war era. To the tune of bright 1950s-era orchestration, a sales narrator exhorts viewers to try a variety of chewy consumer items in the essential guide to a chewier chew. The ad shows Chewie sampling items such as Wellington boots, a rubber boat and a rubber plant to be ready for the chewiest of chews - Chewits. In the late 1990s, Chewits experimented with ads showing multiple newscasting dinosaur puppets. The catchphrase advice at the close of each 'broadcast' was to "do it before you chew it". This style of ads was relatively short-lived for Chewits. With a change of advertising agencies, the puppets were replaced by colourful 2D

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

s. Chewie the Chewitsaurus was re-introduced in two popular adverts from this time. In the first, which aired in 1999, Chewie roller skates on two buses through a busy city scene. The second, which went out a year later in 2001, shows Chewie waterskiing at a popular seaside resort. The ads included a rendition of the 1994 hit song 'I Like to Move It' by Reel 2 Real, with the chorus, "I Like to Chewit Chewit." In 2003, after a further shift in advertising agencies, a new ad was aired showing a wide range of animals auditioning to be the new faces of Chewits. The ad announced the return of the iconic dinosaur Chewie mascot, now dubbed 'Chewie the Chewitsaurus'. In 2009, Chewits introduced the new Chewie the Chewitsaurus look, showing a contemporary, computer-game-style slick design. Chewie the Chewitsaurus features on all Chewits packaging and sponsorship activity. In late 2019, a new design was introduced for Chewie, with a mottled paint effect on the colours, and more exaggerated mouth and teeth.

Social media

In 2009, Chewits launched a social media campaign with the new-look Chewie the Chewitsaurus. The Facebook page “Chewie the Chewitsaurus Facebook”
accessed July 14, 2011 titled “Chewie the Chewitsaurus” and has established over 400,000 ‘likes’ in its lifetime. Copyrighting on the Facebook page is derived from, and reminiscent of the 1950s radio serial narrator style from the previous TV advertising campaigns.

Former advertising slogans

* “I like to Chewit Chewit, I like to… CHEWIT” * "Chewits, even chewier than a 15-storey block of flats" * "No fruit chew chews chewier" * "No fruit chews chewier" * "Chew for victory" * "Chews flash" * "Do it before you Chewit" * "Chew Chewits coz' Chewits do it" * "He likes to Chewit" * "He likes to share them" * "For monster chewers only" * "There's no escaping the chew hit" * "Chewier than Barrow-in-Furness bus depot" * “Chew it like Newport County Football Club” * “Chewitlicious, definition: make them boys go chewing”

Current advertising slogans

* "Born to be chewie" * "Unleash the taste adventure" * "Can you handle it?" * "For xtreme chewers only"

Promotion and sponsorship

Chewits have been involved in a range of promotional activity over the years including the Chewits log flume at Pleasureland in Southport. More recently, Chewits have sponsored several sport and activity-related programmes for children in the UK. Chewits Sports Courses, in partnership with children's coaching organisation Premier Sport, run daily during school holidays and provide sporting activity courses to approximately 125,000 children in the UK. The sponsorship is supported by sporting ambassadors Lawrence Dallaglio, Duncan Goodhew and Paul Sculthorpe. Chewits began sponsoring the Lancashire County Cricket's junior membership club, the Lancashire Thunderbolts, in February 2009. In 2009, Chewits launched a programme to help young sporting hopefuls ahead of the London Olympics in 2012. The Chewits Young Sporting Ambassador programme provides financial support and coaching to sponsored athletes. In 2011, Chewits partnered with Team Extreme“Team Extreme”
accessed July 14, 2011 and held an extreme sports road show to promote the Xtreme range of products.

Dietary restrictions

Chewits subscribes to the Betreatwise program, a UK program that encourages people to think about the treats they eat as a part of a healthy and well balanced diet, and to use the Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) on the back of packs for nutritional guidance. Most flavours of Chewits are approved (but not supervised) for those who keep

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

, as per the London Beth Din's list.

Current products

* Blackcurrant, Blue Raspberry, Fruit Salad, Strawberry and Cola individual packs * Fruit Multipack * Xtreme Sour Apple * Xtreme Tutti Frutti