Britain's favourite pick'n'mix sweets are revealed
Would chew believe what came top? Britain’s favourite pick’n’mix sweets are revealed
- Latest sales data from high-street chain Wilko shows the nation’streat of choice
We all have our own perfect blend of sweets when choosing a pick and mix.
Some want cola bottles, others like pink and white mice, while many swear by chocolate raisins. But the nation’s treat of choice is the jellybean, statistics show.
Britons have loved pick and mix ever since Frank Winfield Woolworth set up the first UK branch of Woolworths in Liverpool in 1909.
Allowing customers to choose their own selection of sweets was a novel idea, one which first took place in the US. But it was not until the 1950s that Woolworths finally adopted the nickname ‘Pick and Mix’, given by customers.
And the latest sales data from high-street chain Wilko shows that, despite the wide range of iconic sweets to choose from today, it is the jellybean which clinches the top spot.
Britons have loved pick and mix ever since Frank Winfield Woolworth set up the first UK branch of Woolworths in Liverpool in 1909
Coming in second place were fizzy bubblegum bottles, followed by cherries, snakes, and black and raspberries – with teddy bears receiving the least love.
Daniel Bingham, senior buyer at Wilko, said: ‘Pick and mix is an all-time favourite for so many Brits, sparking a nostalgic wave of childhood memories.
‘And even today, they represent a best-seller at Wilko, with adults and children alike still buying pick and mix pots in their thousands each week.’
He added: ‘We’re not surprised that jellybeans take top spot, with sales sky-high, with other top sellers including fizzy bubblegum bottles, cherries, and black and raspberries.’
A worldwide favourite for more than a century, jellybeans are believed to have been invented in the late 1800s by American sweet maker William Schrafft.
The Boston confectioner had the idea to mould jelly into small bean-shapes and encouraged customers to send them as gift to soldiers who were away from home fighting in the Civil War.
By the mid-20th century, jellybeans were a popular penny sweet sold in sweet shops across the US – and they even became a great love of Ronald Reagan.
The Republican former president shared the sweets around at every meeting and offered them to both staff members and important foreign dignitaries alike.
He is said to have kept a pot of jellybeans in every room of the White House during his eight-year presidency.
Today estimates suggest that every year enough jellybeans are eaten to circle the world five times, with approximately 16billion being made for Easter alone.
It was not until the 1950s that Woolworths finally adopted the nickname ‘Pick and Mix’, given by customers
Here are the Nation’s top 20 favourite pick and mix sweets:
1. Gourmet jellybeans
2. Fizzy bubblegum bottles
3. Cherries
4. Stretchy snakes
5. Black and raspberries
6. Fried eggs
7. Juicy strawberries
8. Pink and white mice
9. Strawberry rocketz
10. Fizzy cola bottles
11. Blue raspberry bonbons
12. Fizzy dummies
13. Fizzy cherry bottles
14. Chocolate raisins
15. Milk teeth
16. Jelly foam hearts
17. Giant snowies
18. Vanilla fudge
19. Giant cola bottles
20. Teddy bears
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