The best classic British retro sweets still available to buy in the UK include cola cubes, spearmint chews, liquorice torpedoes, chocolate raisins, sherbet lemons, pear drops, rhubarb and custard and coconut mushrooms. Most are available at One Pound Sweets in the retro sweets category, many at £1 per bag.
There is a particular kind of nostalgia that only sweets can trigger. Not the vague warmth of a childhood memory, but something more specific: the exact texture of a cola cube dissolving on your tongue, or the way a spearmint chew gets softer as you work through it. These are sensory memories, and the good news is that most of the classic British retro sweets are still in production and still taste exactly as you remember.
This is the guide to the ones worth seeking out, what they taste like for anyone discovering them fresh, and where to buy them online without paying inflated prices for a small bag.
What counts as a retro sweet?
There is no official definition, but the sweets most people think of as retro tend to share a few things in common. They have been around for at least 30 to 40 years. They are associated with the traditional British sweet shop pick n mix counter. They come in formats that feel slightly different to modern sweets, whether that is a boiled sweet, a chew bar or a loose sweet sold by weight. And they carry a strong sense of place and era, even if you cannot quite pinpoint where that feeling comes from.
The 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s are the decades most associated with retro sweets in the UK. For a deeper look at the 70s specifically, the article on the most popular retro sweets from the 1970s is worth reading alongside this one.
Cola cubes
Cola cubes are one of the defining retro British sweets. Hard, slightly fizzy, intensely cola-flavoured boiled sweets in a square shape that fits perfectly in the corner of your mouth. The flavour is synthetic cola rather than anything resembling actual cola, which is entirely the point. It is a flavour that exists only in sweet form and has done since these first appeared on pick n mix counters decades ago.
The experience of eating a cola cube is particular: hard at first, then softening as it dissolves, with a fizzy quality that builds slightly as you get towards the centre. A 140g bag is a proper amount and a genuinely good value pick n mix staple.
Spearmint chews
Spearmint chews are the classic British mint chew that has been a sweet shop staple for generations. Soft, chewy, strongly spearmint-flavoured and satisfying in a way that no amount of modern mint confectionery has quite replicated. The texture is the key thing: firm enough to give you something to chew through but soft enough to not require serious effort, and the mint flavour carries all the way through.
They are one of those sweets that people who grew up with them seek out specifically rather than just picking up as part of a mixed bag. The spearmint flavour is distinct from peppermint and has a slightly sweeter, greener quality that is immediately recognisable.
Liquorice torpedoes
Liquorice torpedoes are for the liquorice fans, and liquorice fans tend to be serious about their preferences. The torpedo shape is a small, dense liquorice sweet with a firm chew and a proper aniseed flavour that does not apologise for itself. These are not the mild liquorice allsort experience. They are genuinely strong and genuinely good if you like liquorice.
They have been a pick n mix fixture since at least the 1970s and remain one of the most consistent sellers in the retro sweet category. The fact that they are niche is part of their appeal. Not everyone reaches for the liquorice torpedoes, which means the people who do tend to feel a particular loyalty to them.
Chocolate raisins
Chocolate raisins sit in a slightly different category to the others here. They are not a boiled sweet or a chew, but they have been a pick n mix counter staple for as long as most people can remember and they deserve their place in any retro sweet selection. Plump raisins coated in milk chocolate, straightforward and satisfying. They are one of those sweets that you pick up thinking you will have a few and then eat the entire bag.
They also bridge the gap between sweets and snacks in a way that makes them useful at events and in office sweet jars. Not everyone at a party wants a sherbet lemon, but almost everyone will reach for a chocolate raisin.
Other classic retro sweets worth knowing about
Beyond the four products linked above, the retro sweets category at One Pound Sweets has a broad range of British classics. Sherbet lemons, pear drops, rhubarb and custard, coconut mushrooms, pineapple cubes, aniseed balls and more are all available. Most are in the traditional loose sweet format that works well for pick n mix or filling a jar.
If you grew up buying sweets by the quarter from a jar on a shop counter, the article on what is a quarter of sweets covers the history of that tradition and why it still makes sense as a way to buy sweets today.
Buying retro sweets in bulk
For events, sweet tables and anyone putting together a proper retro-themed pick n mix selection, buying in quantity from One Pound Sweets is the most cost-effective approach. The per-bag pricing beats supermarket costs, the range is significantly wider than anything you will find in a standard shop, and free delivery is available on qualifying orders.
Browse the full retro sweets range to see everything currently in stock.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about retro British sweets