Meerkats
A shape that had nothing to do with sweets until a decade ago.
- CategoryGummy
- First appeared2010s
- CountryBritain
- How it is madeMoulded gummy
- DietaryVeganVegetarian
What it is
A soft fruit flavoured gummy moulded as a standing meerkat. Sweet, chewy and bought largely because of the shape, which is unusual enough that people pick them up to look.
Taste
Where it comes from
The meerkat became one of the most recognisable animals in Britain through television, first through wildlife programmes and then through a long running advertising campaign, and sweet makers followed. It is a good example of how the shape of a gummy follows culture rather than confectionery, in the same way the shark followed Jaws.
What it's made of
Sugar, glucose syrup and wheat starch with modified maize and potato starches rather than gelatine, set in a detailed standing mould, flavoured with mixed fruit and coloured with fruit, plant and vegetable concentrates, then glazed with carnauba wax.
Ingredients and allergens
Ingredients
Sugar, Glucose Syrup, <strong>Wheat</strong> starch, Water, Modified Starches (Maize, Potato), Acids (Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Citric Acid), Flavourings, Fruit, Plant and Vegetable Concentrates (Black Carrot, Grape, Spirulina, Safflower), Colours (Curcumin, Paprika Extract), Vegetable Oil (Coconut), Glazing agent (Carnauba wax).
Allergens
Contains: Gluten
