Advertorial Feature
Iconic 1980s sweet the Wham bar has been given a 21st Century makeover - and launchedasa sherbet dipformat.
The raspberry and sugar crystal bar was set to be axed last year after its creators McCowans went bust.
But it was rescued by Tangerine Confectionery, makers of Barratt sweets, after it emerged a staggering 23 million Whams are sold every year.
Tangerine Confectionery has now launched the 45p Wham Rocket, which consists of a raspberry flavour foam dipping stick which is dunked in sherbert.
Sales of sour-tasting sweets are rising at around 15 per cent a year - with demand of traditional Sherbet Fountains booming by 10 per cent in 2012.
Helen Hartley, group marketing manager at Tangerine Confectionery, said Wham Rockets brought the iconic sweets up to date.
She said: "Wham Rocket in a unique product offering, combining sour flavours with foam and sherbet.
"The new product innovation and extension to the Wham brand will provide the perfect solution for retailers looking to tap into the significant growth in these formats.
"By taking the original tongue tingling chew bar flavour and infusing it into sherbet, we have given Wham a great new twist."
The Wham range comes in a variety of flavours, including strawberry, cola, sour apple and brew chew bars and an assorted mini chew bags.
Wham bars were introduced in the early 1980s and were popular due to their low price and unique taste.
A staggering 30 million of the bars were sold every year at the peak of their popularity.
To mark the launch of Wham Rocket, Tangerine Confectionery commissioned top UK food futurologist Lyndon Gee to predicthissweets of the future.
He believes the playground will become a confectionery battleground, with children daring their friends to eat extreme and unusual flavour sweets.
According to Lyndon, strange flavours such as broccoli and custard or beetroot and sherbet will become the norm in around 15 years' time.
These sweets will also be able to morph into new flavours and textures, creating a different eating experience with each chew.
Mr Gee said: "If you’d said 30 years ago, ‘I’m going to finish my smoothie, grab a latte and pick up some sushi’, most of the population wouldn’t have known what you were talking about.
"With children’s taste buds changing at such a pace, the nation’s confectioners will have to start taking sweets to the next level and innovating like never before."
Lisa Sullivan, from Wham, added: "This is an exciting time to be a child. New and innovative sweets are being developed as we speak and confectioners are pushing our taste buds like never before.
"Whilst we don’t think broccoli flavour will ever take off in sweet-form, we do have some exciting developments in the pipeline that will take confectionery well beyond the norm."
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