From Love Hearts and Parma Violets to Fizzers, Double Dips and Squashies, the confectionery dynasty makes life sweeter the world over
Jeremy Dee, MD, keeps a hoard of Swizzels treats in his office. Despite being surrounded by the sweet stuff all his life, the man whose grandfather co-founded this Great British confectioner never tires of dipping into a Double Dip or savouring a Squashie. And Swizzels fans from the High Peak to the Americas agree: Norwegians love Love Hearts; Germans are suckers for Double Dips. Twenty per cent of the output from the iconic Swizzels Matlow factory on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border now spreads sweetness beyond the UK where the business is expanding with a new factory in Middlewich for 2023.
The Swizzels story began 90 years ago in London, when David Dee, maker of fizzy tablets, joined forces with Alfred and Maurice Matlow, purveyors of jellies and chews.
Legend has it that the Swizzels part of the company name came about because stirring a 1930s’ cocktail with a swizzle stick removed the type of bubbles associated with the fledgling business’s effervescent sweets,' says Jeremy.
By 1940, when the bombs began falling on the Capital, the three founders sought a temporary safe haven at a former cotton mill in the Derbyshire High Peak town of New Mills, just north-east of the Cheshire border. The iconic building, which wouldn't look amiss as a chocolate factory owned by Willie Wonka, had most recently been used to make wicks for miners’ lamps.
'My grandfather and the Matlow brothers thought it would be a better place to be than London for the duration of the war,' says Jeremy. 'But the company became so embedded in the community and so reliant on the local workforce we are still here, 83 years on, with 550 employees. I think we can say now the move is permanent.'
Heritage is important to Swizzels – its catchline is: 'Loved since 1928'. The company officially became Swizzels Matlow Ltd in 1975 after initially being run as two separate companies, Swizzels Ltd and Matlow Bros. Nici Matlow is one of the directors, together with fellow third-generation confectioners Jeremy and his cousin Jonathan Dee. Jonathan’s father, Brian Dee, is chairman of the board. Members of the two families have worked side by side through the decades.
'My late father, Michael, took over in 1975 and ran the business with his brothers Anthony and Brian, alongside Trevor and Adrian Matlow, the sons of Alfred and Maurice,' says Jeremy, who became managing director in 2012.
'Our heritage is really important to us and is paramount if we ever need to change our recipes such as in 2008 when we removed artificial colours from our products. We take great care in sourcing ingredients that keep the taste of the products as people remember them. Our customers say our sweets taste just the way they always have.'
It is this 21st-century dynasty that is driving the firm forward with new lines, technological advances, packaging, marketing, and the 160,000-square feet, high-tech factory in Middlewich, due to open in the middle of this year. The site will create 30 to 50 technical roles, with room for expansion, and make Squashies, the treat that is one of Jeremy's Swizzels of choice.
'The New Mills site looks very old-fashioned on the outside and there are varying types of production inside but also a lot of automation. The new factory in Cheshire will give us the capacity to make more Squashies, which are now our biggest sellers, and will be highly automated,' says the MD.
Swizzels Matlow goodies are the taste of childhood and include Rainbow Drops, launched in 1930 when they were sold in paper bags for 1d; Fizzers, the original compressed fizzy sweet and Parma Violets, the delicately perfumed sweets first marketed as breath fresheners for drinkers and smokers and frequently sold in pubs.
Love Hearts were introduced in 1954 as a gift in a cracker, with the message: I LOVE YOU. In 2014, to mark the 60th anniversary of Swizzels’ most recognisable brand the company ran a competition where fans had the chance to design their own Love Heart. The winners’ messages, such as TWEET ME and SKYPE ME were added into Love Hearts rolls at the beginning of 2015.
Over the years, the sweets have been customised for royal occasions such as weddings, jubilees, births and birthdays. The brand is now so iconic it is used on a range of other carefully selected products including Carex handwash, ice lollies, clothing, jigsaw puzzles and scented candles. 'It is a really recognisable product and we have refreshed the messages through the years to keep them relevant. People around the business often come up with the sayings and we always keep them child-friendly,' says Jeremy.
In 1955, Refreshers were first sold with packaging showing cartoons of children believed to be the Matlow family. Then in 2012, Swizzels launched the hugely successful Squashies – favourite Swizzels sweets (Double Lollies, Drumsticks, Refreshers and Love Hearts) transformed into a soft gum format. The product idea, initiated by Jonathan Dee, was awarded top launch for sugar confectionery by The Grocer that year. And in between: Double Lollies, Drumsticks, Double Dip, Lipsticks and Whistles, Lucky Strike mints Golf Hints, Snap & Crackle, Stinger Chews, Fun Gums...
'Our biggest assets are our products and our people. We have tremendous loyalty and dedication from our employees and more than 120 have been with us for more than 20 years. Alongside these values, we work to strengthen the well-known brands we have and respond to consumer demand and we are quick and agile to respond to customer needs,' says Jeremy.
'The vision in 2012 was to double the size of the business by 2020 and we nearly achieved that when the pandemic came along. Squashies has been transformational and is now our biggest brand and number one in the UK sugar confectionery (non-chocolate) sector.' Twenty per cent of Swizzels' output is exported. 'We have markets in Ireland, Germany, the Nordic countries, Austria, Switzerland, the Middle East, America, Canada...'
'I am a big fan of our products, especially Squashies, I probably eat them every day. They are on my desk, in fact, I have our sweets all over my office. They are a treat and we sell them as such but we have not changed the ingredients to make them less sweet because we believe keeping the taste is what customers want.
'Our aim is to run a good business with products that taste the way our customers want them to taste, and with an element of fun. We have fabulous products that make people happy.'
Lick this
The production of a Love Heart with the embossed message and edible ink remains a secret and is unique to Swizzels
In the 1970s Hippy Bits launched, similar to Love Hearts but with flower power style messages: ZEN, LOVE, POWER, GROOVY
The popularity of American TV detective Kojak and his trademark sucking on a lolly led to a huge rise in the export of Double Lollies in the mid-1970s
On June 14, 1990, Princess Diana visited the factory. It was the first official visit to the Borough of High Peak by a member of the royal family. Swizzels produced bespoke Love Hearts for the princess and her two sons to commemorate the occasion
Customised Love Hearts were made for the 2008 wedding of Coleen and Wayne Rooney and Love Hearts can now be personalised as wedding favours, anniversary mementos and gifts
Swizzels in New Mills had been dubbed the Factory of Love, because of the many employees who have met and found romance at the factory
In 2012 Love Hearts celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Messages included: CONGRATS MA'AM, I LOVE CORGIS, HRH and JUBILEE 2012
In 2013 One Direction teamed up with Swizzels to make One Direction Love Hearts with 30 themed messages chosen by Love Heart fans.
Love Hearts messages past and present
The words have changed according to contemporary vernacular and include, or did include:
HEY DADDIO
GOOD BOY
HELLO MUM
COOL
FAX ME
PAGE ME
TEXT ME
LUV ME 24/7
CHEEKY BOY/GIRL
DATE ME
EMAIL ME
HOT LIPS
LET'S PARTY
NEW LOVE
REAL LOVE
U ROCK
TASTE IT
And now... emoji faces
Illustration by New Mills artist Clare Allan
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