Refreshers have been one of Britain’s favourite retro sweets for decades. The chewy bar with the fizzy sherbet centre is instantly recognisable, and the name alone is enough to trigger a strong sense of nostalgia for most people who grew up in the UK. What surprises a lot of people is that there are actually two completely different products carrying the Refreshers name, made by two different brands, with very different textures and eating experiences.
This guide covers both, looks at every flavour available, explains what makes them vegan friendly, and shows you the best ways to buy in bulk.
The Two Types of Refreshers Sweets
Swizzels Refresher Chew Bars
When most people think of Refreshers sweets, this is what comes to mind. The Swizzels Refresher Chew Bar is a soft, chewy bar with a fizzy sherbet centre that gives a sharp pop of flavour when you bite through. Swizzels have been making them since the 1970s and the format has barely changed. The original flavour is lemon, and the combination of tangy outer chew and sherbet filling is what made them a fixture in every sweet shop and corner newsagent in the country.
Each bar is individually wrapped and sold in boxes of 60, making them a popular choice for party bags, tuck shops and offices. At around 20p per bar in a full case, they are genuinely hard to beat for value.
Barratt Refreshers
The Barratt version is an entirely different sweet. These are small, hard, fizzy tablets sold in a roll, similar in format to Polo mints or Love Hearts. They dissolve on the tongue rather than requiring any chewing, and the fizz comes from the tablet itself rather than a sherbet filling. Barratt Refreshers have been around since the 1960s and are classic pick and mix territory.
The rolls are sold individually or in a case of 48, which suits anyone stocking up for events or reselling.
Refreshers Flavours: Every Variety Available
Swizzels Chew Bar Flavours
The Swizzels range covers four main flavours. Lemon is the classic and still the most popular. Strawberry is the fruitier, sweeter option and tends to be the one that goes first in a mixed box. Sour Apple brings a sharper, more aggressive sourness that suits people who like their sweets to bite back. The strawberry bars in particular have built a loyal following as a standalone flavour rather than just part of a mix.
Swizzels also make Refreshers Choos, which are smaller, individually wrapped chewy sweets in lemon, strawberry, apple, pineapple and raspberry flavours. They share the same sherbet centre as the chew bars but in a bite-sized format.
Barratt Refreshers Roll Flavours
The Barratt roll comes in assorted flavours in a single tube, typically including orange, lemon, strawberry and blackcurrant. Unlike the Swizzels bars, you do not get to pick a single flavour from the roll. The mix is part of the experience, which suits people who enjoy variety but makes them less practical if you only want one specific flavour.
Refreshers Softies
Barratt also make Refreshers Softies, which are their take on the squashy jelly sweet format. Soft, jelly-textured and fizzy rather than chewy or hard, they come in orange, lime, yellow and raspberry. Buy them in a box of Refreshers Softies from One Pound Sweets. If you like Squashies, the Softies are worth trying. They are a bigger, squashier version of the classic Refreshers flavour in a format that is closer to a gummy bear than a chew bar.
Are Refreshers Sweets Vegan?
Swizzels Chew Bars
The Swizzels Refresher Chew Bars are suitable for vegans and vegetarians. The ingredients list does not include gelatine, beeswax or any other animal-derived products. This makes them one of the more popular choices for vegan pick and mix, alongside other Swizzels products like Love Hearts, Parma Violets and Millions.
Barratt Refreshers Roll
The standard Barratt Refreshers rolls are also vegan friendly. They are made from sugar, glucose syrup and citric acid with no animal-derived ingredients. Worth checking the specific product page to confirm, as formulas can change.
Refreshers Softies
The Softies are not vegan. They contain beef gelatine as well as beeswax as a glazing agent. If you are buying for someone who is vegan or vegetarian, stick to the chew bars or the rolls rather than the Softies.
The History of Refreshers
Swizzels and the Chew Bar
Swizzels Matlow was founded in the 1920s and is one of the oldest British confectionery companies still operating. Based in New Mills, Derbyshire, the company has made sweets at the same site for decades. The Refresher Chew Bar was developed as part of their growing range of penny sweets and became a staple of the British pick and mix counter through the 1970s and 1980s.
Adding a fizzy sherbet centre is what set the chew bar apart from standard fruit chews. Most chewy sweets of the era were straightforward sugar and glucose. Adding a sherbet filling that reacted on the tongue gave Refreshers a point of difference that competitors never quite managed to replicate. Read our guide to retro sweets for more classics worth revisiting.
Barratt and the Classic Roll
Barratt is another long-standing British confectionery brand, responsible for a range of classic pick and mix staples including Dip Dabs, Dolly Mixture and Jelly Babies. The Refreshers roll format draws on a tradition of tablet sweets that goes back much further than the brand itself. Small, fizzy, hard sweets in a paper tube were a standard format in British sweet shops from at least the mid-twentieth century, and the Barratt version is one of the last survivors of that format still in mainstream production.
Buying Refreshers in Bulk
What Is Available
The full Refreshers range at One Pound Sweets covers every format: Swizzels chew bars in lemon, strawberry and sour apple, Refreshers Choos in mixed flavours, Barratt Refreshers rolls, and Barratt Refreshers Softies. Individual packs are available from £1, and full cases are stocked on all the main lines. Browse the full Refreshers range at One Pound Sweets.
Best Value Options
A box of 60 Swizzels Refreshers Chew Bars works out at around 20p per bar and is the most cost-effective way to buy if you go through them regularly. The Barratt roll case of 48 gives a similar per-unit saving and covers events and party bags without needing to order multiple times. Orders over £20 qualify for free UK delivery, so buying a case or two in a single order is the practical approach.
Refreshers have stayed popular for good reason. The fizzy sherbet centre on the chew bars is still genuinely satisfying, the flavour range covers most tastes, and the price point makes them easy to buy in quantity. Whether you want a single box for the cupboard or a full case for an event, the range has something at every level.
Shop Refreshers Sweets at One Pound Sweets
Browse the full range of Refreshers sweets, from classic lemon chew bars to Softies and Barratt rolls. Free UK delivery on orders over £20.