17th January 2011, on the menu today...
Werther's Original Butter Candies
Like a lot of people I imagine, when I see a packet of Werther's I think of a certain ad involving a grandfather sitting in an armchair with his grandson beside him. This bit of television was as sugary sweet as the confectionery itself and did well in labelling Werther's an 'old-persons sweet' - an unfortunate thing as they have a gorgeous buttery taste that people of all ages will enjoy.
Packaging:
As you might expect for a more, shall we say, grown-up piece of confectionery the packaging in plainer with a more sophisticated look to it. The light cream background looks smart and sets off the golden colour of the confectionery graphic beautifully. The script font that the "Butter Candies" text uses simulates handwriting and thereby helps convey a more personal, uncommercial feel. Finally, the "Werther's Original" text occupying the majority of the wrapper together with word 'traditional' printed alongside helps reinforce the notion of a smart, old-fashioned sweet.
Taste:
I do like sweets you suck on as they last longer than others and, consequently, I always feel I am getting more bang for my buck. Werther's Original is a good example of this as these 'butter candies' are rock solid at first and require a good amount of time in the mouth. Moreover, they have a delightful butter-rich taste to them that helps temper the sweetness and provide a more satisfying eating experience. A big TGBD thumbs up.
TV Advertising:
Well here it is...the Werther's Original ad:
Have you considered...?
Since the sweet lasts for quite a long time in the mouth one tends to eat less. Moreover, Werther's Original contain real butter and cream and this added fat helps satiate hunger better than other confectionery that are almost purely sugar.
History (as per the Wikipedia entry):
Werther's Original is a brand of butterscotch toffee sweets owned by the German company August Storck KG, based in Berlin, Germany. The sweet brand is named after the town of Werther in Westphalia, where the company was founded in 1903. From 1969, the sweet was marketed under the brand name Werthers Echte. The brand name Werther's Original was adopted in the 1990s for the international market. Originally available only in the hard form, sweets are now also available as 'chewy toffees', as well as a soft form that resembles wax, which melts easily inside the mouth called 'Caramelts'. A variant with chocolate filling is also available. There are also three sugarfree variants including the original caramel flavour, a caramel coffee swirl, and a caramel mint swirl. There is much confusion regarding whether Werther's are caramels or butterscotch. They are properly described as butterscotch due to their hard consistency. Werther's Caramelts may be an exception in so far as they are chewy.
A recent release (at least in the UK) is Werther's Chocolate; dark and milk chocolate sold in the same packaging and wrappers as Werther's Originals but instead of hard sweets, there is chocolate with butterscotch running through it.
Web Links:
Storck (Werther's Original page at brand owner's site)
Fellow food bloggers:
It's All About Limited Edition