Cheekies

Cheekies is an Australian confectionery brand for chocolate-flavoured jelly lollies produced and sold by Nestlé. The product was formerly marketed under the name Chicos and became known for its distinctive chocolate flavour, chewy jelly texture, and the divided public reaction it generated. Although the supplied name and country information associate Cheekies with Germany, the canonical Wikipedia subject is an Australian Nestlé confectionery product and should not be conflated with a German food brand or another company using the same name. The product's earlier formulation contained gelatin. In 2015, Nestlé removed gelatin from the recipe, making Cheekies suitable for vegetarians. This was a notable product decision because gelatin is commonly used in confectionery to create a firm, elastic texture. The reformulation allowed the brand to address vegetarian dietary requirements while retaining its jelly-lolly format. In June 2020, Nestlé announced that the Chicos name would be changed. The announcement came amid wider public scrutiny of brand names and imagery following the global protests associated with the death of George Floyd. Nestlé said that the existing name had overtones inconsistent with its stated values of respect and with its aim not to marginalise people. The company also announced a parallel name change for the Red Skins confectionery brand. In explaining the decision, Nestlé referred to the possible derogatory interpretation of “chico” in relation to people of Latin American descent, while acknowledging that this usage was not common in Australia. On 16 November 2020, Nestlé announced Cheekies as the new name for Chicos. Packaging using the new name reached Australian stores in early 2021. The change preserved the product's confectionery identity while separating it from the contested former branding. Cheekies therefore represents a brand-renaming case in which a long-running product was retained but its name was revised to align more closely with contemporary social expectations. Public reaction to the product itself has historically been polarised, with consumers tending either to enjoy or strongly dislike its chocolate-flavoured jelly profile. Beyond this consumer response and the renaming, publicly available reference material provides limited information about the brand's launch date, manufacturing locations, distribution scale, sales, financial performance, advertising campaigns, or corporate executives. Nestlé is the relevant corporate owner and producer, while Cheekies operates as an individual confectionery product brand rather than as an independent company.

Cheekies is the renamed form of Chicos, a chocolate-flavoured jelly lolly produced by Nestlé and sold in Australia. The available reference material does not establish the product's original launch year, original creator, or manufacturing site. It does, however, identify the product as a long-running Nestlé confectionery item with a recognisable combination of chocolate flavour and jelly texture. Consumers have expressed sharply divided opinions about this flavour profile, making the product notable for its polarised reception as well as for its name. An important formulation change occurred in 2015, when gelatin was removed from the product. The change made the lolly suitable for vegetarians while preserving its basic confectionery category and format. No reliable information in the supplied material specifies the full ingredient list, the technical details of the reformulation, or whether the change affected texture or flavour. The brand's most consequential public development came in 2020. In June of that year, Nestlé said that it would change the names of both Chicos and Red Skins. The decision was made during a period of heightened attention to racial language and historical branding practices following the George Floyd protests. Nestlé stated that the names had overtones that were out of step with its values and that it did not want its actions to marginalise friends, neighbours, or colleagues. The concern around “Chico” related in part to the word's possible derogatory use for people of Latin American descent, even though that meaning was not described as common in Australia. Nestlé announced the replacement name Cheekies on 16 November 2020. The renaming changed the product's verbal identity without discontinuing the underlying confectionery. New packaging appeared in Australian shops in early 2021, completing the transition from Chicos to Cheekies. The episode is best understood as a brand-renaming and values-alignment decision rather than a product withdrawal or corporate separation. Cheekies remains associated with Nestlé's Australian confectionery portfolio. Public sources supplied for this entry do not provide verified details about the brand's sales, market share, advertising history, retail partners, executive sponsorship, or present distribution beyond its sale in Australia. Accordingly, those fields are left unspecified rather than inferred.

• 2021

  New packaging reaches stores

  [1]Cheekiesen.wikipedia.org

  Packaging bearing the Cheekies name became available in Australian stores in early 2021.

• 2020

  Nestlé announces a name change

  [1]Cheekiesen.wikipedia.org

  Nestlé announced that Chicos would be renamed, together with Red Skins, because the existing names were considered inconsistent with the company's stated values.

• 2020

  Cheekies becomes the replacement name

  [1]Cheekiesen.wikipedia.org

  Nestlé announced Cheekies as the new name for Chicos on 16 November.

• 2015

  Gelatin removed from the formulation

  [1]Cheekiesen.wikipedia.org

  Nestlé removed gelatin from the product, making the chocolate-flavoured jelly lolly suitable for vegetarians.

A distinctive, nostalgic Australian jelly-lolly product positioned through its chocolate flavour and chewy confectionery texture; since 2021, the brand has also reflected a name change intended to align with contemporary standards of respect and inclusion.

• Chocolate-flavoured jelly lolly

  Cheekies

  Cheekies is a chewy jelly confectionery product with a chocolate flavour, produced by Nestlé for the Australian market. It was formerly sold as Chicos. The recipe previously contained gelatin, but Nestlé removed that ingredient in 2015 so the product could be suitable for vegetarians. The product is known for eliciting strongly divided consumer opinions about its flavour and texture.

• 2020

  Renaming Chicos as CheekiesStrategy

  Background

  Nestlé reviewed the Chicos name during a period of heightened scrutiny of brand names and their social associations. The company said the name had overtones inconsistent with its values of respect.

  Action taken

  Nestlé announced the new Cheekies name on 16 November 2020 and changed the product packaging.

  Aftermath

  New packaging appeared in Australian stores in early 2021. The confectionery product continued under a different brand name.

  Source

• 2015

  Removal of gelatinOther

  Background

  The original product formulation contained gelatin, which limited its suitability for vegetarian consumers.

  Action taken

  Nestlé removed gelatin from the recipe.

  Aftermath

  The product became suitable for vegetarians while remaining a chocolate-flavoured jelly lolly.

  Source

1. 1Cheekiesen.wikipedia.org