U.K. Dopers, They Have Come for Your Smarties Tubes

[ColonelDax]

Nestle SA is changing the packaging of Smarties for the first time since the candy was introduced almost 70 years ago, ditching the cardboard tube in favor of a hexagonal one. Crucially, the change will see the end of the plastic lid with embossed letter, according to today's Metro, something that left a couple of my colleagues aghast. Scotsman article here (http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4147450).

I suggested to one of my coworkers that he start a grassroots coalition to complain, for which I proposed the name of Smarties Hexagonal Action Group, or SHAG.

[WotNot]

I suggested to one of my coworkers that he start a grassroots coalition to complain, for which I proposed the name of Smarties Hexagonal Action Group, or SHAG.

Where do I sign up?

[glee]

...they already changed 'Opal Fruits' to 'Starburst' and 'Marathon' to 'Snickers'.

[WotNot]

...they already changed 'Opal Fruits' to 'Starburst' and 'Marathon' to 'Snickers'.

Yeah, but the experience of eating them didn’t change. Smarties aren’t Smarties if they’re not in a tube! THIS IS MY CHILDHOOD THEY’RE STEALING!

I shall be stockpiling Smarties tubes, so that when this indecent and apalling change occurs, I can decant my Smarties into them and enjoy my multi-coloured candy-coated chocolate beans in the way God intended.

[Sir Doris]

This was on Radio 4 this morning. Appparently they feel that Smarties are seen as a toddlers' sweetie and putting them in a new box will appeal to older children and up.

Nor sure why. Many years ago, you could buy them in rectangular cigarette style boxes – always for me associated with going to the cinema, maybe the only place these were on sale – which obviously never caught on. And of course treat size come in little tiny boxes. What could say "toddler" more than treat size chocolate?

Anyway within minutes emails from aghast "Today" listeners were coming in. Perhaps it's just a publiscity stunt and after a decent period they will revert back to the original. Remember the Coco-pops/Choco Crispies vote?

[Mangetout]

Perhaps it's just a publiscity stunt and after a decent period they will revert back to the original. Remember the Coco-pops/Choco Crispies vote?Do you think that what that was? I was always unsure whether it was planned from the very beginning or whether it was just a case of bowing to unexpected public outrage after making an ill-informed decision.

[Pushkin]

For shame :(

Before taking the lid (with the letter embossed on it) away to join the rest of my collection, I squeeze the tube to make it pop off and fly across the room (or at least half a meter) Can hexagonal tubes do the same?! I think not...

[seosamh]

As a child, I was used to Smarties not coming in tubes: in Ireland they only came in boxes the shape of a fag packet.

Note to US Dopers: yes, children over here really can buy homosexual males in sweet shops.

[Aro]

Will they have massive hexagonal tubes for Christmas time? Darn well better!

As a kid I used to believe that if you collected the entire alphabet on Smarties lids and sent them to Nestle, they would reward you with £5!!!!!!oneone

That was big business in my day - trading letters in hope for the big cash reward! Never quite made it, never recovered since. Gutted!

[detop]

Out here in Canada, this (http://people.uleth.ca/~merkjj/pics/smarties.jpg) is the regular packaging in which they come in.

[roger thornhill]

As a kid I used to believe that if you collected the entire alphabet on Smarties lids and sent them to Nestle, they would reward you with £5!!!!!!oneone

Unless you're very young, sending them to Nestles would have been a waste of time. Rowntrees (or Rowntrees Mackintosh), on the other hand...

[Aro]

Yeah, well, whatever! The specific confectionary manufacturer at that time. Probably didn't ponder on it too deeply in my younger primary school days.

You been eating to many Smarties, smartie-pants? :p
( I thought only THEY had the answer )

[roger thornhill]

Actually, it is one of the few things I knew without having to look it up - though I did check of course before taking the plunge with all the pedants around. I once drove through the streets of Plumstead and Erith flogging Branston Pickle, Chef Square Soup, Libby's Peach Slices (and Halves), Nescafe and Milky Bars to the Royal Arsenal Cooperative Society.

Yes, since you enquire, it was a stimulating and rewarding job, and I was much in demand from friends who wanted a little Condensed Milk on the side.

[Hemlock]

Will you still be able to poke the bottom out and blow the top off? That's important.

Any reason why they're doing it? Could it be to save space during shipping? Spam comes in square cans because they could pack more of them into a given space than they could round ones.

But there was a war on.

I suppose it's just... change for the sake of change. Maybe Blair's ordered it.

[roger thornhill]

Yes, one part of Tone's two-pronged law and order initiative. Get tough with the Provos, and take a stance with the milk-powder murderers.

