Swizzels is one of Britain’s most iconic confectionery companies, responsible for generations of nostalgic favorites including Love Hearts, Drumstick, Refreshers, Parma Violets, Fizzers, Rainbow Drops, Double Dip, and Squashies. Founded in London in 1928 by brothers Alfred and Maurice Matlow, the family-owned company has spent nearly a century doing what it does best: creating playful, unmistakably British sweets that have a remarkable ability to transport people straight back to childhood.

The company began as Matlow Bros. Ltd., producing jelly sweets in a small London factory. In 1933, the Matlow brothers joined forces with fellow confectioner David Dee, whose operation specialized in fizzy compressed-tablet sweets, forming Swizzels Ltd. Early creations included Rainbow Drops and Fizzers, the latter becoming the company’s original compressed fizzy sweet and establishing a style of confectionery that would become synonymous with Swizzels.

World War II unexpectedly changed the company's future. After the London Blitz, the business relocated in 1940 to New Mills, Derbyshire, occupying a former textile mill where wicks for miners’ lamps had once been manufactured. The move was supposed to be temporary, but New Mills became Swizzels’ permanent home. During the war, the factory even produced water-purification tablets for the Ministry of Defence while continuing to satisfy the limited confectionery demand permitted under wartime rationing.

Some of Swizzels’ most enduring creations followed in the postwar decades. Parma Violets appeared in 1946 and were originally marketed as breath fresheners, often sold in pubs. Love Hearts arrived in 1954, initially carrying the simple message “I LOVE YOU.” The company says the process used to create their famous embossed messages and edible coloring remains a Swizzels secret. Refreshers followed in 1955, and the now legendary Drumstick lolly arrived in 1957.

Love Hearts in particular have become a genuine piece of British pop culture. Their tiny romantic, humorous, and occasionally very era-specific messages have evolved alongside British society for more than 70 years. Princess Diana visited the Swizzels factory and received specially commissioned Love Hearts, while later editions celebrated royal occasions including Prince William’s 21st birthday, the wedding of William and Catherine, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and the birth of Prince George. In 2000, Love Hearts were even displayed at London’s Millennium Dome as an icon of the 20th century.

Swizzels has never relied entirely on nostalgia. One of its biggest modern successes came in 2012 with the introduction of Squashies, which reimagined familiar Swizzels flavors in a soft gummy format. The original concept was initiated by company director Jonathan Dee, and Squashies received The Grocer’s Top Launch recognition for sugar confectionery that year. Demand eventually became substantial enough that Swizzels opened an additional factory in Middlewich, Cheshire, in 2022 specifically to expand Squashies production.

The company remains family-owned, with later generations of the Matlow and Dee families continuing the legacy established in the 1920s. Swizzels says many employees have remained with the business for decades, with multiple generations of some families working for the company. Its New Mills headquarters even acquired the affectionate nickname “The Factory of Love” because so many employees met their partners while working there.

Today, Swizzels employs a team of nearly 600 and its sweets are enjoyed in more than 20 countries. Yet despite its international reach and modern production capabilities, the company remains deeply connected to its roots in the Peak District and to the family-business values of creativity, quality, teamwork, and fun.

Few confectionery companies can claim such an extraordinary collection of recognizable sweets. From the floral and unmistakably British Parma Violet to fizzy Refreshers, chewy Drumsticks, message-covered Love Hearts, and modern Squashies, Swizzels has spent nearly a century turning simple sweets into cultural touchstones. Its appeal lies in the combination of nostalgia and constant reinvention: parents can rediscover the candies they loved as children while a new generation finds its own Swizzels favorites.

Nearly 100 years after Alfred and Maurice Matlow began making sweets in London, Swizzels remains a family-owned British confectionery institution with an unusually simple mission: keep inventing things that make people smile.