Long-loved lollies, Life Savers, is making a comeback in Australia as Darrell Lea begins production in Sydney. The confectionery company acquired the lolly brand from Nestlé last year, and moved production from New Zealand to Ingleburn in Sydney.
Life Savers marketing manager James Byrne said a relaunch is expected by September 2019.
“It’s something that was important to us and we’ve been working in the background to innovate with new flavours and formats, so in September we can relaunch the brand with new flavours and advertising campaigns to help Australians become aware again of Life Savers,” Byrne said to ABC News.
Darrell Lea has been gaining momentum over the last year, since it brought the range into major supermarkets and acquired Heritage Fine Chocolates. The downfall of the confectionery company in 2012 saw chocolate shops close across the country. Byrne said the company has had a complete turnaround and hopes for the same success with the Life Savers acquisition.
“We’re a business that wants to grow and will grow through organic growth, but also acquisition. We’re in the market to get brands, and Life Savers is a great brand here and around the world. We’ve got experience within this business of turning around brands that haven’t been doing well,” Byrne said to ABC News.
Darrell Lea has hired around 21 more workers to produce Life Savers sweets.
