Nestlé Candy Shop facts for kids
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| Owner | Nestlé S.A. |
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| Country |
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| Introduced | 1971 |
| Markets | International |
| Previous owners | Sunmark |
Nestlé Candy Shop was a brand of sweets and chocolates that many people enjoyed. It used to be called The Willy Wonka Candy Company. This brand was owned by a big Swiss company called Nestlé. However, in 2018, Nestlé sold these candy brands to another company, Ferrara Candy Company.
The idea for the original Wonka brand came from the famous British author Roald Dahl. His classic 1964 children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the movies made from it, inspired the look and feel of the Wonka sweets. The brand first started on May 17, 1971. This was just a month before the first movie, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, came out on June 30, 1971.
In 1988, Nestlé bought the Willy Wonka Candy Company brand from its previous owner, Sunmark Corporation. Nestlé then sold Wonka sweets and chocolates in many countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and many more.
In 2017, Nestlé changed the Wonka brand name. They first used special "throwback" packaging, and then they completely renamed the brand to "Nestlé Candy Shop." Now, many of the candies that were once part of the Willy Wonka brand are simply sold under the Nestlé name. However, in some places like Australia and New Zealand, you might still see the Wonka name on a few products, such as Neon Nerds.
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How the Wonka Candy Company Started
The idea for the Willy Wonka Candy Company first appeared in Roald Dahl's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Roald Dahl allowed the film director Mel Stuart to use the "Wonka" name. The movie's producer, David L. Wolper, convinced a company called Quaker Oats to give $3 million to help make the movie. In return, Quaker Oats got the right to use the Wonka name to sell candy bars.
Quaker Oats bought the rights to the book and paid for the movie because they wanted to promote their new "Wonka Bar." The movie's name was even changed to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory to help with this promotion.
The new candy brand was made by a company called Breaker Confections, which was part of Quaker Oats. Sadly, the first Wonka Bars never made it to stores because of problems in the factory before the movie was released. But other Wonka products that came out later were very popular! These included the Everlasting Gobstopper in 1976 and Nerds in 1983.
In 1975, Breaker Confections was bought by Sunmark Corporation. In 1980, the name Breaker Confections was changed to Willy Wonka Brands to make the Wonka name even stronger. Later, in 1986, Sunmark sold the company to Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery from the UK. Then, in 1988, the Swiss company Nestlé bought it. In 1993, Nestlé officially renamed it Willy Wonka Candy Company, and then in 2015, it became Nestlé Candy Shop.
In 2018, Nestlé sold its candy businesses in the United States to Chicago's Ferrara Candy Company. This company is owned by the Italian Ferrero Group.
Popular Candies from the Brand
Many popular candies were part of the Willy Wonka or Nestlé Candy Shop brand. Here are some of them:
- Bottle Caps
- Everlasting Gobstopper
- Fun Dip
- Laffy Taffy
- Nerds
- Pixy Stix
- Runts
- Spree
- SweeTarts
- SweeTarts Chewy Sours
- SweeTarts Soft & Chewy Ropes
- Mixups
- Randoms (known as Rowntree's Randoms in the UK)
Past Candies from the Brand
The brand also had many other interesting candies that are no longer made:
- Chewy Runts
- DinaSour Eggs
- Dweebs
- Everlasting Hot Gobstoppers
- Fizzy Jerkz (similar to Fizzy Bottle Caps)
- FruiTart Chews
- Oompas
- Punky's
- Scrumdidilyumptious
- Shock Tarts Sour Gum Balls
- Tart 'n' Tinys
- Volcano Rocks
- Wacky Wafers
- Wonka Bar
- Wonka Donutz
- Xploder
See also
In Spanish: The Willy Wonka Candy Company para niños
