Smarties facts for kids
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| Owner | Nestlé |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1937 |
| Markets | Europe (Especially Northern and Central Europe), Canada, South Africa, Australia, Middle East |
| Previous owners | Rowntree's |
Smarties are colorful, sugar-coated chocolate candies. They are shaped like small, flat circles. Smarties have been made since 1937. They were first created by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom. Now, the company Nestlé makes them.
Smarties come in eight fun colors. These colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, mauve (a light purple), pink, and brown. For a short time, blue Smarties were replaced by white ones in some places. This happened while scientists worked to find a natural blue color.
You can mostly find Smarties in Europe, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and the Middle East. They are not usually sold in the United States. In the US, another company owns the "Smarties" name. That company makes a different kind of candy, which is a hard tablet sweet.
Contents
History of Smarties
The company Rowntree's in York, England, started making "Chocolate Beans" way back in 1882. In 1937, they changed the name to "Smarties Chocolate Beans."
Later that same year, they had to drop the words "chocolate beans." This was because the word "beans" could be confusing. So, they called them "Milk Chocolate in a Crisp Sugar Shell." After a while, the candy was simply called "Smarties."
Smarties Tubes and Lids
In the UK, Smarties used to come in round cardboard tubes. These tubes had colorful plastic lids. Each lid usually had a letter of the alphabet on it. Rowntree's said these lids were meant to help young children learn their letters.
Over many years, billions of these Smarties lids were made. Some of the older lids are now quite rare. People even collect them!
In 2005, the round Smarties tube changed. It became a hexagonal (six-sided) box. Nestlé said this new design looked "fresh and appealing" to young people. The new box is also lighter and easier to carry.
The new lid is made of cardboard and folds shut. It still has a letter on it, just like the old plastic lids. But now, it's part of a question, like "What [letter] is a [thing]?" You can find the answer when you open the lid. The hexagonal shape also makes it easy to stack the boxes in stores.
Where Smarties Are Made
Smarties are no longer made in York, England. In 2007, the production moved to Germany. A large part of Smarties were already made there.
Outside of Europe, one of the biggest Smarties factories is in Toronto, Canada. Nestlé has been making products there since 1918.
Smarties Colours
Long ago, there was a light-brown Smartie. This was changed to a blue Smartie in 1988. Before 1958, dark-brown Smarties had plain chocolate inside. Light-brown ones tasted like coffee.
Orange Smarties used to have orange-flavored chocolate. Today, only the candy shell has the orange flavor.
Natural Colours
In 2006, Nestlé announced a big change for Smarties in the United Kingdom. They decided to remove all artificial colors. They wanted to use only natural colors instead.
At first, they couldn't find a natural blue dye. So, blue Smarties were removed and replaced with white ones. This led some people to think blue Smarties caused kids to be too active, but that wasn't why they were removed.
In 2008, blue Smarties came back! Scientists found a natural blue dye. It comes from a type of tiny plant called spirulina. This was a great solution.
Canada also removed artificial colors from Smarties in 2009. Blue Smarties were added back to the Canadian market in 2010.
Red Smarties used to get their color from cochineal. This is a dye made from insects. Now, in the United Kingdom, a pigment from red cabbage is used for red Smarties.
Smarties Varieties
Smarties come in more than just the classic tubes. You can find them in chocolate bars and chocolate eggs. These often have pieces of Smarties mixed in.
There's also a special ice cream called Smarties Fusion. It mixes chocolate and vanilla ice cream with Smarties pieces. McDonald's used to sell a Smarties McFlurry. This is a popular ice cream dessert with Smarties mixed in.
In Canada, Dairy Queen restaurants used to have a Smarties Blizzard. This is a thick, blended ice cream treat. It was replaced by an M&M's Blizzard for a while. But the Smarties Blizzard returned to the menu in 2018.
In 1997, bigger Smarties called Giant Smarties were introduced. In 2004, Fruity Smarties came out. Another type had white chocolate inside instead of milk chocolate. These were first called "Smarctic Frost Bites" and later "White Chocolate Smarties."
Special Editions
In Canada, there was a special edition of red and white Smarties. The white Smarties even had a small red maple leaf on them. This was a nod to the Canadian flag.
Around holidays like Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day, you can find special Smarties packaging. For Halloween, they are sometimes called "Scaries." Valentine's Day Smarties often only have pink and red candies. In Canada, Nestlé also sells Peanut and Peanut Butter Smarties.
Around Christmas, Nestlé in Australia and Canada often releases Smarties in holiday colors. These are usually red, green, and white.
In some countries, like Canada, Smarties come in different kinds of packaging. You can buy them in rectangular boxes, giant tubes, or even stand-up bags. In Australia and New Zealand, they come in large 410-gram bags.
Smarties Slogans
UK and Ireland
The main Smarties slogan in the UK and Ireland is "Only Smarties have the answer." This slogan has been used since 1989. However, an older slogan, "Do you eat the red ones last?", is still sometimes heard.
In the 1950s and 1960s, commercials used the phrase "Buy some for Lulu." This was sung at the end of the ads.
Canada
In Canada, there was a very famous advertising jingle from the 1970s to the mid-1990s. It went like this:
When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the red ones last? Do you suck them very slowly, or crunch them very fast? Eat those candy-coated chocolates, but tell me when I ask: When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the red ones last?
This jingle used the tune from a song called "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)".
As of 2013, the slogan in Canada was "Show 'your' colours!" However, newer boxes have brought back the classic "Do you eat the red ones last?" slogan.
Germany
In Germany, the Smarties slogan is "Viele, viele bunte Smarties." This means "lots and lots of colorful Smarties."
Slovakia
The Smarties slogan in Slovakia is "Farebný svet v hrsti!" This roughly means "Colourful world in the palm of your hand!"
South Africa
In South Africa, the slogan is "Wot a lot I got." You can often see this printed on the side of the Smarties box as one word: "Wotalotigot."
See also
In Spanish: Smarties para niños
- Nestlé Smarties Book Prize
- Galaxy Minstrels
- Reese's Pieces
- Smarties: Meltdown
- Skittles
- M&M's
