Classic sweet "Treets" set for French comeback
Wave of nostalgia sees popular chocolates return to French supermarkets
Anyone over the age of 30 is sure to feel a little nostalgic at news that a lost confection that disappeared from shelves across France and Europe in the 1980s is making a comeback after owners Mars let its rights to the brand slip.
The sweets were popular in France from the 1960s until 1986, when their then-owner, the US giant Mars, decided to stop producing them because it felt they clashed with its global M&M brand.
They disappeared from UK shops at about the same time - due to competition from two Mars' brands - M&Ms and Minstrels. Interestingly, French Treets had an advertising tagline that was more commonly associated with Minstrels in the UK. While they enjoyed a renaissance in the UK in 2009, as part of a trend for bringing back much-loved classics, they remained firmly in retirement in France.
Until now. After Mars failed to renew its property rights to the brand in 2017, German-owned but French-managed company Lutti, which is based in the Hauts-de-France town of Bondues and is better known for its range of acidic fizzy sweets, decided to put the sweets back into production. They are expected to return to the shelves in supermarkets and tabacs across France at the end of the summer.
But do not go looking for the classic yellow packaging. In order not to upset Mars, the packet colour has been changed from yellow, which is the colour of M&M packaging, to orange.
“The news has created a real buzz,” a company spokeswoman told The Connexion.
“We plan to have them in the shops by September and to have them on sale on the web before then.”
The company expects most of the buyers will be older customers, nostalgic for the pleasures of their childhood.
