Nestlé-owned British confectionery brand Rowntree’s is adding to its range of vegan Jelly Tots with a new product — Tropical Tots.
The sweets will come in five flavours — passion fruit, peach, pineapple, grapefruit, and mango. They will be available exclusively at Tesco from mid-February, with a recommended retail price of £1.59.
Vegan products by Rowntree’s
In recent years, Rowntree’s has been actively working to make its range more vegan-friendly. While Jelly Tots have never contained animal products, the brand’s Fruit Pastilles were previously unsuitable for vegans. But in 2020, Rowntree’s removed gelatine from the sweets in response to requests from consumers following vegan, vegetarian, and religious diets. The company says the new recipe has made the sweets slightly softer, without affecting their taste or chewiness.
“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 consumers as possible and so we are delighted to be able to introduce our new vegan-friendly recipe across the full range of sweets,” said Meg Miller, Brand Manager for Rowntree’s.
Vegan confectionery in the UK
Demand for vegan sweets has been growing rapidly in the UK. Last January, the country’s largest confectionery wholesaler Hancocks added 300 new vegan products in response to surging demand, and a few months later the company expanded its vegan range again in response to what it called “exponential” market growth.
“It’s estimated that the number of vegans in the UK has quadrupled in the last five years, so these are customers that retailers are definitely going to need to cater for, if they don’t already,” said Chris Smith, Marketing Communications Manager at Hancocks. “Many of the country’s confectionery favourites are already dairy and gelatine free, but for others, recipes will have to be tweaked slightly to accommodate this dietary requirement.”
