Smarties

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Smarties
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OwnerNestlé
CountryUnited Kingdom
Introduced1882; 144 years ago (1882) (as Chocolate Beans[1])
1937; 89 years ago (1937)
MarketsEurope, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Middle East, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea
Previous ownersRowntree's
Websitenestle.com/brands/allbrands/smarties smarties.co.uk
www.smarties.de

Smarties are dragée chocolate confections marketed by Swiss company Nestlé. They were first manufactured in 1937 by British company H.I. Rowntree & Company of York.[2] British production was discontinued in 2007, moving to Hamburg, Germany.[3]

Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about 5 mm (0.2 in) and a major axis of about 12 mm (0.5 in). They come in eight colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, pink and brown.[4] Blue Smarties were temporarily replaced by white ones in 2005, due to concerns about the safety of the synthetic dyes in food.[5]

Smarties are sold in many regions around the world, but are not distributed (except via parallel import) in the United States, where the trademark name is held by the Smarties Candy Company. Their product, also called Smarties, is a hard tablet candy with no filling.[6][7] Mars Inc. sells a candy in the US called M&M's, which is very similar to Smarties but with a printed white m.

History

Confectionery company Rowntree's of York, England, have been making "Chocolate Beans" since at least 1882.[8] In 1937, they renamed the product "Smarties Chocolate Beans", soon shortening the name to just "Smarties".[9] The sweets had previously been sold loose, but as part of a broader strategy to establish a prominent brand identity and after seeing success in selling other confections in cardboard tubes, Rowntree's began selling Smarties Chocolate Beans in tubes after test marketing it in Scotland.[10] The packaging was valued for being easily repurposed into crafts and the plastic caps, each marked with a letter of the alphabet, were collectible.[11]

A 1947 agreement between Rowntree's and Mars caused Rowntree's to keep Smarties out of the US market (where they would compete with Mars' M&Ms), in exchange for the right for Rowntree's to make Mars bars for the Canadian, Irish, and South African markets.[12]

Smarties (130g)

In February 2005, the Smarties tube was replaced with a hexagonal design. The rationale behind changing the design was, according to Nestlé, to make the brand "fresh and appealing" to youngsters;[11] the new packaging is also lighter and more compact, and the lid (which is now a hinged piece of cardboard) has a card clip which holds the lid shut when it is folded over. The new lid still features a letter like the old plastic lids, but it is in the form of a "what [letter] is a [thing]?" question, the answer for which can be read when the lid is open, next to the hole giving access to the rest of the tube.

Smarties are no longer manufactured in York; in October 2007, production was moved to Germany,[13] where a third of them were already made. Outside Europe, Nestlé's largest production facility for Smarties is in Toronto, Canada, where Nestlé has been manufacturing its products since 1918. The factory located at 72 Sterling Road in the Junction Triangle was originally built for Cowan Cocoa and Chocolate[14] in 1905.

In 1998, Nestlé obtained a trademark for a tubular Smarties package. It later sued Master Foods in Denmark, which was marketing M&M minis in a similar package. The Supreme Court of Denmark ruled that a basic geometrical shape could not be trademarked and ordered the trademark to be removed from the trademark register.[15]

In 2021, the parent company Nestlé transferred the production of Lentilky, which had been produced in Czechia since 1907, to German Hamburg, and the ingredients are also being harmonized with the Smarties product.[16]

Colours and flavours

UK Nestlé Smarties, before (above) and immediately after (below) transition to natural colours. The blue Smartie was later reintroduced, using a natural blue dye.

Coloured Smarties were introduced in 1937. The initial colours were red, orange, yellow, green, mauve, pink, dark brown, and light brown. Until 1958, the dark-brown Smarties had dark chocolate centres and the light-brown ones were coffee-flavoured.[12] The orange Smarties sold in the UK are orange flavoured.[17][4] Otherwise, modern Smarties all have plain milk chocolate centres.[12]

In 1988 the light-brown Smarties were replaced by blue ones, introduced as part of a campaign opposing the purchase of Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery by Nestlé,[citation needed] along with 'I Support Blue Smarties' pin badges[citation needed].

