11 BEST NEW ZEALAND CANDY TREATS - THE DON'T MISS GUIDE!

INSIDE: Roam the Gnome’s Guide to the Best New Zealand Candy and Lollies!

If you are wanting to try delicious candy from New Zealand, you’ve come to the right place.

There’s not so many New Zealand brands of candy because it’s a small place, but the ones they do have are pretty awesome.

We’ve written a guide to the best New Zealand candy, including the best NZ lollies from the 80s and 90s.

Take a look below for details.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, we may receive a small commission at NO extra cost to you.

THE INSIDE SCOOP: THE BEST NEW ZEALAND CANDY BARS

Correct at time of publication on Roam the Gnome. Please check with venue for updates. We apologise in advance if there have been any changes we are unaware of. All prices in NZ or US dollars as stated, unless otherwise advised

If trying the best lollies New Zealand makes is on your bucket list, head straight to one of the New Zealand supermarkets.

Stock up on these delicious traditional New Zealand lollies and try them all.

Image credit: Karsten Winegeart via Unsplash

The Most Popular NZ Candy Brands

First up, a bit of background info on the main NZ Candy companies manufacturing NZ made lollies.

The best New Zealand candies come from:

Pascalls
Allens Lollies NZ
Black Night
Cadbury NZ
Candyman
Kiwiland
Mayceys NZ lollies
Rainbow lollies NZ
RJ’s New Zealand
Wedderspoon NZ

The Best Wedderspoon lollies?

Throat a little scratchy?

Try this super popular New Zealand confectionary:

Organic Manuka Honey Drops by Wedderspoon

MOST ICONIC NZ LOLLIES

No.1: Pascall Eskimos

Pascall Eskimo lollies are New Zealand’s No.1 old school lollies NZ has ever made because…

LOLLY CAKE.

You can’t make New Zealand Lolly Cake without this popular New Zealand candy.

(Eskimos lollies are the delicious candy from New Zealand. Seriously, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise)

Lolly Cake is a biscuit batter made with pieces of these tri-coloured musk lollies throughout, rolled in coconut, and cut into slices.

Thankfully for those who are not yet initiated into the sweet goodness that is Lolly Cake, the famous Lolly cake recipe is on the bag.

The Best Lolly Cake Recipe!

It’s also on the Griffin’s Malt Biscuits packet.

Find the Lolly Log recipe, in full, below.

Bookmark this page so you don’t lose it.

Wondering where to buy Eskimo lollies NZ wide?

Try any of the big supermarkets to buy at the cheapest price.

(See our guide to NZ grocery stores below)

Image credit: Sean Neakums via Wikipedia CC BY-SA 2.0

Lolly Log with New Zealand Eskimo Lollies!

As promised.

The recipe.

Made with what we think are the best lollies NZ has on the supermarket shelf.

Lolly Cake ingredients

120g Butter
½ tin of sweetened condensed milk
1 packet of Pascal Eskimo lollies
1 packet of Griffin’s Malt biscuits
1/2 cup Desiccated coconut

Lolly Cake method

Step 1: First step is to crush those malt biscuits.

Put the biscuits into a zip lock bag, place the bag on a chopping board, and whack the bag with a rolling pin to break the biscuits up, then finish crushing them with the normal rolling pin action.

You can use a thermomix or food processor if you have one as it’s less messy and noisy!

Step 2: Cut the eskimos into small pieces.

Use the whole bag.

Step 3: Warm the butter and the condensed milk in a small saucepan or in the microwave.

Step 4: Add the biscuits and the eskimos to the mix.

Stir well until all combined.

Step 5: Form the dough into a log shape.

Step 6: Roll the log in coconut.

Wrap the whole thing in cling wrap.

Step 7: Pop the lolly log roll in the fridge for a three hours to set.

Then cut into 2cm thick slices to serve.

Eat it all up.

(Dare you not to.)

BEST NEW ZEALAND LOLLIES IN A BAG

Sweet tooth?

Buy any of these New Zealand confectionery listed below, and you’ll be a happy chappie.

No.1: Pascalls Lollies NZ

Pascall lollies are the much-loved maker of the Original Pineapple Lumps, the most famous NZ candy.

(NB: Pineapple Lumps are also categorised under Chocolate.)

But all of these are top sellers:

Pascall Jet Planes
Pascall Milkshake lolllies NZ
Pascall Fruit Burst
Minties
Pascall Curiously Strong peppermints
Wine Gums
Jaffa Lumps

No.2: Cadbury Kiwi Lollies NZ

Choc Orange Jaffas are an old school favourite, high up on the classic kiwi lollies list.

