The Willy Wonka Candy Company
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The Willy Wonka Candy Company is a brand of candy owned by the Nestlé company using licensed materials from the Roald Dahl books for their packaging and marketing. The brand is used on a range of candies in the United States and a range of chocolate bars in the United Kingdom. Nestlé also sells both candy and chocolate under the Willy Wonka brand in Australia and New Zealand.
The brand started in 1971, when the Chicago candy company Breaker Confections, a subsidiary of The Quaker Oats Company, licensed the "Willy Wonka" name so it could be used as a merchandising tie-in for the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. In 1980, Breaker Confections changed its name to Willy Wonka Brands. Nestlé (known then as Sunmark) then bought the company eight years later, in 1988.
Willy Wonka Candy Company products feature a cartoon version of Willy Wonka. He was influenced by aspects of Quentin Blake's book illustrations and of Gene Wilder's portrayal of the character in the 1971 film, and voiced by Maurice LaMarche in commercials. The ads typically feature Wonka speaking directly to the viewer and inviting them into his factory where a new candy is being produced. We get a glimpse at the candy's manufacturing process, which, in keeping with the spirit of the film, is fantastic and whimsical. Afterwards, Wonka holds the candy up to the screen, and it remains there while an Oompa-Loompa pops up and says the company's slogan: "What will he think of next?"
The Wonka brand was re-launched in 2005 - in Australia, and some Europe locations - to tie in with Tim Burton's big-screen version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The brand, which had been used for a number of sweets and chocolates, had been dormant for a number of years[citation needed] until the film came out. Then with this marketing tie-in a small range of Wonka Bars were launched, utilising their prominence in the film. Similar to the film, a Golden Ticket competition was launched, with a tour of a chocolate factory being one of the many prizes.
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