Maynards
Maynards Sweets: Proper Chewy British Favourites
For anyone who believes a sweet should put up a little resistance before surrendering, Maynards offers the gloriously chewy answer. From fruity Wine Gums and sugar-dusted Jelly Babies to characterful Sports Mix and liquorice allsorts, these are familiar British sweets with enough personality to make an ordinary snack feel like a small event. Explore the Maynards range, or compare it with more traditional sweets and retro sweets.
Maynards Bassetts sweets are built around pleasing contrasts: firm and soft, fruity and liquorice-rich, smooth and sugar-coated. That variety explains why the brand works equally well for a quiet afternoon treat, a cinema-night bowl, a sharing bag or a nostalgic sweet gift. The sensible problem is not whether to buy some, but which packet deserves opening first.
Shop Maynards Bassetts Favourites
The Maynards family contains several distinct kinds of confectionery, so “something chewy” can mean rather more than one thing. Shoppers can move from classic wine gums to soft jelly babies, then change direction entirely with Bassetts liquorice allsorts. It is a useful range for households in which everyone has strong opinions, particularly when all those opinions are different.
Maynards Wine Gums
Maynards Wine Gums are the headline act: firm, fruit-flavoured gums made for slow chewing rather than instant disappearance. Their appeal lies in the texture as much as the flavour. Each piece lasts long enough to feel substantial, making original Wine Gums a natural choice for road trips, desk drawers, film nights and sharing bowls.
Despite the name, Wine Gums are confectionery rather than wine. The familiar fruit flavours and jewel-like pieces make them a British sweet-shop classic. If that dense, satisfying bite is your priority, browse more gummy sweets, chewy sweets and fruit jellies.
Maynards Jelly Babies
Maynards Jelly Babies offer a softer proposition: fruit-flavoured jelly sweets in the famous baby shape, finished with a light sugar coating. Their tender bite makes them easy to share and pleasingly different from firmer gums. They suit party bowls, family treats and anyone whose idea of resistance ends after the first chew.
For more soft-centred variety, visit the wider jelly sweets collection or contrast Jelly Babies with playful foam sweets. Texture is often the fastest route to the right sweet: soft jellies comfort, dense gums occupy and fizzy sweets create a minor weather event on the tongue.
Maynards Sports Mix and Midget Gems
Maynards Sports Mix combines assorted sporty shapes with a robust gum texture and mixed fruit flavours. It is nostalgic without requiring a history lesson and varied enough to stop the bowl becoming monotonous. Maynards Midget Gems and Mini Gems follow a similar compact logic: small pieces, bold colour and a dependable chew.
These assortments belong naturally beside midget gems, classic pick and mix and other old-school favourites. Smaller pieces are particularly practical for sweet jars because they create the agreeable impression of abundance—which is, in confectionery, often more persuasive than mathematics.
Fizzy Fish, Cherry Drops and Sherbet Lemons
Maynards Fizzy Fish bring shape, tang and a lively sugar coating to the range. They are an obvious choice for fans of fizzy sweets and sour sweets, while Maynards Cherry Drops and sherbet lemons supply a harder, longer-lasting treat. Browse boiled sweets, hard candy or sherbet sweets when you prefer flavour that takes its time.
Liquorice Allsorts and Mint Favourites
Maynards Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts are less a single sweet than a committee of sweets, and unusually for a committee, every member contributes something useful. Layers, buttons and sandwiches combine liquorice with colourful fondant and coconut textures. The result is sweet, aromatic and visually unmistakable.
Liquorice devotees can continue through liquorice sweets, stronger black liquorice and classic liquorice sticks. Those who want freshness rather than fruit can look towards Maynards Murray Mints and Mint Favourites, then explore more mint sweets, butter mints and spearmints.