[owlstretchingtime]

Yes, one part of Tone's two-pronged law and order initiative. Get tough with the Provos, and take a stance with the milk-powder murderers.

With is usual levels of sucess!

Why do they keep buggering about with our sweets? Wagon wheels used to be MUCH bigger - and so did milky ways. What happened to Spangles ? and why do you only see those really big Toblerones at airports (and who buys them, and why/)

[paulberserker]

They had the big fuck off Toblerones on special offer in Tesco's a while back. I bought some.

The ability to blast the lid off a Smarties tube across a room should never be taken away. I hold that a 'major strength' on my CV.

[owlstretchingtime]

They had the big fuck off Toblerones on special offer in Tesco's a while back. I bought some.

.

But what do you do with said fuck-off Toblerone? Did you eat all of it?

[Angua]

[QUOTE=Paulbeserker]
The ability to blast the lid off a Smarties tube across a room should never be taken away.[QUOTE]

Quite. Its just wrong. Incidentally, if you take a Smarties (or a Pringles) tube, put a bit of liquid Nitrogen in it, and put the lid back on, the lid will blast up rather satisfyingly.

[owlstretchingtime]

What was the deal with the letters on the caps anyway? Was there any reason for them?

[delphica]

With is usual levels of sucess!

Why do they keep buggering about with our sweets? Wagon wheels used to be MUCH bigger - and so did milky ways. What happened to Spangles ? and why do you only see those really big Toblerones at airports (and who buys them, and why/)

Americans who go on business trips buy them and bring them back as gifts for the office. You can, however purchase them here as well, but for some reason, this is the default "my boss went on a business trip, and was so thoughtful as to bring me back a small token (purchased at the airport)" gift.

[Jaade]

Halfway through this thread I was wondering why the Smarties came in tubes across the pond...then someone mentioned they were chocolate.

Smarties in America are a completely different candy! Do your Smarties taste kinda like M & M's? That's what they look like.

[Mangetout]

Yes; our smarties are lenticular milk chocolate drops encased in a brightly-coloured candy shell; the orange-coloured ones taste of chocolate+orange, the rest just taste of chocolate. They are like M&Ms really only in concept, because the chocolate inside them is quite different in flavour/texture.

As I understand it, American 'Smarties' are little fizzy disc-shaped things, something like our Love Hearts or [/i]Refreshers[/i].

[paulberserker]

But what do you do with said fuck-off Toblerone? Did you eat all of it?

Fucking dead right.

Jaade, they're not far off chocolate M&Ms, but a bit bigger. And tastier. They don't do peanut ones either. However, they do do Giant Smarties (http://www.bewarethecheese.com/giantsmarties.jpg), which are awesome.

[owlstretchingtime]

Halfway through this thread I was wondering why the Smarties came in tubes across the pond...then someone mentioned they were chocolate.

Smarties in America are a completely different candy! Do your Smarties taste kinda like M & M's? That's what they look like.

They're very similar to M&Ms, but the chocolate is different (IMHO the British version has better chocolate.) also they don't have anything printed on them.

There is not a british rapper called "Smartie" either.

[owlstretchingtime]

Fucking dead right.

.

How long did that take? (BTW I am getting a "Mr Creosote" mental picture here!)

[paulberserker]

Over the course of a few days, generally for pudding.

And for the record, i'm about 12.5 stone, rather than the size of a Wooly Mammoth.

[Mangetout]

They had the big fuck off Toblerones on special offer in Tesco's a while back. I bought some.Heh... the big Toblerones are sometimes seen in the shops on the lead-up to Valentine's day, complete with a cardboard sleeve that replaces the word •T•O•B•L•E•R•O•N•E• with •T•O••M•Y••L•O•V•E•

On reading your post, I was visualising one with a carboard sleeve that said •F•U•C•K••O•F•F•. I'm sure it would sell quite well.

[paulberserker]

Swearing chocolate! I'd be in for that even more.

Or something like *TO*MY*FUCK*

[owlstretchingtime]

My kids swear with alphabetti spaghetti. (and so do I)

[Jaade]

Yes; our smarties are lenticular milk chocolate drops encased in a brightly-coloured candy shell; the orange-coloured ones taste of chocolate+orange, the rest just taste of chocolate. They are like M&Ms really only in concept, because the chocolate inside them is quite different in flavour/texture.

As I understand it, American 'Smarties' are little fizzy disc-shaped things, something like our Love Hearts or [/i]Refreshers[/i].

