Our favourite retro sweets from the past

Retro sweets are one of the reasons that Zap Sweets exists! We're huge fans of confectionery (believe it or not!) and retro sweets are the forefront of most conversations that we have in the office. We love to talk about sweets from the past and especially those that bring back those childhood memories. 

This gave us an idea about a blog post that we've wanted to do for a while, combine our favourite sweeties from our childhood into one post. So, here it goes, here's our list of our favourite retro sweets from the past:

1. Dip Dabs - one of the most iconic retro sweets to start off our list! These yellow packets are recognisable from anywhere in the world we reckon, that's how much they are known. The sherbet inside is unique with a tangy kick that makes that dipping sensation just mesmerising. Still made by Barratt today in the UK, Dip Dab is available in just the singular format and has rarely changed over the years. If it's not broken, don't fix it! 
   
   
2. Candy Necklaces - where do we start with the ever so popular candy necklaces! Often a conversation starter, we remember wearing these around our wrists and doubling them up. Although over the years the colours of this product has changed, the taste has remained the same and still makes that crunching sound when you bite down on them! We can remember going to school when someone also had a candy watch and telling them how lucky they were that they had both a candy watch and a candy necklace! 
   
   

3. Rainbow Drops - another incredible retro classic that comes in iconic packaging. The blue packet with the rainbow going across the front was always noticeable when we were standing in the corner shop, waiting to spend our pocket money. We remember not even getting out of the shop before opening the packet and trying one and waiting for it to melt in our mouth. Made by Swizzels Matlow, these are still made with an original recipe that makes these rice puffs an iconic confection. 
   
   
4. Anglo Bubbly - this is top of most peoples list in the office! It may be number 4 on this list but this is one of the best retro sweets on planet we think. Again, iconic packaging makes this bubblegum stand out from competitors and it also blows the biggest bubbles. Anglo Bubbly has a very iconic taste that is bursting with flavour from the very first bite. These are made by Barratt and they produces tonnes of this incredible wrapped bubblegum every week!
    
5. Flying Saucers - what did you call these sweetie wafers back in the day? We had a quick poll here at HQ and the winner was UFO's! Maybe it's because we all watch too many movies! These sherbet filled wafers aren't for everyone but 4 out of 5 in the office voted for these are one of the most popular retro sweets of all time so they were certainly a must add to our list. They are made in either Belgium or Spain and there are only a few factories in the world that manufacturer this particular sweet.

So there is our top 5 favourite retro sweets from our childhoods that we remember with ease and have never stopped loving. This was such as hard choice as there are so many old-fashioned, nostalgic classics that we have missed out on the list. 

Here's a few that only just missed our top 5 list: 

• Parma Violets
• Foam Shrimps
• Double Dip
• Fizz Wiz
• Freddo
• ABC Letters
• Drumstick Lollipops
• Jawbreakers
• Wham Chew Bars
• Love Hearts
• Candy Whistles & Lipsticks

When Zap Sweets was originally founded (over 10 years ago at the time of writing this!), we were always in agreement that we'd design and launch various gift ranges that focused around retro sweets from the past. Over the years we have kept this promise and launched a wide range of gift items that our customers have enjoyed and shared. 

With our customers feedback, we recently launched our new and improved retro sweets hamper. This gift hamper comes in a luxury, traditional wicker basket that can be reused time and time again to store not only sweets but other food goods. They look stylish and make a super birthday present for any age we think.

Alongside our wicker hamper full of retro candy, we also wanted to provide our customers with a cheaper alternative. This led to us sourcing and spending a number of weeks working out which retro mix would be the best to add to our retro sweets gift box that contains over 1kg of nostalgic confectionery from yesteryear!

We hope that you've enjoyed reading all about what we think are the best retro sweets of all time. With over 750+ products in our range, it was a task that took quite a while to decide on as the list got larger and larger every time we spoke in the office, not shorter!