7 popular sweet treats you may remember by a different name - one is hard to believe

• Many popular sweet treats have changed their names over the years
• Some name changes have proved more popular than others
• How many of these famous brands do you remember by their old names?

Some of the UK’s best-loved chocolate bars and other sweet treats used to be known by different names.

They have been rebranded over the years, from the 1950s to the noughties, for various reasons.

It’s hard to believe certain brands were ever known as anything else, with one former moniker being particularly surprising.

But many people of a certain age still think of their favourite chocolate bar or sweets by the old name, even many years after the switch was made.

Some of the changes made perfect sense, while others proved particularly controversial, and one was quickly reversed after the public voted overwhelmingly in favour of the old name.

How many of these old names do you remember, and are there any you feel should never have been changed?

Marathon (now Snickers)

This is perhaps the most famous name change for a chocolate bar, and one which still rankles among some sweet-toothed fans.

The delicious peanut, caramel and chocolate concoction was first introduced to the UK in 1967 as a Marathon bar.

There was a great hullabaloo in 1990 when its UK name was changed to Snickers, to match that of the brand in the US, where it had been launched by Mars in 1930, and other countries.

The name Marathon had reportedly originally been chosen for the UK market as it was felt that the name Snickers was too similar to ‘knickers’.

Despite the change taking place 35 years ago, the Snickers bar will always be a Marathon to chocolate lovers of a certain age.

Such is the nostalgia for the old name, limited edition retro Marathon bars have been reintroduced in the UK, where they have sold in their millions.

Dime bar (now Daim)

First launched in Sweden in the 1950s, the Daim bar was originally marketed in the UK as a Dime.

A memorable 90s advert featured Harry Enfield as a dim-witted customer who said he preferred armadillos, which, unlike Dime bars, were ‘smooth on the inside, crunchy on the outside’.

The Dime bar was renamed Daim in the UK in 2005, to match its branding in other countries.

Midget Gems (now Mini Gems)

Midget Gems, as they were known, were first sold in 1903 by the Yorkshire-based Lion Confectionery Company.

Marks and Spencer became the first company to change the name of the firm, chewy sweets to Mini Gems in 2022, in response to calls from a disability campaigner who said the old name was insulting to people with dwarfism.

Maynard’s followed suit later that year, and other makers have also made the switch.

Unclaimed Babies (now Jelly Babies)

If there’s something a little unsettling about snacking on adorable baby-shaped sweets, that’s nothing compared to the former name.

It’s hard to believe, but Jelly Babies began life back in 1864 as Unclaimed Babies, originally made by Fryers of Lancashire, and the disturbing name didn’t seem to do their popularity any harm.

They were renamed Peace Babies in 1918, by which time they were being made by Bassett’s in Sheffield, to mark the end of the First World War.

It wasn’t until 1953 that they were relaunched as Jelly Babies, the name by which they are still known more than 70 years later.

Opal Fruits (now Starburst)

These soft, chewy, fruit-flavoured sweets were first introduced by Mars in the UK in 1959.

Their original name was chosen by Peter Phillips, the winner of a competition, who earned £5.

They made it to the US in 1967 and became known as Starburst there.

In 1998, Opal Fruits were renamed Starburst in the UK, to considerable public consternation, but the name stuck.

Coco Pops (formerly Choco Krispies)

Breakfast lovers were left spluttering into their bowls in February 1998, when Coco Pops were renamed Choco Krispies in the UK.

The name change did not go down well. After sales began to decline, Kellogg’s put it to a public poll.

The nation voted overwhelmingly to revert to Coco Pops, and the name was switched back in May 1999.

Cocoa Krispies is the name by which the chocolatey cereal is known by in the US, where it was launched in 1958.

Lilt (now Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit)

The soft drink famed for its ‘totally tropical taste’ was launched in the UK in 1975.

Memorable adverts featured the ‘Lilt Man’, who delivered it on a ‘Lilt float’ to customers on a Caribbean beach.

In 2023, it was rebranded as Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit by the Coca-Cola Company, which assured people that the ingredients and taste would not be changing.

What old sweets would you most love to see brought back? If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you might enjoy this look back at lost ice creams and lollies.