Nearly every tube, tin and bag of Swizzels sweets you've ever bought traces back to two families who started out sharing factory floor space in London almost a century ago. Here's the company story behind Love Hearts, Parma Violets and Drumstick — not the products themselves, but the people who built the business around them.
Two Families, One London Factory (1928)
Swizzels' roots go back to 1928, when brothers Alfred and Maurice Matlow set up Matlow Bros. Ltd, making jelly sweets in a small London factory. Rather than compete for space, the Matlows joined forces with another sweet manufacturer, David Dee, sharing a factory floor in East London. The two family businesses would eventually merge into a single company, and both the Matlow and Dee families have remained part of the business ever since — which is where the "Swizzels Matlow" name comes from.
The Blitz and the Move to New Mills (1940)
The London factory didn't survive the Second World War unscathed. Bombed out during the Blitz, the business relocated in 1940 to New Mills, Derbyshire — moving into a former textile mill that had previously made wicks for miners' lamps. That mill is still Swizzels' main site today, making it one of the longer-running continuously operating sweet factories in Britain.
A New Product Almost Every Decade
Once settled in Derbyshire, the product lines that built the brand followed steadily:
- Rainbow Drops and Fizzers — among the earliest lines, sold loose from boxes into penny paper bags.
- Parma Violets (1946) — launched just after the war, originally sold as a breath freshener in pubs before becoming a pick 'n' mix regular. Read the full story here.
- Love Hearts (1954) — the printed-message tablets that became the brand's most recognisable product, using an edible-ink stamping method the company has never publicly detailed.
- Refreshers and Drumstick lollies (mid-1950s) — launched in the years around 1955, when Trevor Matlow joined the family business; Drumstick was notable at the time as one of the only chewy lollies on the market.
Still Family-Run, Generations Later
Unlike most of the confectionery brands that started out as small British manufacturers, Swizzels was never sold to a multinational. It's still privately owned and run by descendants of the founding families — including third-generation family members from both the Matlow and Dee lines involved in the business today. In 2022, the company opened a second factory in Middlewich, Cheshire, to keep up with demand, alongside the original New Mills site.
The Range That Grew Out of It
Almost every product in the current Swizzels range — Love Hearts, Parma Violets, Drumstick, Double Dip, Refreshers, Fizzers and the mixed-up Randoms bags — is a direct descendant of that original 1928 London jelly-sweet business. We've covered several of these individually: Refreshers, Double Dip, Fizzers and Drumstick Squashies. Browse the full range in our Swizzels collection, or see it alongside other classics in Retro Sweets.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Swizzels?
Brothers Alfred and Maurice Matlow founded Matlow Bros. Ltd in London in 1928, sharing factory space with fellow manufacturer David Dee. The two families' businesses later merged, giving the company its full name, Swizzels Matlow.
Why did Swizzels move to New Mills?
Its London factory was bombed during the Blitz in the Second World War, forcing a relocation in 1940 to a former textile mill in New Mills, Derbyshire, which remains its main site today.
Is Swizzels still family-owned?
Yes. It has never been sold to a large multinational and is still run by descendants of the founding Matlow and Dee families.
Does Swizzels have more than one factory?
Yes — alongside the original New Mills, Derbyshire site, the company opened a second factory in Middlewich, Cheshire, in 2022 to meet growing demand.