Violet Crumble facts for kids
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| Owner | Robern Menz |
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| Introduced | 1913 |
| Previous owners | Nestlé Hoadley's |
Violet Crumble is a super popular Australian chocolate bar. It has a crunchy, crumbly honeycomb toffee center covered in a yummy layer of chocolate. It was first made way back in 1913 by a company called Hoadley's Chocolates in South Melbourne. Today, it's made by Robern Menz in Adelaide, South Australia. For a while, Nestlé owned the brand. Its famous advertising slogan is "It's the way it shatters that matters". You can find Violet Crumble in Australia, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and some stores in the United States.
Contents
The Story of Violet Crumble
How It All Began
The story of Violet Crumble starts with Abel Hoadley. He opened a jam factory in South Melbourne in 1889. His business grew very quickly! By 1895, he had a big five-story building. He made jams, jellies, fruit preserves, and confectionery (sweets). He even had up to 200 people working for him.
By 1901, Hoadley had four factories and a large sweet-making area. He also started making cocoa and chocolate. In 1910, he sold his jam business. Then, in 1913, he officially started Hoadley's Chocolates.
The First Violet Crumble
In 1913, Abel Hoadley made his first box of chocolates. He packed them in a purple box with violets on it. This was a special tribute to his wife, as purple was her favorite color and violets were her favorite flower. Inside this chocolate box, there was a piece of honeycomb. People loved this honeycomb so much that Hoadley decided to make it into its own candy bar!
Making a honeycomb bar was harder than he thought. When the honeycomb cooled, it would absorb moisture and become sticky. Honeycomb naturally attracts water, which is called being hygroscopic. To keep the honeycomb dry and crunchy, Hoadley decided to dip the bars in chocolate. This is how the Violet Crumble bar was created in 1913!
Hoadley wanted to call his new bar simply "Crumble." However, he couldn't protect that name with a trademark. So, he used his wife's favorite flower again and registered the name "Violet Crumble." The bar had a purple wrapper with a small flower logo. It was an instant hit!
Who Owned Violet Crumble?
Over the years, Violet Crumble changed owners a few times.
- In 1970, an English company called Rowntree's bought Hoadley's Chocolates. They made Violet Crumble in Adelaide until 1985.
- Then, in 1988, Nestlé bought Rowntree's. Nestlé moved the production to Melbourne.
- On January 11, 2018, Robern Menz bought the Violet Crumble brand. They started making the bars again on October 10, 2018.
Important Dates
- 1913: Hoadley's Chocolates made the first Violet Crumble bar in Melbourne.
- 1972: Rowntree's bought Hoadley's Chocolates.
- 1989: Nestlé bought Rowntree's.
- 2009: Nestlé changed the shape of the Violet Crumble bar. They also changed the honeycomb recipe so it would shatter into smaller pieces when you bit into it.
- 2018: Robern Menz bought the rights to Violet Crumble and started making it again in October.
- 2019: Bags of Violet Crumble (not just bars) went on sale again in grocery stores.
How Violet Crumble is Made
The honeycomb for Violet Crumble is made and then moved into a special air-conditioned room. Here, it is cut into bar shapes. Then, these honeycomb pieces go through machines that cover them in chocolate. The bars are actually coated twice to make sure the honeycomb is completely sealed from the air. After that, the bars travel through cooling tunnels. Finally, they go to automatic machines that wrap them up.
Did you know? Bertie Beetle, a small chocolate bar sold at stores and shows in Australia, was created in 1963. It was made using the broken pieces of Violet Crumble!
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