In 2006, it was announced that Nestlé was removing all artificial colourings from Smarties in the United Kingdom.[18] As a result of the change, the mauve Smarties were replaced with violet ones.[4] Nestlé was initially unable to source a natural blue dye and so replaced blue Smarties with white ones.[19] In February 2008, blue Smarties were reintroduced using natural blue dye derived from the cyanobacterium spirulina instead of the controversial brilliant blue FCF (FD&C Blue 1, E133).[20] Artificial colouring was removed from Smarties on the Canadian market in March 2009. The new range included all the colours except blue. Blue Smarties were reintroduced in May 2010.[21]

Red Smarties were previously dyed with cochineal, a derivative of the product made by extracting colour from female cochineal insects. A pigment extracted from red cabbage is now used in the United Kingdom,[22][23] and from red beets in Canada.[24]

A chart below shows the colors available at different times:

<timeline> ImageSize=width:800 height:400 PlotArea=left:100 bottom:100 top:0 right:100 Alignbars=justify DateFormat=yyyy Period=from:1882 till:2026 TimeAxis=orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors= 

 id:lighttext      value:rgb(0.5, 0.5, 0.5)
 id:brown          value:rgb(0.32, 0.20, 0.18)
 id:tan     value:rgb(0.57, 0.44, 0.22)
 id:red            value:rgb(0.86, 0.08, 0.16)
 id:orange         value:rgb(0.98, 0.30, 0)
 id:yellow         value:rgb(0.95, 0.95, 0.05)
 id:green          value:rgb(0.20, 0.70, 0.34)
 id:blue           value:rgb(0.05, 0.15, 0.85)
 id:white          value:rgb(0.96, 0.82, 0.94)
 id:mauve          value:rgb(0.8, 0.6, 0.8)
 id:pink           value:rgb(1, 0.75, 0.8)

ScaleMajor=gridcolor:lighttext unit:year increment:20 start:1882

BarData= 

 bar:red     text:"Red"
 bar:yellow  text:"Yellow"
 bar:orange  text:"Orange"
 bar:green   text:"Green"
 bar:mauve   text:"Mauve/Violet"
 bar:pink    text:"Pink"
 bar:lightbrown text:"Light Brown"
 bar:brown text:"Brown"
 bar:blue    text:"Blue"
 bar:white   text:"White"

PlotData= 

 width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:red      from:1937 till:end color:red
 bar:yellow   from:1937 till:end color:yellow
 bar:orange   from:1937 till:end color:orange
 bar:green    from:1937 till:end color:green
 bar:mauve    from:1937 till:end color:mauve
 bar:pink     from:1937 till:end color:pink
 bar:brown     from:1882 till:end color:brown
 bar:lightbrown     from:1937 till:1988 color:tan
 bar:blue     from:1988 till:2006 color:blue
 bar:white    from:2006 till:2008 color:white
 bar:blue     from:2008 till:end color:blue

</timeline>

See also

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Unbox Your Imagination with Smarties®". Nestlé. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Smarties". Nestlé. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Smarties production moves to Germany". Evening Standard. standard.co.uk. 13 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Smarties® Colours and Flavours". www.nestle-confectionery.co.uk. Nestlé. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Smithers, Rebecca (11 February 2008). "Smarties manufacturer brings back the blues". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Christof, Alexis (2 October 2019). "Smarties — a 'recession-proof' candy — turns 70 years old with a brand-new look" – via Yahoo.com.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The World's Best Candy Bars? English, of Course". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Berry, Steve; Norman, Phil (2014). A History of Sweets in 50 Wrappers. London: The Friday Project. pp. 84–85. ISBN 9780007575480.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bradley, John (2011). Cadbury's Purple Reign: The Story Behind Chocolate's Best-Loved Brand. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-99505-0.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Fitzgerald, Robert (1995). Rowntree and the marketing revolution, 1862-1969. Cambridge University Press. p. 338. ISBN 0-521-43512-9.
  11. ^ a b "Smarties set to lose their tube", BBC News, 18 February 2005
  12. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hutchinson, Alex (16 May 2016). "Smarties". Nestlé UK. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Smarties production to move to Germany". The Northern Echo. Thenorthernecho.co.uk. 21 October 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."A short history of Rowntree Maple Buds and other Canadian-made chocolate treats". Toronto Star. 29 April 2020.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Marstrand-Jørgensen, Mads (20 October 2003). "Nestlé Outsmarted in Smarties Ruling". Business Publishing Ltd. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Konec Lentilek v Česku: Výroba se po 114 letech přesune do Německa. Změní se i receptura". Byznys Noviny (in čeština). 12 October 2020.
  17. ^ Ben Schott, Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Schwarcz, Joe (29 June 2009). "Smarties Purged: Do You Still Eat the Red Ones Last?". The Gazette (Montreal). p. A9. Retrieved 29 July 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Smithers, Rebecca (11 February 2008). "Smarties manufacturer brings back the blues". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Seaweed allows Smarties comeback". BBC News. 11 February 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Nestlé: Smarties No Artificial Colours". Nestle.ca. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Barton, Laura (15 May 2007). "Veggies beware!". London: Lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Vegetarians see red over smarties dye". Manchester Evening News. 28 October 2004. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SMARTIES candy coated milk chocolate 45 g". www.madewithnestle.ca. Archived from the original on 9 November 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2026.

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