Cheekies

Cheekies (formerly Chicos)^[1] is a chocolate-flavoured jelly lolly.

Cheekies

Product type	Gummy candy
Owner	Nestlé
Country	Australia
Related brands	Allen's

Nutritional info

Main ingredients	Glucose syrup, cane sugar, thickener, invert syrup, full cream milk powder, cocoa
Food energy (per 20 g serving)	69.3 kcal (290 kJ)

Description

They are similar to Jelly Babies, but rather than being fruit flavoured and in a variety of colours, they are all dark brown and are flavoured with cocoa. They were previously called Chicos in Australia.

Production

Cheekies are Australian made and contain no artificial colours. They are made by the Nestlé Corporation and marketed under their Australian brand Allen's Lollies.

The product previously contained gelatin but the ingredient was removed in 2015 to make Cheekies suitable for vegetarians.^[2] Cheekies are noted as a lolly that the public has a polarised opinion on.^[3]

Name change

In June 2020, along with Red Skins, Nestlé announced that the name will be changed to represent the inclusive nature of modern society. The company said the decision was made to ensure "nothing we do marginalises our friends, neighbours and colleagues". The statement added "These names have overtones which are out of step with Nestle's values, which are rooted in respect." The word "chico" in Spanish translates as "boy".^[4] It can also be considered a derogatory term for people of Latin American descent, although this is not in common usage in Australia.^[5][6][7][8] The announcement of a name change occurred in the wake of widespread name changes following the George Floyd protests.^[9] On 16 November 2020, Nestlé announced that the new name for Chicos would be Cheekies. Packaging bearing the new name would be available in stores in early 2021.^[10]