The decline of Quality Street: How iconic British sweets founded by Yorkshire family are now packed with palm oil and 'harmful' additives - as customers say they 'taste like wax'

Résumé détaillé

While some sweets - such as the iconic green triangle - have stood the test of time, traditional favourites like the Gooseberry Cream and Fig Fancy have been long-since replaced to suit a more modern palette.

Published: 00:06 GMT, 13 November 2026 | Updated: 00:16 GMT, 13 November 2026

They are traditional festive favourites, sparking many a family scramble as everyone dives in to claim their chocolate of choice.

But it seems that sweets from Quality Street may no longer live up to their name.

Fans complain that the treats are less tasty than they used to be – and a comparison of how the ingredients have changed over the years may explain why customers feel that way.

Ingredients believed to have been in the original 1936 recipe include staples such as sugar, butter, treacle, eggs and natural fruit flavourings.

Milk chocolate was top of the ingredients list back in 2001 and the treats also included real fruits such as strawberries, apricots and coconut. But none of these fruits are present in the 2026 versions, despite the boxes including ‘strawberry’ and ‘coconut’ flavoured sweets.

And milk chocolate is no longer top of the ingredients list, having been replaced by sugar.

The tin - now a box - has undergone a substantial makeover, particularly in recent decades. A newer box with sweets wrapped in paper is pictured

Over the past 20 years, palm oil has been introduced – which is controversial because of its high saturated fat content and use in ultra-processed foods.

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