Whatever Happened to Tooty Frooties?

Tooty Frooties were chewy, fruit-flavoured sweets with a crunchy, multicoloured shell, and they were particularly popular in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. However, there had been a gradual decline in their popularity since then.

There was also a mint-flavoured version called Tooty Minties, although these were short-lived. A Tooty Frooties milk chocolate Easter egg was also produced by Mackintosh's.

Bag of Rowntrees Tooty Frooties from 2014, with purple packaging

The classic British sweet was launched by Mackintosh's in 1963, and they became an instant hit. The company merged with Rowntree's in 1969, to become Rowntree Mackintosh.

When the company was acquired by Nestlé in 1988, Tooty Frooties were sold under the Rowntree's name.

However, during the 2010s, there was a gradual decline in the popularity of the sweet, and they were quietly given the axe in early 2019.

The news of Tooty Frooties being discontinued was not revealed until March 21st, 2019, when the BBC TV producer Philip Reynolds questioned Nestlé on their disappearance from UK shelves on the social media platform Twitter (now X). They replied, "Unfortunately we've had to say goodbye to Tooty Frooties, Philip".

This caused a backlash from Twitter users, including a number of celebrities, including Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins, who are presenters on ITV's Good Morning Britain (GMB). 

Shephard tweeted "What????? As if we haven't got enough to deal with right now" and Hawkins added "Noooo Nestlé don't ditch Tooty Frooties! They're the best!" 

The trend in recent times has been for jelly and foam sweets, and during 2019, Nestlé revamped their Rowntree's line of sweets with new, more contemporary packaging.

It's quite possible that Tooty Frooties will appear again as a limited edition, allowing fans of the retro sweet to stockpile them before they disappear once again, and maybe forever.

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Alternatives to Tooty Frooties

If you're looking for a decent alternative to Tooty Frooties, then Skittles are probably the most similar sweet, with a chewy centre and crisp candy shell, and the new Skittles Desserts are also delicious.

You can also still buy Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums, which both remain hugely popular.

Mackintosh's Tooty Frooties wrapper from 1972

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