On the Menu | Chelsea candies are no more: Meiji confectionery line’s bittersweet end after 53 years shows nostalgia is not always good for business
- After more than half a century, Japan’s Meiji Co has discontinued production of its Chelsea confectionery line. Look for the price to rocket on resale websites
- Sales of the nostalgic hard candy, which came in butter, yogurt, coffee, and royal milk tea flavours, peaked in 2002 and have since fallen drastically
Japanese confectionery giant Meiji recently announced it would be discontinuing its Chelsea hard candy range after 53 years. Cue sad crying emojis (including from yours truly) across social media.
Never mind that I probably had not bought or eaten a Chelsea candy (my favourite was always the tart yogurt ones that came in the box with lime green flowers) in decades.
The iconic confectionery, packaged in a delightfully retro box with cheerful flowers spinning across its bold European lettering, has been on store shelves since 1971.
Despite the butterscotch treats being a reliable mainstay of confectionery stores, Meiji explained that it was pulling Chelsea candies from its line-up because of drastically dwindling sales.
As Taylor Swift says, “It’s me, hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.”
The company said sales of the core product peaked in 2002, raking in 2.5 billion yen; by 2004, it reported that “sales of core brand Chelsea were constrained by a challenging market”. By the 2022 financial year, sales had dropped to 500 million yen (US$3.3 million).