Swizzels Drumstick 'Squashies' Cheery Cola Candy, United Kingdom

Sweet cherry, classic cola, and a bright tang come together in a soft, foamy chew with unmistakable British sweet-shop character. Swizzels Drumstick Squashies Cherry Cola Candy takes the familiar flavor of cherry cola and gives it the distinctly pillowy Squashies treatment, part of the confectionery range Swizzels introduced in 2012. Made by a family-owned British company whose sweet-making history reaches back to 1928, it brings nearly a century of confectionery experience to a decidedly modern candy.

Product Details:

• Producer: Swizzels Matlow Ltd.
• Ownership: Family-owned, with the Dee and Matlow families at the roots of the business
• Product Range: Squashies
• Flavor: Cherry Cola
• Style: Soft foam sweet
• Squashies Launch: 2012
• Original Squashies Concept: Jonathan Dee
• Primary Ingredients: Glucose syrup, sugar, gelatine, modified starch, citric acid, trisodium citrate, flavorings, and pectin
• Colors: Ammonia caramel and anthocyanin
• Glazing Agent: Carnauba wax
• Dietary Information: Suitable for coeliacs; contains gelatine and is not vegetarian or vegan
• Energy: 354.6 kcal per 100g
• Sugars: 61.7g per 100g

Sensory Description:

Cherry sweetness leads into the familiar dark, caramel-like character of cola, lifted by a tangy acidity that keeps the profile lively. The texture is the signature attraction: soft, springy, and foamy rather than dense like a conventional gummy, giving each piece a yielding chew. Sweetness and cola character linger through the finish, with the cherry note adding a fruity edge to the classic fizzy-pop combination.

Awards & Accolades:

• Top Launch: The Grocer, Sugar Confectionery, 2012, awarded to the Squashies launch

Producer’s Background:

Swizzels traces its history to 1928, when brothers Alfred and Maurice Matlow began making jelly sweets in London. They later joined forces with confectioner David Dee, establishing the family-business foundations that continue today. During the Second World War the company relocated to New Mills, Derbyshire, where generations of familiar British sweets including Love Hearts, Drumsticks, Parma Violets, Fizzers, and Refreshers have been produced. Squashies arrived in 2012 as a new soft-foam interpretation of classic Swizzels sweet-shop flavors, with the original concept initiated by Jonathan Dee. Continued demand led Swizzels to open an additional production site in Middlewich, Cheshire, in 2022 specifically for Squashies production.

Serving Suggestions:

Enjoy at room temperature for the softest, most yielding Squashies texture. Serve straight from the bag as a movie-night or road-trip sweet, add to a British candy assortment, or use alongside other imported treats for a nostalgic sweet-shop spread. Cherry Cola is particularly well suited to anyone who likes cola bottles but wants something softer, foamier, and distinctly different from a traditional gummy.