Violet Crumble

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The bar is a crumbly honeycomb-like substance coated in compound chocolate. It is similar to the Crunchie made by Cadbury.

The slogan for the chocolate bar is "It's the way it shatters that matters" (replacing the previous slogan, "Nothing else matters").

History

Abel Hoadley (born September 10, 1844, died May 12, 1918) [ [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090319b.htm Hoadley, Abel (1844 - 1918) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online ] ] opened a jam factory in South Melbourne, Victoria, in 1889, trading as A. Hoadley & Company. By 1895, business had expanded rapidly and Hoadley built a five-storey premises, the Rising Sun Preserving Works. He produced jams, jellies, preserved fruits, candied peels, sauces, and confectionery and employed a workforce as large as 200. By 1901, there were four preserving factories and a large confectionery works. Hoadley had acquired the firm of Dillon, Burrows & Co. and extended his products to vinegar, cocoa, and chocolate. In 1910, the jam business was sold to Henry Jones Co-operative Ltd. and in 1913, Hoadley's Chocolates Ltd was formed.

The same year, Hoadley produced his first chocolate assortment and packed them in a purple box decorated with violets. The packaging was in tribute to his wife's favorite colour (purple) and favorite flower (violets). Within the box assortment was a piece of honeycomb that became so popular that Hoadley decided to produce an individual honeycomb bar.

This proved trickier than first thought, because as the pieces of honeycomb cooled, they absorbed moisture and started sticking together. This hygroscopic nature of honeycomb led Hoadley to eventually dip his bars in chocolate, to keep the honeycomb dry and crunchy. Thus, in 1913, the Violet Crumble bar was created.

Hoadley wanted to call his new bar just Crumble, but learned that it was not possible to protect the name with a trademark. He thought of his wife (Susannah Ann née Barrett) and her favourite flower, the violet, and registered the name Violet Crumble, using a purple wrapper with a small flower logo. It was an instant success.

Violet Crumbles are crisper in texture than Crunchie bars, with a slightly more marshmallow taste.

Packaging

The hygroscopic nature of the honeycomb centre continued to be problematic. Competitors tried to prove the bars weren't fresh by squeezing them. Hoadley responded by instituting a strict coding system to keep track of the shelf life (12 months) and ensure that only the freshest bars were sold. In addition, he searched worldwide for a new type of airtight wrapper that would keep the bar fresh. Eventually, a French company, La Cellophane, invented a metallised cellophane especially for Violet Crumble.

Now one of the best selling bars in Australia, Violet Crumble still requires great skill and experience in its production. The carefully formulated honeycomb is produced and conveyed into a specially constructed air-conditioned area where it is cut into bars. Then it goes through chocolate coating machines, especially designed for Violet Crumble. The bars are double coated to seal the honeycomb from the air. Special cooling tunnels take the bars to the automatic wrapping machines, designed in Switzerland. The metallised wrapper is highly moisture proof and special shippers give the product extra protection in shipping.

Timeline

*Hoadley's Chocolates made the first Violet Crumble bar in Melbourne in 1913.
*In 1972, Hoadley's Chocolates was acquired by Rowntree Company and became known as Rowntree Hoadley Ltd.
*In 1988, Nestlé acquired Rowntree Company. The Rowntree chocolate brands were initially branded as Nestlé-Rowntree, until Nestlé dropped the Rowntree altogther.

Trivia

* Bertie Beetles were invented in royal shows around Australia to use up broken pieces of Violet Crumble.
* The colours of the Wesley College uniform (purple and yellow), has led to students occasionally being called, perhaps derogatorily, Violet Crumbles.
* In the book "Pobby and Dingan" by Ben Rice, Kellyanne's two imaginary friends eat nothing but Violet Crumbles and two other types of food.
* Violet Crumbles were sold for a brief period during the 1980s throughout New Zealand, but are no longer available.
* Sydney Kings whose primary colours are purple were often referred to as the "Violet Crumbles" during the 90s for their constant underperformance in the NBL.

References

*Australian Dictionary of Biography - Abel Hoadley entry

External links