News, sport and entertainment from the Bournemouth Echo and Dorset Echo.

Packet in, we prefer hexagonal

From the Echo, first published Saturday 19th Feb 2005.

HAS anyone over the age of 15 ever got used to calling Opal Fruits Starburst?

The renaming of Marathons to Snickers took some adjusting to as well.

And I cannot be the only one who misses running my finger along a foil-wrapped KitKat bar before snapping it in two.

Now, in the latest in a line of name and packaging changes, the makers of Smarties have announced they are ditching the tube-shaped packet after almost 70 years.

The cardboard tubes that generations of children have lovingly recycled into steam train funnels and covered in foil to make robot arms and legs on kitchen tables up and down the country are to be no more.

There will be no more lid-firing from air-filled tubes in playground battles.

No more collecting different lettered tops in a usually vain attempt to spell out your name.

It's all change - again.

The end of another era.

Nestle Rowntree said it is replacing the cylindrical design with a long, hexagonal pack saying it needs to keep the brand and packaging "fresh and interesting" for children today.

The plastic top is also going in favour of a cardboard flip-top lid.

Smarties, of which we eat an estimated 16,000 every minute in the UK, have been sold in a cylinder packet since their launch in 1937. They were originally called Chocolate Beans but were renamed a year later.

The so-called Hexatube packet is set to arrive in a store near you over the summer.

Lecturer in consumer behaviour at Bournemouth University Jeff Bray thinks it will be a big hit with the younger generation.

"I think the company will immediately see quite a sales uplift. The last thing a child wants to buy is something that's boring and standard. They want something different and exciting," he said.

That's quite different from older, adult customers, who he said value consistency, reliability and straightforward functionality.

We like the fact that the tube sits easily in our pocket. It reminds us of our childhood, makes us feel young again.

There have been a number of reasons for name and packaging changes, Mr Bray explained.

Marathon changing to Snickers and Opal Fruits to Starburst was to standardise the name across different countries.

The new KitKat wrapper is cheaper to produce than the foil, he added.

So what will be next?

On top of Oil of Ulay changing to Oil of Olay and Jif to Cif and even news this week that cartoon favourite Bugs Bunny has been given a makeover, a rumour that Heinz may have been about to bin tins in favour of packaging baked beans in tetra packs reached the Daily Echo.

Heinz told us they have no such plans.

But as innovations in packaging continue, is there a chance we could be living in a tin can-less world in 10 years time?

Maybe Smarties have the answer...

First published: February 19

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