Chocolate-covered raisins are a candy consisting of individual
raisins coated in a shell of milk, dark or white
chocolate.
Varieties and brands
In the
United States, they are also known as Raisinets,[1] which is the earliest and one of the most popular brands of the product, currently made by
Ferrara, a subsidiary of
Ferrero SpA. Raisinets were introduced in the United States in 1927 by the
Blumenthal Chocolate Company.
Ferrero acquired the brand in 2018 from
Nestlé, who had briefly expanded the brand to include milk chocolate-covered dried
cranberries[2] and dried
cherries[3] from late 2009 through 2013. A large number of other brands also exist, including:
In the
United Kingdom, chocolate raisins are considered a classic sweetshop confectionery and can be found in many supermarkets in plastic sharing bags under supermarket branding and in
corner shops. Around Christmas time, chocolate raisins are also sold with milk, white and dark chocolate coatings as a festive treat in boxed packaging.
In
Canada, the Glosette brand was introduced in the 1930s by the
Walter M. Lowney Company of Canada. It currently consists of various chocolate-covered candies, including Glosette
Raisins, Glosette
Peanuts, and Glosette
Almonds. The candies are sold in small cardboard boxes rather than a typical plastic wrapper. Lowney was acquired in the 1970s by Nabisco. The Lowney brand, including Glosettes, was bought by
Hershey Canada on July 1, 1987.
In
Australia, these sweets are more commonly referred to as chocolate-covered
sultanas, rather than raisins. In Australia, there are no particularly prominent brands in the market, although chocolate-covered sultanas are produced by some large local confectioners and also on the behalf of supermarket chains as store-brand versions.
In
Peru there is a popular brand named Fochis which are chocolate covered raisin made by Compañía Nacional de Chocolates de Perú S.A
The Promotion in Motion Companies, Inc, the candy company that manufactures
Welch's Fruit Snacks, also manufactures a
Sun-Maid brand of chocolate-covered raisins.
A similar food, also commonly sold at movie theaters, is the
chocolate-covered peanut. As described above, the two products are often combined for consumption in a mixture. Less common alternatives are the
chocolate-covered almond or the chocolate-covered macadamia nut.
1 Currently manufactured by
General Mills in the U.S. and Canada. Produced by
Cereal Partners under the Nestlé brand elsewhere. 2 Brand owned by
General Mills; U.S. and Canadian production rights controlled by Nestlé under license. 3 U.S. production rights owned by
The Hershey Company. 4 U.S. rights and production owned by the
Smarties Candy Company with a different product. 5 U.S. rights and specific trade dress owned by Nestlé; rights elsewhere owned by
Associated British Foods. 6 Produced by Cereal Partners, branded as Nestlé. 7 Produced by Cereal Partners and branded as Nestlé in the U.K. and Ireland. Produced by
Post Foods elsewhere. 8 Philippine production rights owned by
Alaska Milk Corporation. 9 Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai production rights owned by
Fraser and Neave. 10 Used only in Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia. 11 Used only in the Philippines. 12 U.S. production rights owned by the
Ferrara Candy Company. 13NA rights and specific trade dress to all packaged coffee and other products under the Starbucks brand owned by Nestlé since 2019. 14 Brand owned by
Mars, sold by Nestlé in Canada. 15 Produced by
Froneri in the U.S. since 2020.