Our Smarties are little disc shaped candies...they aren't very fizzy but they do leave a little tingly sensation on your tongue. They are similar in flavor to sweettarts, only the tastes aren't as extreme. They are kinda...chalky, for lack of a better term, but very good! I categorize them with the sweettarts and pez.



American Smarties (http://www.candyfavorites.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=1646&pname=Smarties+Candy+Roll+Wafers+%28Bulk%29)

[paulberserker]

They appear to be like Love Hearts (http://www.swizzels-matlow.com/Product-Love%20Hearts.htm) then.

Mangetout, Lenticular? They change image depending on the angle you look at them?

[CalMeacham]

They appear to be like Love Hearts then.



If your Love Heartsd are like the imprinted heart-shaped candies made by Necco (The New England Confectionary Company, if anyone cares), then, no. Our Candy Hearts are like heart-shaped Necco wafers. American Smaties have a very different taste and texture.

I think we're gonna need a Straight Dope Candy Exchange to properly settle this.

[owlstretchingtime]

It sounds like their smarties are like our flying saucers - but much smaller.

[Mangetout]

Mangetout, Lenticular?=shaped like a biconvex lens.

[Jaade]

If your Love Heartsd are like the imprinted heart-shaped candies made by Necco (The New England Confectionary Company, if anyone cares), then, no. Our Candy Hearts are like heart-shaped Necco wafers. American Smaties have a very different taste and texture.

I think we're gonna need a Straight Dope Candy Exchange to properly settle this.

That is a cute idea! I like it.

Sixlets would HAVE to be included in any such exchange, of course.

[Rayne Man]

Swearing chocolate! I'd be in for that even more.

Or something like *TO*MY*FUCK*

Very much like an Episode of One Foot In The Grave when someone sent poor Victor a Thorntons' Easter egg with an obscene message engraved on it .

[Rodd Hill]

Yes, this is just wrong. I used to get the cylinders at Xmas, sent in wonderful brown paper parcels (actually done up with string and red wax) from my Granny in Scotland. Ooh--I remember once (circa 1968), I got a huge chocolate easter egg, with a little "bubble car" dinky or matchbox inside.

Here in Canada, a part of my childhood died when they brought out the new "Glossettes" (raisins or peanuts covered in chocolate) box--without a cellophane window! Not only did the mean you could no longer check your level of rabbit-dropping-like candy remaining, but worst of all, the new box couldn't be played like a kazoo in movie theatres. (IIRC, the "Bridge Mixture" candy used to have the same harmonic feature).

And what about the good old popcorn folded boxes? Once finished with the starchy goodness, you could re-flatten these and send them in a graceful, if somewhat dangerous arc, up through the projector beam, with the added bonus of possibly crowning someone on re-entry.

And strafing the forward rows with those multi-coloued candy-coated liquorice bits...

We knew how to have fun in those days, I tell thee!

[glee]

...
Why do they keep buggering about with our sweets? ... What happened to Spangles ? and why do you only see those really big Toblerones at airports (and who buys them, and why/)

Yes - what did happen to Spangles?!

As for the large Toblerones...

:o

...

my name is glee and I'm a chocoholic :eek:

[Rayne Man]

I think that Woolworths relaunched Spangles a couple of years ago . They didn't sell very well and so disappeared for a second time.

[Rayne Man]

I have just found this wonderful site all about old sweets . On there you can find out what happened to Spangles and other old favourites.

http://www.aquarterof.co.uk/whatever.php

[matt_mcl]

Note to US Dopers: yes, children over here really can buy homosexual males in sweet shops.

Crikey! Do they deliver?

(And we have Smarties in Canada too, as Detop pointed out -- the UK chocolate-drop ones, not the US fizzies. They come in small rectangular boxes.)

[AlbertHosteen]

This was on Radio 4 this morning. Appparently they feel that Smarties are seen as a toddlers' sweetie and putting them in a new box will appeal to older children and up.

Ah, but being a typical toddlers' sweet is what encourages teenagers and grown-ups to but them. Making them just like every other sweet out there will just put them in a larger market where they'll get lost.

When I was a kid I could read really well from a very young age, but always got my letters round the wrong way. I have strong sense memories of carrying smarties tops around with me so that I could feel the raised surfaces of the letters and be reminded of which way round they should go. So the letter tops were useful, in a way that I'm sure the manufacturers never planned for.

They would be very useful to my daughter, who has the same problem, if they weren't bloody Nestle :(

[bluecanary]

Alas, a long-time Nestle boycotter.

They'd be better off changing the name if they wanted to attract a wider audience. I can't see that going down well though.