We came up with the idea for a fun, old fashioned sweetshop after a conversation in a pub!

We trundled off down memory lane, remembering all the sweets that we used to buy from the little sweetshop at the end of our road (on the way to school – most convenient!!). It was called “The Chocolate Box”.

We were certain that the idea would not get any further because they couldn’t possibly still make the sweets that we remembered with such fond memories… I mean if they did still make them, surely we would have seen them around… and we hadn’t… We discovered that in most cases they did (and do) still make them!!

Gobstoppers, Kola Kubes and Milk Teeth?

And so the idea was born. And the reactions of friends and family when we told them of the idea and their eyes glazed over as they started listing all the sweets that we just had to have in the shop (the list often went on and on) made us think that it would be a website that people would like…

Then we needed a look for the site… and that’s where the comic that we used to read when we were young came in – Whizzer and Chips (now sadly defunct) – we wanted an online sweetshop that looked like the comic.

And that’s where we struck gold because we found a superstar cartoonist (one of the original Whizzer and Chips cartoonists no less!) to draw the cartoons for A Quarter Of – to give it the perfect feel. His name is Colin Whittock and he is an absolute marvel. One of the best bits of working at A Quarter Of, apart from the sweet tasting of course (which we do over and over), is when Colin sends us new drawings – they are just fab and always bring a smile… You can see more of Colin’s gems at his web site www.colinwhittock.co.uk/.

The final element that inspired A Quarter Of was a book I loved when I was young – it was (and is) fab! You can read more about it by following this link - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

A Quarter Of has evolved in many different ways, but one project we’re really proud of is a range of our own sweets, The Best You’ve Ever Tasted range.  We took the most traditional boiled sweets we could remember, and we refined the recipes to make them taste amazing – so people could almost re-experience the amazing sensation of tasting a lovely sweet for the first time.  You see, we feel really passionate about the tradition of British sweets.  Take Rhubarb & Custards – the sweet is divided into two distinct flavours: the tart, extremely fruity rhubarb, and the deliciously creamy custard.  They’re lovely!

We supply traditional retro sweets to loyal customers throughout the UK, and to expats all over the world hankering after a taste of home and happy childhoods!