Fliss Newland, a former executive at multinational snack and confectionery company Mondelez, has launched a new brand of vegan sweets called Wild Thingz.
The sweets are organic, free of artificial ingredients, and said to contain just half the sugar of major brands. Three varieties are available — Fruity Flyers, Zesty Pests, and Gummy Grubs.
Newland, who is vegan herself, aims to offer fun, rebellious plant-based sweets that appeal to a mainstream audience. With the help of her sales and e-commerce experience, she hopes to disrupt the £1.4 billion UK sweets market.
As reported by The Grocer, research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Wild Thingz indicates that 64% of parents are reluctant to give their children sweets because they are worried about artificial additives and sugar. Just 32% do not have rules around sweets. By offering a lower-sugar, more natural alternative, Wild Thingz hopes to change parents’ attitudes to confectionery.
“Taste and fun”
The global vegan confectionery market is growing rapidly — research indicates that it could be worth $2.62 billion by 2030, driven by growing awareness of animal welfare and environmental issues as well as health conditions such as allergies and intolerances. ProVeg International notes that there are many advantages to plant-based sweets, including cost savings, improved shelf life, and meeting halal and kosher criteria.
“Thrilled to share what we’ve been working on… Wild Thingz organic gummy sweets, crawling onto shelves in 2025,” said Newland on LinkedIn. “Thank you to everyone that has played a part in making this brand a reality. Excited to bring something very fresh to the category. These fruity little critters deliver not only on less sugar (half the big brands) and nothing artificial but MOST importantly — taste and fun! It’s been an incredible journey up to this point and I’m sure the fun (and hard work) has only just begun. No artificials. No apologies.”
Wild Thingz will be available via wholesalers such as Diverse Fine Foods, CLF Distribution, Hunt’s Food Group, Essential Trading, and Suma Wholesale from January. The brand is also set to launch on Amazon in December.
