Are Poppets Sweets Still Popular?

I have to admit, that it's been some time since I last opened a box of Poppets. The chocolate sweets were introduced by George Payne & Co in 1937, although only came in raisin flavour back then.

Payne's Poppets were very popular back in the 20th century, particularly with cinema goers, as the packaging does not make that annoying rustling sound that comes with other bags of sweets.

The little cardboard box is designed to conveniently dispense just one chocolate at a time, and its design became iconic. 

Poppets chocolate were also available in vending machines during the 1970s and 80s, and were a common site in tube stations.

So, are Poppets still popular today? They most certainly are! In fact, over 1.4 million are consumed every day.

Where are Poppets made?

Poppets are currently owned by Valeo Confectionary and are made at their York factory, which currently employs 270 people. They were originally made by Paynes, at the Croydon Road factory in Boddington, Surrey. Valeo also own Paynes Just Brazils brand.

Paynes was acquired by Northern Foods in 1998, and then Valeo Foods Group, placing the Poppets brand under their Big Bear Confectionery division. 

After Valeo merged Big Bear with their Tangerine Confectionary business, the Croydon Road factory was closed down in 2001. Production was relocated to the Fox's factory in Leicester, as the Fox's brand is owned by Valeo. 

The Leicester factory was sold in 2020, and production relocated once more, this time to York.

In February 2021, the York Factory was featured on a Channel 5 documentary The Wonderful World of Chocolate.

What flavours are Poppets?

Poppets are currently available in five flavours; Chewy Toffee, Minty, Orangy, Salted Caramel Fudge and Mix-Ups. They come in 39g/40g boxes and sharing bags.

Mix-Ups are only available in share bags and include Toffee, Salted Caramel, Malty Crunchy (which are similar to Maltesers) and Chocolate.

In 2011, Paynes produced a Strawberry Milkshake Poppets, but this was soon discontinued.

A Toffee Popcorn Poppets was introduced in 2015 but was short-lived.

This advert is from the 1950s, and as you can see, there were Brazils and Milk Chocolate Assortment varieties at this time. 

Poppets Brazils were larger and more expensive to produce than other varieties, which is probably the reason they were discontinued. The price of many nuts has soared in recent times, and even peanut Revels were replaced with raisin. Also, as Paynes produced Just Brazils (which are still sold today), producing two very similar products under different brand names was no longer required.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about Poppet sweets. You may also like our Top 10 Facts About Tic Tacs

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