Love lines

Above: New product development manager Jonny Dee, purchasing director Brian Dee and associate communications director Andrew Matlow with some of Swizzel Matlow Ltd's extensive range of sweets. Photograph: Swizzels Matlow Ltd.

Above: love hearts

Above: Packing packets of Rainbow Drops. Photograph: Janette Sykes

Above: Jewellery from the Love Hearts range, made by Derbyshire based CW Sellors. Photograph C W Sellors

THEY may have the potential to rot our teeth and ruin our waistline, but let’s face it, most of us are suckers for a surreptitious sweet or two. And when those sweets are as well known and popular as Love Hearts, temptation is even tougher to resist. Confectionery fans of all ages may find it hard to believe, but New Mills based Swizzels Matlow Ltd, the company responsible for such famous and evergreen brands as Refreshers and Rainbow Drops, is celebrating its 80th birthday this year. It may be a close-knit, family-run company, with seven family members in senior roles, but there’s nothing cosy or complacent about its attitude towards its employees, customers, consumers or everchanging market conditions.

Thus those of us of a certain age who spent their pocket money on Love Hearts as children won’t be surprised to learn that classic messages such as ‘I love you’ and ‘Be mine’ have been supplemented by 21st century ‘speak’ such as ‘Be my icon’, ‘E-mail me’ and ‘Page me’. These days you can even buy such goodies as a stylish black and white hamper box of assorted sweets, including three Love Hearts rolls personalised with your own message, or elegant silver jewellery made by Derbyshire-based CW Sellors, featuring everything from charm bracelets to cufflinks. It’s a far cry from those far-off days when Alfred and Maurice Matlow launched Matlow Bros. Ltd in a small factory in London, back in 1928. In those days they made such delectable-sounding lines as Table Jellies, Cello Fruits and Jolly Lollies, and the first turning point came five years later, when they formed Swizzels Ltd with David Dee. Swizzels specialised in manufacturing fizzy sweets in compressed tablet form, which gradually developed to include the favourites still going strong today - including Fruit Fizzers (now Fizzers) and Parma Violets. Battered by the London Blitz during the Second World War, both companies decided to seek refuge in the provinces and relocated to their current premises at Carlton House, a former textile mill where wicks for miners’ lamps were once made. Gradual expansion led to an extension and fully automated manufacture in 1971, when Swizzels Ltd also received the Queen’s Award to Industry for export achievement. Four years later, the company became Swizzels Matlow Ltd and in 1991 welcomed the late Diana, Princess of Wales on a Royal visit. Today, the company employs more than 600 people, most of whom live within a radius of ten miles, making it one of the largest employers in north Derbyshire. It now boasts around half a- million square feet of production space, its 2007 turnover was a healthy £44 million, and, when I met associate communications director Andrew Matlow, business was doing so well, it was gearing up for 24-hour production to meet growing demand. ‘I’m pleased to say that business is going very well at the moment,’ he told me as he took me on a whistlestop tour of the plant, to see the production process from powder right though to packing.According to Andrew, the main changes over the years have been automation, the introduction of computers and changes to the company’s customer and consumer base. ‘Automation has evolved gradually, while computers have made a difference over the past 25 years,’ he explained. ‘We are very much a technology-driven company, and that’s why we have managed to retain our competitive advantage.As well as having a fantastic range of products, computers help us respond very quickly to demand. ‘Our customer and consumer bases have also changed. Whereas in the past, there were around 80,000 independent stores selling confectionery, now there are only about 20,000, because they have been superseded by supermarkets.’ Now Swizzels Matlow supplies all the major supermarkets with its products, which now tend to be sold in multi-packs, variety bags or ‘big bags’ rather than singly, and parents tend to buy sweets for their children during the weekly shop. Long gone, it seems, are the days when youngsters spent a few coppers on the way home from school. Andrew believes there’s also more choice when it comes to spending that pocket money.‘Our competition isn’t just from other manufacturers, it’s also from such things as top-up cards for mobile phones, fizzy drinks and ice cream,’ he added. ‘Both buyers and children are always looking for something different, and yet they also like what they know.’ Therein lies the contradiction, and the possible explanation why products made by Swizzels Matlow have been, and continue to be, so popular for so long. For as well as retaining tried and trusted lines, the company is constantly developing new products, like recentlyintroduced lines Flic ‘n’ Lic, Super Baby Bottle and Clicker Pop. No stone is left unturned when it comes to exploiting new markets, and a wave of nostalgia is capturing the imagination of older consumers. ‘We have developed a range of products that seems to be rekindling childhood memories, such as our new hamper box, which is proving very popular and sold well for St. Valentine’s Day,’ said Andrew. ‘Our Love Hearts wedding favours, with messages such as ‘Marry Me’ and ‘Just Married’, are also extremely successful.’ Given the current concern about children’s health, Andrew is refreshingly forthright about claims that sweets can make you fat and cause tooth decay. ‘We would never say that they were healthy, but our stance is that they are a fun treat that should be eaten responsibly, enjoyed as an occasional indulgence rather than as a mainstay of the diet. ‘What we can say is that we create quality products that people can trust.We all grew up with them, and the ingredients haven’t changed. Most of us ate them in moderation and they didn’t do us any harm. ‘I think people recognise the brand, understand what our products are and are prepared to give them to their children and their grandchildren. You can’t buy that kind of brand loyalty, you have to earn it and continue to earn it.’ That sense of earning loyalty also extends to employees, some of whom have worked for the company for more than 20 years. One of the longest serving is Brian Land(52), New Mills born and bred, who joined as a ‘sweeper up’ at the age of 16 and has worked his way up to become manager of powder production and the press room. ‘It’s a good company to work for, and the bosses will always help to put you through training if you’re keen, either in-house or externally,’ he said. ‘They supported me in progressing to NVQ Level 4 in management, and I have also become an NVQ assessor. ‘I think it’s a real achievement for the company reach its 80th birthday. While I’ve been here we’ve been through some sticky times, such as the power cuts and the three day week in the 1970s, but there have also been better times when the plant’s been operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet demand. ‘When Diana, Princess of Wales came to tour the factory, I was lucky enough to be introduced to her, and we made some special Love Hearts for the Princes. She told me:“The boys will love these”.’ Added Andrew: ‘It’s the sort of place where people come to work for six to eight weeks, and 25 years later they’re still here. People are made to feel very welcome, and everyone is working in tune, towards the same goal.We are one big team, and it’s our job to ensure that team keeps going from strength to strength. It’s our intention to be here in another 80 years’ time.’