| Type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Owner | Nestlé |
| Introduced | 1881 |
Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles (rebranded in Australia as Wonka Fruit Pastilles after the 1988 acquisition of Rowntree's by Nestlé, as Frutips in Canada and as Donkey Chews in Guernsey) are small round sweets measuring about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) in diameter; they have a jelly-like consistency- due to the gelatin they are made from, and are covered with sugar. They contain fruit juice and have no artificial colours or flavours, and come in five flavours: lemon (yellow), lime (green), strawberry (red), blackcurrant (purple) and orange (orange).
Originally the red fruit pastilles were raspberry flavoured but this changed in the 1990s.
In Australia, Wonka-brand fruit pastilles do not contain gelatin.
Ice-lolly versions were originally made in Telford, Shropshire but are now made in Cross Gates, West Yorkshire by Richmond Foods after it bought Nestlé's ice cream division in 1999.
Contents |
Joseph Rowntree, the son of a Quaker grocer, was born in York on 24 May 1836. After only five years of schooling Joseph began work as a grocer. He started with his father at fourteen but part of his apprenticeship involved working in London. While working in the city Joseph became very interested in politics and regularly attended debates at the House of Commons.
Joseph Rowntree returned to work for his father but in 1869 he left to join his brother, Henry Rowntree, who owned the Cocoa, Chocolate & Chicory Works in York. The company only employed 30 workers at the time, but under Joseph's influence the company grew rapidly and by the end of the century it was an enormous international concern with over 4,000 employees. Fruit Pastilles were first made in Fawdon, Tyneside, England in 1881. Before then, manufacture of gums and pastilles had been a French monopoly.
Tubes of Fruit Pastilles are wrapped in foil-backed paper (foil on the outside, paper on the inside) 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. Fruit Pastilles come in a small tube of about 52.5g, containing 14 pastilles, and are also available in bags, which are bigger than the tubes, and carry a weight of about 180g/6.3oz. They are also available in boxes and larger round cardboard tubes.
Packs containing only black and red Fruit Pastilles are also available.
Originally the second Fruit Pastille in each tube was blackcurrant flavour, but recent empirical research suggests that this is no longer the case. .
To drive awareness of the 25% fruit juice recipe in Fruit Pastilles, Rowntree conducted a 105 day experiential 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 brands sponsorship of Britain's Got Talent. 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.[1]