Drop a tray of sweets on the floor today and you've got a mess. Drop one in 1899, if the story is to be believed, and you've invented Liquorice Allsorts. Bassett's is one of those confectionery names everyone in Britain recognises without necessarily knowing why — it's the company behind the black-and-white swirls, the little foam babies, and a mascot made entirely out of its own product. Here's the actual history.
A Sheffield Wine Merchant Turned Confectioner (1842)
George Bassett set up shop in Sheffield in 1842. The Sheffield Directory of that year records him as a "wholesale confectioner, lozenge maker and British wine trader" — a reminder that Victorian confectioners often sold sweets and drink side by side. The firm grew steadily through the second half of the 19th century into one of Sheffield's major sweet manufacturers, a city that also gave the UK Trebor and, later, became a hub for mass confectionery production.
The Tray That Fell: How Liquorice Allsorts Were Born (1899)
Bassett's best-known sweet has an origin story the company still tells today. In 1899, a Bassett's sales representative named Charlie Thompson was showing a client in Leicester trays of the firm's individual liquorice sweets. He stumbled and dropped a tray, scattering and mixing up the various shapes and colours. Rather than start again, he scooped them back up as a jumbled assortment — and the client was intrigued enough to place an order for exactly that: an assortment. Bassett's began producing the mixed sweet deliberately, and Liquorice Allsorts became a permanent fixture of the range. It's worth saying plainly: this is a company legend rather than a documented event, but it's the story Bassett's has told for well over a century, and it's stuck.
From "Unclaimed Babies" to Jelly Babies
Bassett's didn't actually invent the jelly baby shape. That credit goes back further, and the sweet's name has changed more than once on its way to the shelf:
- 1864 — A jelly sweet in the shape of a baby is created by an Austrian immigrant confectioner working at Fryers, a Lancashire sweet firm, and sold as "Unclaimed Babies."
- 1918 — Bassett's, by now producing the sweet in Sheffield, renames it "Peace Babies" to mark the end of the First World War.
- 1953 — After wartime sugar rationing halted production, the sweet is relaunched under the name that stuck: Jelly Babies.
Jelly Babies went on to become one of the most recognisable shapes in British confectionery, famous enough to earn a mention as Doctor Who's sweet of choice and a permanent spot on pick 'n' mix counters across the country.
Bertie Bassett: The Mascot Made of Sweets
Bassett's mascot is arguably as famous as the sweets themselves. The character was conceived around 1926 by the company's advertising copywriter, Frank Regan, who built a model figure out of actual Liquorice Allsorts pieces and pipe cleaners — a Dolly Mixture-style square for a torso, liquorice wheels for limbs. The character was formally adopted as the brand's mascot by 1929 and named Bertie Bassett, taking the company founder's surname and adding an alliterative first name. Bertie has represented Liquorice Allsorts on packaging and advertising for close to a century.
From Sheffield Firm to Global Brand
Bassett's stayed an independent, family-connected business for well over a century before the modern wave of confectionery consolidation reached it. In 1989, Cadbury Schweppes acquired both Bassett's and rival firm Trebor, combining them as Trebor Bassett. That business merged more fully into Cadbury Trebor Bassett in 2000. Cadbury itself became part of Kraft Foods in 2010, and when Kraft split its snack and grocery arms in 2012, the confectionery side — Bassett's included — became part of the newly created Mondelēz International. In 2016, Mondelēz merged the Bassett's brand with its other liquorice-and-jelly-sweet stablemate, Maynards, to form Maynards Bassetts, the name that appears on packs today.
Bassett's Sweets Today
Despite the corporate mergers, both of Bassett's signature sweets remain pick 'n' mix and share-bag staples in the UK. You'll find Liquorice Allsorts in our liquorice collection, and both Allsorts and Jelly Babies turn up regularly in our pick 'n' mix selection alongside other retro sweets that have survived from the same era.
FAQ Recap
- Who invented Liquorice Allsorts? According to Bassett's own company history, they were created by accident in 1899 when sales rep Charlie Thompson dropped a tray of mixed liquorice sweets in front of a client, who liked the jumbled result.
- Did Bassett's invent Jelly Babies? Not originally. The shape dates to 1864 at a different firm, Fryers of Lancashire, as "Unclaimed Babies." Bassett's produced them as "Peace Babies" from 1918 and renamed them Jelly Babies in 1953.
- Who is Bertie Bassett? Bassett's mascot, a figure built entirely from Liquorice Allsorts pieces, conceived around 1926 and adopted as the brand's mascot by 1929.
- Is Bassett's still an independent company? No. It became part of Cadbury Schweppes in 1989, passed through Kraft Foods and Mondelēz International, and merged with Maynards in 2016 to form Maynards Bassetts.