When toffee was top in our town
Here is a poster from the 1950s promoting one of Maidstone’s key businesses of the time – Sharps Toffee.
The firm was founded by Sir Edward Sharp in 1911 and his Kreemy Works factory on the riverbank right in the heart of Maidstone remained a key feature of the landscape until its closure in 1991.
At one stage the firm was able to boast of being the largest toffee manufacturer in the world and even held a Royal Appointment as toffee-maker to the Queen. Initially, the firm’s adverts featured the Sharps parrots (some say macaws) and the slogan “Sharps – the word for toffee.”
Later they used the character of a fashionable toff named Sir Kreemy Knut.
This poster seems a break from tradition and is more reminiscent of the Enid Blyton Noddy character, who was very popular at the time.
Sir Edward died in 1931. His company was taken over by Trebor in 1961.