The crunchy candy coating covers a ball of dark chocolate.

There’s an knack to eating these and we always used to challenge ourselves to get the candy coating off without making a mark on the chocolate ball itself!

You can’t eat just one.

No.3: RJ’s Kiwi Candy

RJ’s sells lots of different types of licorice lollies.

RJ’s Raspberry Twister
RJ’s Licorice Allsorts
RJ’s Licorice Chocolate Log
RJ’s Licorice Raspberry Choc Log
Soft eating licorice logs
RJ’s Licorice Choc Twists
RJ’s Raspberry Choc Twists
Mackintosh Toffee de luxe
Tallsorts Bars
RJ’s soft eating Raspberry licorice

No.4: Allens Confectionery

These NZ confectionary should be in your pantry for those long cold nights when only New Zealand snack food will do.

Allens Oddfellows
Minties
Allens Mackintosh Toffees
Allens Party Mix

No.5: Mayceys Lollies NZ

Hot tip: Pink Lollies NZ style

The Pink Smokers lollies are musk candy pellets that remind me of childhood.

I’m kind of glad that the makers of these classic NZ lollies in New Zealand haven’t given into political correctness and changed the ‘smokers’ name.

Because these old school NZ lollies can’t be beat.

More Popular Mayceys Lollies

Only in New Zealand could you find a gummy lolly shaped like a crocodile!

Crocodile Lollies NZ are popular with the kids.

They also like:

Banana dots
Black balls
Classic Mints
GloHearts
Jersey Creme Caramels
Raspberry Drops
Sour Feijoa lollies (soft)

No.6: Rainbow Kiwi Sweets BIG FISH

If you want to buy NZ candy in bulk, Rainbow Candy sells their NZ lollies in 1 kg bags.

They have:

Peaches n Cream
Blackberries n Raspberries,
Airplanes
Assorted Puffs
Emos
Spearmint Leaves, and
Winegums.

Rainbow also make a packet of Baby Fish in a bag, and the BIG FISH – ONE huge marshmallow fish dipped in chocolate.

No.7: Empire Confectionery (New Zealand Sweets)

The much loved Kiwi Empire confectionery best sellers are Empire Feijoa Rocks.

Rock candy is their main product and you’ll find Kiwi fruit rock and Strawberry rock too.

They also sell:

Manuka honey lozenges
lollipops
gummies, and
other New Zealand products.

No.8: Kiwiland Confectionery

Kiwiland confectionery is a family owned NZ confectionery company.

Try Kiwiland Barley Sugars and Orchard Fruits hard candy NZ style.

They also sell:

Arctic Mints
Butterscotch lollies

Plus, these NZ chocolates:

Hokey Pokey clusters
Choc Hokey Pokey
Coconut roughs
Dark Choc Peppermint bits

NEW ZEALAND LICORICE

Black Knight licorice is another popular licorice brand in New Zealand.

Black Knight Licorice Assortment
Black Knight Licorice Medley (bag)
Black Knight licorice twist

POPULAR NZ SWEETS

The best candy in New Zealand, as far as we are concerned as committed lolly lovers, are:

Nestle Pixie Caramel Bars – chewy caramel flavoured bar, covered in dark choc.
Moro Bars – caramel and nougat layered chocolate bar
Perky Nana bars – Banana flavoured chewy bar, covered in milk chocolate

The Best New Zealand Lollies with a difference?

Pukeko Poo!

Thankfully, the poo is NOT collected from the Pukeko droppings.

(Pukeko is one of New Zealand’s well-known bird species.)

It’s a poo-shaped candy gimmick, perfect for a NZ souvenir.

The Kiwi snacks Poo Candy series includes:

Kiwi Poo
Squashed Possums
Cow Poo and Flies
Candy Kiwi Worms
Candy Penguin Poo

This kiwi confectionery is a huge laugh for friends back home.

BEST NEW ZEALAND CHOCOLATE SNACKS & BARS

Two foods in New Zealand you must try are:

Cadbury Chocolate Fish AND
Pineapple Lumps.

But there’s MORE Kiwi chocolate brands to get your hands on.

No.1: Whittakers NZ chocolate

Whittakers choc is the everyday kind of chocolate in New Zealand that you can buy in the supermarket or grocery store.

You don’t need to wait for a special occasion to eat Whittakers bars like the Whittaker’s Peanut Chocolate Block.

Try one of these – they are the most popular chocolates in NZ.

No.2: Whittaker’s Artisan Chocolate

Then there’s the artisan versions of the everyday chocolate.

