Everyone loves a good pick n mix. A variety of all your favourite sweet treats in one bag. Perfect for watching a movie with or even sharing with friends ( but only if you really want to!).
We're really excited to announce that we've now launched a range of personalisable create your own pick and mix bags available to buy online. You can select your own content from a range of loose sweets including Fried Eggs Sweets, Fizzy Teddy Bears and Foam Bananas.
We have 500g, 1KG and 2KG bags for the advantageous!
The pick n mix has been a popular treat for over a hundred years, but where did this fantastic idea come from?
The History of the Pick n Mix
The history of the pick n mix takes us all the way back to 1886 and surprisingly it did not start in the UK. The idea for the pick n mix originated in America by an American businessman Frank Woolworth. Yes, it is the man who came up with the famous Woolworths (or affectionately known as Woolies) that graced the UK high streets for years.
Woolworth owned a range of 5p and 10p shops. One day he came up with a different idea for selling sweets. He wanted to sell loose sweets by their weight in front of his customers.
A sweet idea
At the time that was thought to be a crazy idea and other businessmen felt he was being silly. The idea would never work. But boy were they wrong. Customers loved this new way to buy their loose sweets and came in droves to buy a pick n mix at Woolworths.
He then went about creating the famous sweet shop counters, where customers could clearly see the selection on show in large glass jars. He also made the sweets more appealing to the working class, by reducing the cost of these sweets so they were much more affordable. People loved it and filled his shops to the brim.
What about the UK?
Just 23 years after his crazily good idea, Woolworth wanted to bring his creation across the pond to the UK. He planned on setting up his first Woolworths in Liverpool due to its transport links and it being a hub for industry at the time. In 1909 the first Woolworths was opened on British soil and just like the Americans, we went wild for buying loose sweets by weight.
What happened next?
Over the years the selection of sweets available increased and Woolworths was the number one sweet shop in the UK.
Before the 1950s these sweets that you bought loose were called ‘Weigh-out Sweets’ in each store. However, customers had taken to calling them pick n mix. Woolworths then took to naming their ‘weigh-out sweets’ as ‘pick n mix’.
The sweet counter was also changing. The era of personalised service when someone weighed out your sweets for you was coming to an end. In the 1950’s self service pick n mix stands were now available where you could weigh out your own sweets.
The pick n mix is just as popular now as it was then.
Top 5 Favourite Sweets in a Pick n Mix
A discussion of the best pick n mix sweets can quickly turn into a heated argument. Is it chocolate, Haribo, fizzy cola bottles or even bon bons? There are so many sweets to suit everyone's different tastes, that it is difficult to pick the best. However, a poll by The French Bedroom Company produced some surprising results which are below:
- Fried Eggs
- Fizzy bubblegum bottles
- Flying saucers
- Sour cherries
- Lips
Do you agree?
Research also showed we are also really savvy when it comes to choosing our pick n mix. Fudge is not chosen as it weighs too much. 23% of people would rank flying saucers as their favourite as they can easily be squashed down so more sweets can fit into their pick n mix container!
Changing Pick n Mix Habits
Woolworths was the UK's staple pick n mix provider until it closed its doors. Pick n mix self-service areas are still available in places like the cinema. However, the events of the past few years due to Covid 19 have changed people's habits.
The popularity of a pick n mix has never changed, but more and more people are turning to the internet to get their sweet fix. Online stores like The Sweet Hamper Company offer the best selection of sweets around to be able to create your own perfect pick n mix for any occasion or even supply ready-made bags of pick n mix. With so much on offer, the only question is, what will you have in yours?