Smarties - Variants

Variants

Smarties are not distributed in the United States, except by specialist importers. The Ce De Candy company manufactures a hard, tablet sweet under the name Smarties (known as Rockets in Canada), which is unrelated to the Nestlé product. M&M's are similar to Smarties.

Smarties are also sold in the form of chocolate bars and eggs with fragments of Smarties in them, and chocolate-and-vanilla ice cream with Smarties pieces in it known as Smarties Fusion. A variant on Smarties ice cream is the Smarties McFlurry, sold by McDonald's. A Smarties Blizzard is available at Dairy Queen in Canada.

In 1997, larger-sized Giant Smarties were introduced, and, in 2004, Fruity Smarties. Another variation of Smarties, which contained white chocolate rather than milk chocolate, was also introduced. These were trialled as Smartics, however upon their proper release a year or so later, they were simply called White Chocolate Smarties.

In 1998, a product known as 'Smarties Secrets' was introduced which contained sweets of varying designs, colours and flavours. The packaging also contained a small comic book. This product is no longer available.

In Canada, there was a limited line of red and white smarties where the white smarties sport a red maple leaf, reminiscent of the Canadian flag. Holiday packaging for Christmas and Valentine's Day (containing only pink and red Smarties) is common. Also in Canada, Nestlé has introduced Peanut and Peanut Butter Smarties.

Around Christmas, Nestlé Australia and Canada often releases Smarties in the Christmas colours of red, green and white.

Smarties in the UK were traditionally sold in cylindrical cardboard tubes, capped with a colourful plastic lid usually having a letter of the alphabet on it. The purpose of this, according to a Rowntrees' spokesperson in the 1980s, was for them to be useful as a teaching aid to encourage young children to recognise the letters. Over the last 25 years, Nestlé and Rowntrees have manufactured five billion Smarties lids. Some lids are very rare and are now regarded as collectors' items.

In February 2005, the Smarties tube was replaced with a hexagonal design. The rationale behind changing the design was, according to Nestlé, to make the brand "fresh and appealing" to youngsters; the new packaging is also lighter and more compact, and the lid (which is now a hinged piece of cardboard) has a card clip which holds the lid shut when it is folded over. The new lid still features a letter like the old plastic lids, but it is in the form of a "what is a ?" question, the answer for which can be read when the lid is open, next to the hole giving access to the rest of the tube. The hexagonal box is made of one piece of card which is diecut then folded and glued. The hexagon can also be stacked in many layers without the pile collapsing, which is an advantage at the point of sale. The last 100 tubes to leave the factory in York had a certificate inside them.

In other countries, like Canada, there is more variety in packaging. Smarties can be purchased in rectangular boxes, a giant tube, or in a stand-up plastic bag, and in 410 g bags in Australia and New Zealand.

In the Czech Republic and in Slovakia, a variation of Smarties are called Lentilky and are manufactured by Nestlé. Lentilky in the Czech Republic have been produced by Sfinx Holešov since 1907, though not originally under this name. This name is also used in some Latin American countries (e.g., Lentejas in Peru).