Whittakers Chocolates have a huge range of artisan chocolate stocked in supermarkets throughout NZ.

Image credit: Purelicious

No.3: NZ Souvenir Shop Chocolate

Thirdly, try the Purelicious chocolates by Mantell, New Zealand’s leading souvenir company.

Strangely, that’s not as bad as it sounds.

The Purelicious brand chocolate features iconic NZ flavours not found anywhere else.

The Purelicious soft centre Feijoa chocolates never last long.

They also stock:

Soft centred Kiwi Fruit flavoured chocolate
Golden Fruit flavoured chocolates, and
Soft centred chocolates with Manuka honey centres.

Their Milk chocolate with hokey pokey pieces, and the one with feijoa and almond are two more NZ chocolates worthy of your friends and family.

Image credit: Devonport Chocolates

No.4: Handmade NZ Chocolate

Looking for real authentic handmade chocolate in New Zealand?

These purveyors of Bespoke Chocolate in New Zealand are not large producers.

They lovingly create their chocolate offerings in small or medium size batches, so you have to look harder to find it.

Handmade chocolate from New Zealand is best found at regional farmers markets, and gourmet food purveyors collectives.

Some bigger chocolatiers in New Zealand have their own flagship store.

Keep an eye out, or search for:

Devonport Chocolates
House of Chocolate, Auckland
Makana Confections Boutique Chocolate Factory, Blenheim and Kerikeri
Kako Chocolate, Auckland
Schoc Chocolates, Greytown

Special Mention: DQ & Co

This company makes:

delicious Kiwifruit Dark Chocolate Drops
Cranberry Chocolate drops, and
Blueberry Chocolate drops chocolate.

These make a gorgeous gift as the packaging is superb.

Their Sweet Memories Chocolate Hokey Pokey is another elegant chocolate souvenir from NZ.

WHERE TO BUY SWEETS IN NEW ZEALAND

You can buy all these New Zealand lollies and sweets at any New Zealand supermarket.

The main New Zealand grocery stores include:

New World
PAKn’SAVE
Fresh Choice
SuperValue, and
Countdown shopping

This is definitely the best place to buy New Zealand candy on a budget.

Hot tip: For a bit of old school charm, head to a New Zealand dairy (corner store.)

Kids all around New Zealand love to pick and choose their $1 worth of iconic NZ dairy lollies in a paper bag.

It’s made all the more fun when the shopkeeper flips the bag over, and twists the corners of the paper bag to seal it.

This memory is sealed in the hearts and minds of most kids who’ve grown up in NZ.

Image credit: Jorge Renero via Unsplash

More places to buy the best NZ lollies

You can also find the best NZ lollies for sale in:

NZ souvenir shops
i-SITE visitor information centres
local corner dairies (New Zealand milk bars)
newsagents
NZ Department stores, and
at the airports.

Don’t waste your money buying chocolate gifts from New Zealand at the airport – you’ll pay a premium if you buy chocolate there.

Instead, visit PAKn’SAVE supermarket before you leave to stock up on New Zealand chocolate.

Hot tip: Buy twice as many NZ lolly bags and chocolate bars as you planned to.

Lollies from New Zealand are lightweight, and only a few dollars per packet, and I’ve learned it’s always wise to have extra ‘gifts’ in your suitcase for when Aunty Nora pops around unexpectedly.

I also always grab a couple of extra bags to make up for the ones I know I’ll eat before I’ve even left the country!

Best NZ Candy Store?

Want to find somewhere to check out all the best NZ candy in one spot.

A NZ candy shop is the answer.

Try:

The Old Lolly shop in Auckland
The LollyShop in Christchurch
Crazy Candies in New Plymouth
The Remarkable Sweet Shop in Queenstown
The London Lolly Shop in Auckland
Granny Annie’s Sweet Shop in Dunedin
Kapiti Candy Co in Otaki
Bev’s Candy Store in Wellington

New Zealand Candy Box Company

Interested in ordering New Zealand candy boxes so you can eat New Zeland candy in USA at home?

Try Snack Crate bundles to buy your candy box NZ style.

These candy boxes in New Zealand are filled with the best New Zealand treats and snacks for all tastes.

Bulk Buys of Classic NZ lollies

Looking for bulk lollies NZ style?

Try these two classic NZ confectionery treats:

Looking for MORE places to shop in New Zealand?

Taking a trip to New Zealand anytime soon? Bookmark these fun things to do in New Zealand with kids.

11 BEST NEW ZEALAND CANDY TREATS – THE DON’T MISS GUIDE!