How to Choose Your Maynards Sweets
The best choice depends less on abstract quality than on the experience you want. A firm gum lasts; a soft jelly comforts; a fizzy coating wakes the palate; liquorice divides a room with admirable efficiency. Use this quick guide:
- For a firm, fruity chew: choose Maynards Wine Gums, Sports Mix or Midget Gems.
- For a softer jelly: choose Maynards Jelly Babies or fruit jellies.
- For tang and novelty: choose Maynards Fizzy Fish or sour Wine Gums.
- For traditional flavour: choose liquorice allsorts, Murray Mints, Cherry Drops or sherbet lemons.
- For sharing: choose larger bags, sweet jars or a varied pick-and-mix selection.
If variety matters most, build a mixture from pick and mix sweets, present it in pick and mix sweet jars, or keep things simple with ready-to-share sweet bags.
Maynards Sweets for Gifts, Parties and Sharing
A recognisable sweet earns instant goodwill because the recipient already knows what pleasure is coming. Maynards Wine Gums gifts, Jelly Babies boxes and mixed sweet selections work for birthdays, thank-you gestures, office sharing and stocking fillers. They are cheerful, familiar and pleasingly low-risk—three qualities that many grander presents somehow fail to combine.
For presentation-ready ideas, explore sweet gifts, generous sweet hampers and affordable gifts under £10. For celebrations, pair chewy favourites with party sweets, birthday sweets or stocking fillers.
Bulk Maynards Wine Gums and larger sharing formats can be useful for events, workplace jars and busy family cupboards. Check the live product page for available bag sizes and pack formats, since ranges can change. A sweet jar containing several colours and shapes also appears more generous before anyone has eaten a thing; visual abundance is the cheapest form of extravagance.
Ingredients and Dietary Information
Questions such as “Are Maynards Wine Gums gluten free?”, “Are Maynards Jelly Babies vegetarian?” and “Are Maynards sweets halal?” do not have one safe answer for every product or market. Recipes, manufacturing arrangements and pack information can change. Some chewy sweets may contain gelatine, while allergens and suitability statements can differ between individual lines.
Always read the ingredients, allergen declaration and dietary symbols on the current packet before buying or eating, particularly for allergies, coeliac disease or religious and ethical dietary requirements. Do not infer that one Maynards product is suitable merely because another is. Customers shopping to a specific requirement can also browse dedicated vegetarian sweets, vegan sweets, gluten-free sweets, halal sweets and sugar-free sweets, checking each product label individually.
Frequently Asked Questions About Maynards
Are Maynards and Bassetts the same brand?
Many familiar products are sold under the combined Maynards Bassetts name. Shoppers often search for Maynards, Bassetts or Maynards Bassetts when looking for Wine Gums, Jelly Babies, Sports Mix and Liquorice Allsorts.
Do Maynards Wine Gums contain wine or alcohol?
The name describes the traditional confectionery range rather than an alcoholic drink. Ingredients should still be checked on the current packet if alcohol content or any other dietary point is important to you.
What flavours are in Maynards Wine Gums?
Wine Gums are sold as assorted fruit-flavoured gums. The precise flavour assortment and recipe can vary by pack or market, so consult the current product packaging for definitive information.
Are Maynards Wine Gums vegan, vegetarian, halal or gluten free?
Suitability must be confirmed product by product from the latest packaging. Do not rely on the appearance of a sweet, an old recipe or a third-party list where an allergy or dietary rule matters.
Where can I buy Maynards sweets online?
Use the Maynards brand page to see the current online selection, then compare complementary collections by sweet type, texture, flavour, occasion or dietary preference.
Rediscover a British Sweet-Shop Classic
There is a reason these sweets remain lodged in the national memory: they turn flavour, texture and shape into a tiny piece of theatre. A packet can be shared, gifted, sorted by colour or guarded with surprising determination. Whether your favourite is the firm chew of Wine Gums, the softness of Jelly Babies, the tang of Fizzy Fish or the splendid oddness of Liquorice Allsorts, make your next sweet selection unmistakably Maynards.