Allen's

Allen's, earlier A. W. Allen Limited, is an Australian brand of confectionery products produced by Nestlé. Allen's is the top brand of sugar confectionery in Australia.[1] It is best known for Minties, a soft chewable mint-flavoured confectionery, and their varieties of 'Party Mix' lollies.

This article is about the Australian confectionery brand. For other uses, see Allen.

Allen's
Allen's "Minties" candy
Product typeConfectionery
OwnerNestlé
CountryAustralia
Introduced1891 (1891)
Related brands
List
MarketsAustralia
Previous ownersRothmans Holdings
Tagline"A little bit of fun since 1891"
Websitenestle.com.au/allens

History

Allen's was founded by Alfred Weaver Allen (1870–1925), a Melbourne confectioner. Originally employed by MacRobertson's, he commenced confectionery production in 1891 at his Fitzroy confectionery shop. By 1909, Allen's was the third largest confectionery business in Melbourne, after those of MacRobertson and Abel Hoadley.[2] It launched as a public company in 1922. It moved from an adjacent site to a vast factory built to the design of prominent Melbourne architect Joseph Plottel in South Melbourne on the banks of the Yarra River (which had formerly housed Holden's first Australian plant and Kraft Walker Foods), in the 1950s. Its animated neon sign was a local landmark up to its demise in 1987.[3]

Allen's abandoned chocolate production after World War II, however it became Australia's largest confectionery company.[4] Allen's was purchased by UK-based Rothmans Holdings in 1985.[5][6] Two years later it was sold to Nestlé.[2]

Products and brands

Current
Jaffas
Red Ripperz
Cheekies

Former
  • Ace chewing gum[24]
  • Cobbers[7]
  • Bursting Bees
  • Butter menthols[24]
  • Cure-em-quick[24] (later Check-em-quick)[note 3]
  • Irish Moss gum jubes[24]
  • Jelly Tots[11] – First introduced in 1998, discontinued in 2004; temporarily reintroduced in 2015[25]
  • Q. T. fruit drops[24]
  • Steamrollers[24]
  • Tangy Tots[26]
  • Green Frogs – Discontinued in 2015 due to poor sales[15]
  • Kool Chocs – Discontinued in 2015[15]
  • Racing Cars[2]
  • Spearmint
  • Oddfellows
  • Marella Jubes – Discontinued in 2018 due to poor sales[27]
  • Grubs – Part of Allen's reduced sugar range[28]
  • Strawbs – Part of Allen's reduced sugar range[28]
  • Frog Family[29]
  • Peaches & Cream[30]
  • Drumstick[31][29]
  • Frosty Fruits[31][29]

Adjustments to product lines

In October 2014, Allen's reduced the size of the 'Killer Python' product in order to reduce its portion size. It shrunk from 47 grams (630kJ) to 24 grams (336kJ). The price of the snake was also adjusted accordingly.[32]

In June 2015, the 'Spearmint Leaves' and 'Green Frogs' product lines were discontinued as they were not selling well, although 'Spearmint Leaves' were reintroduced in 2020. Spokesperson for Allen's parent company Nestlé, Margaret Stuart, has said that the 'Red Frogs' "outsell the green 10 to one".[11][33]

In June 2023 Allen's announced that production of an Australian favourite, Fantales, was to be discontinued due to declining sales. [34]

Notes
  1. Originally invented by Sweetacres[8]
  2. Discontinued in 2015;[15] reintroduced in 2020
  3. Tiny hard black lollies with strong aniseed flavor, their name was changed for legal reasons

See also

References
  1. "Keeping it sweet". Convenience & Impulse Retailing. 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  2. Hall, Amy (24 May 2018). "The Melbourne history of Australian icon Allen's lollies". Herald Sun. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  3. "Allen's Sweets | Melbourne Neon | adonline.id.au". www.adonline.id.au. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  4. Allen Alfred Weaver. Australian Dictionary of Biography, accessed 7 October 2011.
  5. Confectionery. eMelbourne, accessed 7 October 2011.
  6. Sweet-talking foreigners corner lolly Market, The Age, 28 June 1985 (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19850628&id=TTRVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ApUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5632,5921314&safe=strict&hl=en)
  7. Han, Esther (20 August 2016). "Australia's rich food and lolly history seen in 150-year-old Nestle archives". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  8. Gorman, James (16 July 2014). "Sydney's sweetest memories to be preserved". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  9. "Allen's settles on new names for two of its famous lollies". www.abc.net.au. 16 November 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  10. Raoless, Shoba (23 January 2018). "New Allen's lolly on its way". heraldsun. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  11. "Spearmint Leaves, Green Frogs lollies on way out, but Sherbies and Oddfellows safe, Allen's says". ABC News. ABC (Australia). 30 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  12. "Allen's settles on new names for two of its famous lollies". www.abc.net.au. 16 November 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  13. "Allen's Lollies releases "one piece, one portion lollies"". Australian Food News. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  14. Debray, Tiasha (8 March 2021). "Allen's Is Bringing Back Old-School Ice Block Gummies!". WSFM 101.7 Sydney. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  15. Horswill, Amanda (30 June 2016). "Allen's lollies changes recipes, stops making childhood favourites: Lolly lovers see red (frogs) | Quest News". Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 15 July 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  16. Leach, Maddison (26 February 2020). "Cult favourite lolly that's divided families for years now comes in its own bag". kitchen.nine.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  17. Olle, Emily (15 January 2020). "Allen's launches chocolate versions of lolly-lovers' favourites". 7NEWS.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  18. Lynch, Jessica G. (6 January 2021). "Allen's releases three new lolly varieties and hello 2021!". Kidspot. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  19. Barry, Laura (4 March 2020). "Allen's release Mini Chocolate Bananas". Better Homes and Gardens. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  20. Khalil, Shireen (25 August 2020). "Allen's new Oak-flavoured Milk Bottles finally hit stores". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  21. Neo, Pearly; Lim, Guan Yu (23 October 2020). "Do 'healthy' sweets exist? APAC candy companies weigh in on sugar reduction and indulgence". foodnavigator-asia.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  22. Scanlan, Rebekah (14 February 2021). "Allen's releases new 'supercharged' red frog flavour – Sourz Frogs Alive". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  23. Pigram, Kelly (29 April 2020). "Allen's has brought out two new sour lollies and we're so excited". www.taste.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  24. "Advertising". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 16, no. 52. 4 June 1949. p. 31. Retrieved 9 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. "Allen's Jelly Tots make a comeback". Australian Food News. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  26. Burke, Liz (17 August 2015). "Allen's bringing back an old favourite". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  27. Harvey, Simon (26 September 2018). "Nestle-owned Australian confectionery brand Allen's ceases production of Marella Jubes". www.just-food.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  28. Smith, Zoe (4 September 2019). "Allen's launches new 25 per cent less sugar range of lollies". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  29. "Allen's". Nestlé. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  30. Brown, Vanessa (10 February 2016). "Peaches and Cream lollies win Allen's competition, will be sold separately". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  31. "ALLEN'S keeps the summer vibes alive with new Frosty Fruits and Drumstick lollies". Nestlé. 4 April 2018. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  32. Evershed, Nick (10 October 2014). "Killer python downsize: how the new and old lollies measure up". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  33. Gordon, Rosalie (16 April 2020). "Allen's is bringing back childhood fave Spearmint Leaves". taste.com.au. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  34. "Final curtain call for Fantales". 20 June 2023.
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