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.
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]
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]
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.
