The news that Nestlé is scrapping the old-favourite Toffee Deluxe from its Quality Street selection and replacing it with a new sweet – the Honeycomb Crunch – was met with widespread outrage last week.
Apparently the decision was made because customers had complained that there were too many toffees in the tin and so poor old Toffee Deluxe was the one Nestlé chose for the chop.
The fact it picked a veteran (it’s been around since the First World War and is said to have been included in the first ever tins of Quality Street, which came into being in 1936) led to a bit of a meltdown on social media.
Wait, what?! Quality Street have ditched Toffee Deluxe?? pic.twitter.com/5gfUIxlMTR
— clare fennell (@clarefenn) September 23, 2016
In fact, many incensed fans lamented that Christmas would never be the same again, and some even set up a petition to demand its reinstatement.
Discontinued treats
The furore reminded me of the time, back in 1999, when Heinz announced it was ceasing production of its salad cream. Upon hearing the news, I immediately rushed to Safeway to stock up, thinking that if I didn’t, I’d never get to savour its divine taste ever again.
Much like the demise of the Toffee Deluxe, the matter caused a national outcry and was even discussed in the House of Commons (yes, really). Heinz eventually relented, ploughed £10m into an ad campaign and increased the price by 40p, saving the ‘pourable sunshine’ for another generation.
Of course, food manufacturers withdrawing products from their range is nothing new – tastes and therefore demand change; and occasionally items are removed or reformulated on health grounds (who remembers the original Sunny Delight, forced to rebrand in 2003 and now made to a different recipe, reportedly turning kids orange).
But with public demand and social media campaigns successfully getting glorious treats like Cadbury’s Wispa (withdrawn from sale in 2003 and resurrected five years later in 2008), Burton’s Daily Fish ‘n’ Chips (died early 1990s, reborn 2014) and, rejoice, Trio (2003; 2016) – back on our shop shelves, I’m wondering if it’s worth petitioning for the return of some of my old favourites that have fallen by the wayside?
Reinstating retro treats
Top of my list would be Pacers. Similar to Starburst (or Opal Fruits, as I one knew them), only minty and with green and white stripes, a packet of these wouldn’t last five seconds in my company when I was a kid in the early 1980s.
Next would be a toss-up between Toffo and Cadbury’s Fuse. Then it would be tomato-flavoured Snaps (or do they still make them?). Oh, and let’s not forget Panda Pops…
Who’s with me then? Is there a discontinued brand item you’d like to see bought back?
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