History was made at the Darrell Lea factory when the first Life Savers lollies rolled off the production line
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Darrell Lea moved into a new era last July when the company announced it would take over production of the iconic lollies.
The first packet was produced on Monday morning, marking nearly 20 years since Life Savers were last made in Australia.
Darrell Lea's marketing manager James Byrne said it was an "exciting day" for his company.
"Today is the next big step forward for Darrell Lea and it's good to see Life Savers back being made in Australia," he said at the Ingleburn factory in south-west Sydney.
Mr Byrne said Darrell Lea had employed 20 extra workers in preparation for preparing about 20 million Life Savers packets annually.
"We will look to double that number in the next few years," he said.
"That figure works out to about 1.75 million packets produced each month, or more than 40,000 packets each week."
"We have been recruiting and training those new team members in preparation for today. We will continue to employee more people."
Life Savers have been on the market for more than 100 years after being launched in the US in 1912.
Nestle purchased the brand during the 1980s and production moved to New Zealand during the early 2000s.
Mr Byrne said it was great to return Life Savers production back to Australia.
"Life Savers are a great Australian brand... and we have plans for future growth," he said.
Today is the next big step forward for Darrell Lea and it's good to see Life Savers back being made in Australia.
- Darrell Lea marketing manager James Byrne
Life Savers lollies produced in Ingleburn will hit Australian shelves in the next few weeks.
There will be five types on sale: Fruit Tingles, Musk, Pep O Mint, Fruit Pastilles and Blackcurrant Pastilles.
However, Mr Byrne said Darrell Lea would look to expand its Life Savers range.
"We are looking at bringing back some old favourites, like Five Flavours," he said.
"We will also look to innovate with some new flavours, such as berry, sour, cola or soft drink."
The Life Savers acquisition continues a big 12-month period for Darrell Lea.
The company was bought by Quadrant Private Equity for $200 million last January.
Mr Byrne said Darrell Lea was "doing really well" and continued to grow.
"We've had a great response from the Australian public, which we're delighted with," he said.
Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
