Matchmakers are an elongated chocolate confectionery product made by Nestlé. Thin, twig-like and brittle, they were first launched in 1968 by Rowntree's and were just one third of the length they are now. For many years they were available in either mint, coffee or orange flavour.
In 2003 Nestlé attempted to raise brand awareness by changing the names of the flavours to Cool Mint and Zingy Orange and adding Brilliant Blackcurrant and Sizzling Strawberry flavour - which counted 'black pepper flavoured sugar pieces' among its ingredients. Similarly, the packaging was altered in an attempt to appeal to 15- to 35-year-olds, and a new slogan was adopted - 'The manic munch that packs a punch'.
In 2008, Nestlé rebranded Matchmakers as 'Quality Street Matchmakers' - Quality Street also being a Nestlé brand. They are still available in 'Cool Mint', 'Yummy Honeycomb' and 'Zingy Orange' flavours
1 Currently manufactured by General Mills in the U.S. and Canada. Produced by Cereal Partners under the Nestlé brand elsewhere. 2 Brand owned by General Mills; U.S. and Canadian production rights controlled by Nestlé under license. 3 U.S. production rights owned by The Hershey Company. 4 U.S. rights and production owned by the Smarties Candy Company with a different product. 5 U.S. rights and specific trade dress owned by Nestlé; rights elsewhere owned by Associated British Foods. 6 Produced by Cereal Partners, branded as Nestlé. 7 Produced by Cereal Partners and branded as Nestlé in the U.K. and Ireland. Produced by Post Foods elsewhere. 8 Philippine production rights owned by Alaska Milk Corporation. 9 Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai production rights owned by Fraser and Neave. 10 Used only in Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia. 11 Used only in the Philippines. 12 U.S. production rights owned by the Ferrara Candy Company. 13NA rights and specific trade dress to all packaged coffee and other products under the Starbucks brand owned by Nestlé since 2019. 14 Brand owned by Mars, sold by Nestlé in Canada. 15 Produced by Froneri in the U.S. since 2020.