Polly Waffle set to return in April after 15-year hiatus
A date has been set for the long-awaited return of Aussie chocolate favourite the Polly Waffle, but with a major change that’s likely to divide opinion.
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Iconic Aussie treat the Polly Waffle will make its long-awaited return to supermarket shelves in April, but it won’t look the same as you remember it.
Confectioner Menz has revived production of the iconic chocolate at its factory in Adelaide, five years after it acquired the brand and recipe from Swiss giant Nestlé.
And while promising the taste will be just as it was before production was discontinued in 2009, the new Polly Waffle has been redesigned and renamed in a new format.
Instead of the traditional bar, which featured a wafer tube filled with marshmallow and coated in chocolate, Menz is launching a new bite-sized variety – Polly Waffle Bites – made with pieces of vanilla marshmallow covered in milk chocolate mixed with crunchy pieces of wafer.
Phil Sims, the fourth-generation chief executive of family-owned Menz, said that due to “manufacturing complexities, expenses and additional time required”, the Bites version would be a permanent replacement for the original bar.
“Polly Waffle had not been produced in more than 10 years when we acquired it, so we essentially had to start from scratch to find out how we could produce it at our South Australian factory,” he said.
“What we couldn’t anticipate was the number of variables out of our control, from Covid border closures restricting access to equipment, and updated retailer expectations.
“To recreate the traditional bar would require even more time and funding, without the guarantee that it would have the same quality that consumers remember.
“It was so important to us that we didn’t put a sub-par product in the market, especially one as much loved as Polly Waffle. Creating a Polly Waffle Bite was the most responsible way to make bringing back the iconic brand a reality.”
Menz has spent years researching and developing how to manufacture Polly Waffle locally, and Mr Sims said he was confident the new recipe would excite fans across the country when the Bites hit shelves in late April.
“We think we’ve nailed it with respect to taste, texture and bringing back the memories that people have around wafer, marshmallow and chocolate, and the iconic and nostalgic mix of flavours that it is,” he said.
“We hope that people will be really excited about the fact that Polly Waffle is back in a ball format. The diehards who expect the bar, clearly it’s not a bar, but I think people will love the ball.
“We really thank our customers and Polly Waffle fans for their ongoing support and patience. We know it’s been a journey and we can’t wait for Australians to enjoy this delicious nostalgic treat with a modern take.”
Thousands of chocoholics across the country will judge whether the recreated Polly Waffle Bites lives up to the hype that has surrounded its return.
A dedicated Facebook group Bring back the Polly Waffle, which has 56,000 likes, had been lobbying for the return of the classic Aussie treat before Menz snapped up the brand and recipe in 2019, 10 years after it was discontinued by Nestlé.
Its revival has been delayed several times due to disruptions caused by Covid-19 and delays related to testing and development of new technologies incorporated into Menz’s factory in Glynde.
Menz secured $1m in federal funding in 2020 to go towards a $5m factory refit, but the grant has since been reduced to less than $350,000 due to changes to the investment required to kickstart production of the Bites product.
Polly Waffle was invented in Melbourne by Hoadley’s Chocolate in 1947. It was later acquired by UK-based Rowntree’s in 1972 and then by Nestlé in 1988. At its peak in the 1990s, there were over 10 million Polly Waffle bars produced annually.
Menz has a long history of reviving nostalgic Australian treats, including Violet Crumble, which it acquired from Nestlé and relaunched in 2018.
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Originally published as Polly Waffle set to return in April after 15-year hiatus
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