The Unusual Flavor Spinoffs of Rolo!

CC_Exotic Rolos TITLE PLATELike most major candy brands, Rolo is a mainstay that has occasionally been the recipient of an oddball flavor spin-off.  I documented a pair of these kinds of Rolo wrappers last year, but since then I’ve come across a few others and today I’d like to share them with  you.

Last year I documented over 50 Rolo wrappers in my collection across three different articles.  Everything from the very first Rolo wrapper released in 1937, to the bulk of my collection of 30 wrappers spanning the last five decades in my Big Rolo Roundup post.

The first Rolo flavor spinoff I ever encountered and one which I’d covered last year in the Rolo Roundup was a late 70’s/early 80’s German Rolo Mint flavor.   It is the earliest Rolo flavor spinoff I’ve ever uncovered and remains one of my all-time favorite pieces:

Germany – Mackintosh’s – Rolo – Peppermint – candy roll wrapper – late 70’s early 80’s

Of course that’s one I’ve already shared here on CollectingCandy.com, and today I want to focus on my new discoveries.

First up are the wrappers for a pair of white chocolate-based Rolo treats, both coming from the UK:

UK - Nestle Rolo Irish Cream - candy roll wrapper - 2004

UK – Nestle Rolo Irish Cream – candy roll wrapper – 2004

The white chocolate base for these Rolos has me wishing I could have tried them back when they were on sale.  Since they were exclusive to the UK, I never saw them.

UK - Nestle Rolo Caramel & Cream - candy roll wrapper - 2005

UK – Nestle Rolo Caramel & Cream – candy roll wrapper – 2005

Another interesting Rolo flavor offering from Nestle UK came in the form of a Treacle Toffee edition (Treacle is a kind of British Molasses):

UK - Nestle Rolo Treacle Toffee - candy roll wrapper - 1999

UK – Nestle Rolo Treacle Toffee – candy roll wrapper – 1999

That wrapper is quite similar to a South African “Licorice Toffee” version I wrote about last year:

South Africa – Nestle – Rolo – Limited Edition LIquorice Toffee – chocolate candy wrapper – 2000

South Africa – Nestle – Rolo – Limited Edition LIquorice Toffee – chocolate candy wrapper – 2000

Finally, here’s a striking blue wrapper for the limited edition Rolo Coconut, released in the United Kingdom back in 2001:

UK - Nestle Rolo Coconut - Limited Edition - candy roll wrapper - 2001

UK – Nestle Rolo Coconut – Limited Edition – candy roll wrapper – 2001

That makes up the new-and-unusual flavor spinoffs of Rolo I have to show you.  But since I am on the topic, I thought I’d also share a few other less-exotic Rolo wrappers I’ve added to my collection since I last covered the brand.

The next wrapper appears to be a time when Rolo was reverting back to its “original style”:

UK - Nestle Rolo Original Style - candy roll wrapper - 1997

UK – Nestle Rolo Original Style – candy roll wrapper – 1997

Here’s one where the brand was getting a “wickedly smoother chocolate”.  Note the slogan directly underneath the logo, “a handful of mischief”.   Awesome!

UK - Nestle Rolo - New Wickedly Smoother Chocolate - candy roll wrapper - 2003

UK – Nestle Rolo – New Wickedly Smoother Chocolate – candy roll wrapper – 2003

And the Jumbo Rolo offering you can only find in Canada:

Canada - Nestle - Rolo Jumbo - candy roll wrapper - 2010

Canada – Nestle – Rolo Jumbo – candy roll wrapper – 2010

Finally, I picked up another variation of Rolo Cookies recently:

UK - Nestle Rolo Cookies - Bonus Bite - candy roll wrapper - 2001

UK – Nestle Rolo Cookies – Bonus Bite – candy roll wrapper – 2001

That Rolo Cookies is a neat wrapper (and a delicious-sounding item), but the one I previously shared last year is a bit cooler as it shows a cutaway of the confectionery combination itself:

UK – Nestle – Rolo Cookies – new – candy wrapper – 1999

UK – Nestle – Rolo Cookies – new – candy wrapper – 1999

Oddball flavor spinoffs of standard brands are one of my favorite areas of candy packaging to collect, so these are all quite a lot of fun for me.  I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing them brought together as much as I have.

