The confectionery aisle is one of the toughest places to launch a challenger brand. Lined with brightly coloured bags, it’s where gelatine giants Haribo, Cadbury, and a handful of other multinationals dominate.
So, it was brave move by Fliss Newland to throw herself into the fray with Wild Thingz – a UK gummy sweet brand that ditches artificial ingredients, cuts the sugar, and still promises to be appealing to kids.
Newland hasn’t come into it with her eyes closed and she knows a thing or two about brands with clout. She cut her teeth at Mondelez, working on Cadbury, and learned just how powerful a brand can be when it really connects.
“Working on Cadbury taught me the importance of storytelling and consistency, but it also showed me the flip side… how slow and corporate things can get. I learned a lot about how the corporate world works, but building Wild Thingz has been about stripping that back and moving fast. If I’d gone into this blind, without that grounding, I would’ve been a lot more overwhelmed.”
Sweet beginnings
That experience gave her confidence, but didn’t erase the nagging feeling that something was off.
“I’d spend my days working on brands that didn’t line up with how I felt about food anymore. The sugar, all the additives, as a vegan myself I no longer felt proud selling confectionery containing palm oil, gelatine, or milk.
“When I stumbled across this incredible innovation of natural sweets containing half the sugar without using sweeteners, I just thought: ‘If I don’t do this now, I never will.’ So I quit, with no plan other than to create a brand I’d actually feel good giving to my kids one day. I knew that there was truly a gap in the market, so although it was intimidating, I had tested the idea with real people and knew there was a demand.”
That leap of faith would set Wild Thingz on its path to creating a product that offered less junk, but just as much fun.
Convincing the skeptics
One problem with that. The confectionery market is littered with failed “healthy” snacks, many of which parents dismissed as worthy but dull. Newland knew that creating the right perception was the first hurdle.
“Retailers have loved the idea, but they wanted proof it would sell, and parents have been burned before by ‘healthy’ snacks that taste like cardboard. The challenge was showing that we weren’t worthy but boring; we were fun and delicious first, just without all the junk. I always say that none of the other stuff matters to consumers if it doesn’t taste great. That’s so important.
“Getting that first wave of parents to trust us was the hardest part. Once the kids got their hands on our little creepy crawly gummy sweets and fun shapes (like Snails, Maggots or Spiders) and actually loved them, the word started to spread!”
Kids wanted the gelatinous bugs; parents got peace of mind; everyone was as winner, and momentum started to build.
The company has experienced rapid growth, something Newland attributes to keeping things simple and staying close to what customers actually want.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind! We’ve managed it by keeping things really scrappy and not overcomplicating decisions. If something works, we double down; if it doesn’t, we drop it. What surprised me most is how much parents want us to win. I’ve had mums and dads message me saying, ‘Finally, I can say yes to sweets without the guilt.’ That support is what’s fuelled our growth more than anything.”
The motherhood penalty
Wild Thingz isn’t just about what’s in the bag, however. For Newland, it’s also about the culture behind the brand. As a female founder, she’s built a team that reflects her own values, and her own experience of juggling ambition with family life.
“It’s huge to me. A big part of my own personal purpose – as a woman who has both desire for family as well as big career ambitions – is to understand how we address the motherhood penalty. As an independently run, female founded start up we are able to totally reimagine what a working week or day can look like, with space for fluidity around family requirements or commitments. The team I’ve built purposefully includes the biggest proportion of busy, passionate and very real working mums, so their view shapes every decision we make – especially around what parents actually want. We can make choices that are true to our values, not shareholders’.”
That flexibility extends into Wild Thingz’ everyday working culture which opts to treat employees with a certain amount of trust, and looks at output not hours worked.
“We’re a small team, so fortunately we don’t need big flashy policies, it’s all about trust. If someone needs to do a school drop-off, they do it. If someone needs to work from home, they do it.
“I’ve seen too many talented people burnt out or pushed out of roles because life didn’t fit neatly around a 9-5. I don’t want that for Wild Thingz – those immovable rules don’t fit the modern world we live in anymore. Women can do it all, and I’ve found that often mums work extra hard, because they have so much responsibility at home. The saying goes ‘if you want a job done, ask a busy person to do it’ – mums just get shit done.”
Taste first, reassurance second
Of course, no amount of flexible working counts if the product isn’t right. And for sweets, whether they are sugar-free, vegan or additive-free, that means taste.
“Well kids don’t really care about organic or half sugar, they just want sweets that taste amazing. Parents are the opposite: they want reassurance. So it was about finding that sweet spot (literally). It took a lot of recipe testing and honest feedback from families.”
The formula is actually simple — kids don’t compromise on taste, parents don’t compromise on values. And it has defined Wild Thingz from the start.
Standing out on the shelf
So, Wild Thingz may be a hit with parents and kids alike, but that’s only half the battle. The real issue is how to make a dent in an aisle ruled by Haribo. Newland’s answer is to be impossible to ignore.
“You’ve got to be bold – that’s always been our USP. Bold, wacky and FUN, with a design that jumps off the shelf. Retailers want something that brings new energy to the aisle, and our bug-shaped gummies definitely make people stop and look twice. Then they see our half the sugar, natural positioning, which tends to give parents a reason to pick us up. It’s about being brave enough to do something the big guys aren’t ready to do. I actually challenged the likes of Haribo to cut their sugar last year, by hand delivering them a manifesto. Did I hear back? Not yet.”
As for what comes next, Newland has plenty of ideas, but she’s keeping her focus on nailing the UK first.
“We’ve got loads of ideas bubbling away. New flavours, new formats, maybe even branching beyond gummies one day. International is definitely on the horizon, but right now the focus is making sure we absolutely smash it in the UK first. The ambition is simple: we want Wild Thingz to become parents and kids’ favourite sweet brand.”
And with health-conscious parents on one side and sweet-toothed kids on the other, she sees the gap in the market only widening.
“I think parents are only going to get stricter about what they buy, and kids aren’t going to magically stop wanting sweets – it’s literally a part of the joy of childhood. So the gap between ‘junk’ and ‘worthy but boring’ needs filling. That’s where the growth will be. I also think sustainability and transparency are going to move from nice to have, to non-negotiable. The giants will be forced to change, but independents like us get to lead the charge. We’re here already!”
Social responsibility in a market rooted in meat industry run-off is long overdue, but good intentions alone won’t be enough to alter the established order of the sweet aisle.
Having worked within that established order, Newland already knows that and more importantly, she knows where the sweet spot that hits with both parents and kids is.
In a retail environment already well attuned to all things plant-based, she could well deliver a big money sugar crash to her rivals.
