Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles to become vegan friendly
Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles, one of the most popular confectionery brands for almost 140 years, is to become vegan friendly.
The new vegan friendly recipe will be used across the full range of Fruit Pastilles sweets, starting with sharing bags from October. Fruit Pastilles join Nestlé’s expanding range of vegan products, which include Jelly Tots, Carnation vegan condensed milk and Nescafé Gold dairy alternative lattes.
Nestlé technicians trialled over 30 recipes before arriving at the new formulation. Their mission was to remove the gelatine while ensuring the sweets retained the fruity flavour and iconic chew they are famous for.
Maria McKenna, Marketing Manager for Nestlé Ireland Confectionery said: “We’ve had many requests from consumers over the years asking if we can make Fruit Pastilles vegetarian or vegan. We want the brand to be enjoyed by as many people as possible and so we are delighted to be able to introduce our new vegan friendly recipe across the full range of sweets.
“In developing the new formulation, we were very conscious of our responsibility as custodians of this much-loved brand and its long history. Through this recipe change, we’ve made the sweets slightly softer, which we know has been a market trend for a number of years. However, our priority was to preserve the fabulously fruity chew that has made Fruit Pastilles a classic for almost a century and a half. The product development specialists at the Rowntree’s factory have spent a huge amount of time and care perfecting the new formulation. We hope all Fruit Pastilles fans will agree that we have succeeded in developing a recipe which is as deliciously chewy as it has ever been, whilst at the same time being suitable for those following vegetarian, vegan and religious diets.”
Fruit Pastilles, a mix of blackcurrant, lemon, strawberry, lime and orange chewy sweets, contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
They were invented by brothers Henry and Joseph Rowntree, working with French confectioner August Claude Gaget, at their cocoa works in York in 1881.