And that’s everything for today’s coverage of the unusual flavor spinoffs of Rolo.

See you next time!

About Jason Liebig

A New York City based writer, editor and sometimes actor. After spending much of the 1990′s in the comic book business helping tell the stories of Marvel Comics’ X-Men as series editor, he has since split his time between developing his own entertainment properties while still consulting and working on others. Having been described as “the Indiana Jones of lost and forgotten candy”, Jason is one of the country’s premier candy collectors and historians with his discoveries appearing in countless blogs, magazines, newspaper articles, and books. Always happy to share his knowledge and unique perspectives on this colorful part of our popular culture, Jason has consulted with New York’s Museum of Food and Drink and has also been a featured guest on Food Network’s Heavyweights, France’s M6 Capital, and New York’s TheActionRoom.com. My Google Profile+
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16 Responses to The Unusual Flavor Spinoffs of Rolo!

  1. Dave S. says:

    Coconut Rolo’s sound yummy! It’s cool you put these wrapper together.

  2. Barry Mason says:

    Having been fortunate enough to live in the UK when the white rolo’s were available I can say they were fantastic, so good in fact that I find regular old rolo’s pale by comparison.

  3. Alan says:

    The Rolo Cookies is a curious one because being in the UK there are Munchies (also Nestle, originally Macintosh’s) which have been around since the 1950’s which are the same proposition – milk chocolate cubes containing soft toffee and a biscuit in the centre. It seems an odd spinoff to produce considering the Munchies! You should definitely try and get hold of some Munchies wrappers, they have evolved over the years but have changed little since the 1970’s!

  4. jake butler says:

    Please please please somebody help bring back the white rolos!!!!! They were the best sweets ever!!!! I’d give virtually anything to have them back!

  5. Susan E says:

    Does anyone remember a coffee flavored Rolo from the late 70s? Did it exist? I swear I remember it. Thanks!

    • Jason Liebig says:

      Susan – I’ve never come across any mentions of a coffee-flavored Rolo but now that you’ve brought it to my attention, I’ll be on the lookout. Was this something you remember from the United Kingdom or the United States or elsewhere?

  6. Rob says:

    I lived in Germany for a few years as a kid and I still wish mint Rolos were available. Nothing even comes close.

  7. JD says:

    I swear I remember strawberry Rolos in the US in the 80’s. They were amazing (at least that was what I thought as a child). Am I remembering correctly or not? thanks!

    • Jason Liebig says:

      JD,

      I’m not currently aware of the existence of a Strawberry-flavored Rolo released in the USA, but that doesn’t preclude them existing or having been marketed (or even test-marketed). Wonka produced a strawberry-flavored Oompas candy in 1980 and up until a few years ago, I had not known that those existed. So it’s at least a possibility that you ARE remembering them correctly. You never know. But I will put the idea on my radar. 🙂

      -Jason

    • KT says:

      I SWEAR there were also strawberry rolo’s when I was a kid. I used to go with my dad every Saturday morning to the car wash and he would get me some every time we went. Everyone thinks I’m crazy because I remember them and no one else does. So I’m glad to see someone else wondering about them too. I was beginning to think maybe I was going crazy! lol

      • Jason Liebig says:

        KT,

        Can you tell me about what years you’re thinking you remember seeing Strawberry Rolos? And in what part of the country?

        As I try to track down evidence of the existence of these, this kind of information can help me.

        Thanks!

        Jason

        • Jeremy says:

          My girlfriend also remembers Strawberry Rolos. She said that when she was a kid (born in 1975, so I would assume that she saw them in the late seventies, or sometime in the eighties), her Mom would let her pick one item at the checkout counter at the Kohl’s food store in Milwaukee, WI. She says that she always picked Strawberry Rolos. I have done quite a bit of internet searching for them, but no luck so far.

    • Yes there was strawberry Rolos for a short time when I was a child they were amazing. I wish that they’d bring them back.

  8. Nicole M Latreille says:

    Does anyone remember the strawberry rolo’s? I got them when I was young and in the usa.

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