Is there any better Easter gift for a Canberra-based friend than a 6kg bag of SA’s favourite chocolate treat, Menz FruChocs? I think not.
I personally would love to be on the receiving end of such chocolately, apricoty and peachy goodness. Yet my goodwill offering was received coolly – ‘they were OK, but nothing to write home about’, my now-ex-friend opined.
It seems that those who choose to live in our nation’s capital are not only ungrateful, but they also lack the culinary understanding to appreciate one of South Australia’s best loved confectionary products.
Honestly, what’s not to like about apricot and peach centres covered in delicious milk chocolate?
It seems that confectioner Robern Menz has experienced similar indifference from outside of SA since the humble FruChoc first came into being back in 1948. Despite being recognised as an official ‘Icon of South Australia’ by the National Trust in 2005, the FruChoc hasn’t been able to eke out a market across the border after numerous attempts.
Fruchocs = Choc Apricot Balls?
Its most recent foray in May 2012 saw ‘FruChocs’ renamed ‘Choc Apricot Balls’ to save confusion – apparently interstate consumers starting pronouncing our favourite choccy balls ‘Fruc-hos’. What the?
But the new name has claimed one casualty. Presumably poor old peach lost a ‘paper-scissors-rock’ challenge and was excluded from the name, leaving apricot to take all the glory. Such a pity, because it is the blend of both fruits that make this product so distinctive. Thankfully, the FruChoc retains its original name in the one place that counts – right here in SA.
Robern Menz reportedly produce more than 400,000,000 FruChocs every year at their Glynde factory and hope to further increase capacity to meet interstate demand. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the ‘Choc Apricot Balls’ brand offers sufficient enticement for our interstate friends to grab one of those distinctive orange packets from their supermarket confectionery aisle. We’re sure that they will be hooked in short time if they do.