Buying a stick of rock at the seaside has been a cherished British tradition since the candy first became popular in the early 20th century or even earlier. By 1938, when author Graham Greene wrote his novel “Brighton Rock”—named after the candy—he used it as a metaphor for morality. The character Ida, who pursues justice against a gang, asserts that people’s characters stay the same throughout their lives, just as the words in a stick of rock run the whole way through.
These famous letters in a piece of rock are handcrafted by artisans, typically in Blackpool, a seaside resort in Lancashire, northwest England. However, the 10 remaining factories in Blackpool now say the industry is at risk due to the influx of cheap rock imported from China. The factory owners have penned a letter to the government, asking for the UK’s handmade rock to be granted protected status, ensuring that only candy produced domestically can be called “rock.”
“It’s a very, very recent problem,” said David Thorp, director of Stanton & Novelty Confectioners, one of Blackpool’s 10 rock-makers who signed the letter. “We’ve always been aware of Chinese confectionery, and we’ve even sold some ourselves, but it’s been weird and wonderful lollies (lollipops) or marshmallows. But when they started making sticks of rock, we realized we needed to act.”
Stanton & Novelty produces rock for around 150 seaside towns across the UK, with each town’s name embedded in the candy. Thorp’s grandfather started the business in 1969. “It was crazy busy back then—they couldn’t make enough, didn’t have enough hours in the day,” he reminisced.
Today, the company has diversified its offerings to include lollipops as well as rock to stay afloat. Fourteen employees work at the factory, including Thorp’s parents. His father has been with the company for 35 years.
When Thorp’s grandfather started, there were over 30 rock factories in Blackpool alone. “Eight [factories] have closed in the last two or three years. I’d imagine two more may well close this year,” he said.
UK factories struggle to compete on price. “Chinese rock is being sold for 12-15p ($0.15-$0.19) per stick, and we’re trying to compete, but it’s unsustainable and economically unviable,” Thorp explained.
The process of making rock involves “pulling” different colored batches into strips while still soft, then rolling them into large cylinder shapes. Workers compose the letters by hand using differently colored candy while the cylinders are still large—almost the size of a forearm in diameter. The cylinders are then stretched and compressed into the inch-thick sticks that are sold, all done by hand. This job requires expertise: at Promotional Candy, another company whose owner Jason Evans co-signed the letter, the confectioners have a combined 80 years of experience.
Thorp pointed out that imported candy from China doesn’t have the lettering running through the rock due to a lack of expertise. However, this doesn’t stop distributors and retailers from opting for the cheaper, imported candy over the more expensive, locally produced version.
“I get quite emotional thinking about [closing down] because we’ve been going for over 55 years,” Thorp said. “This factory is my family’s identity. It’d be completely heartbreaking.”
The business owners who signed the letter want the government to protect the term “rock” or “rock stick” like other UK foods and drinks are protected. Cornish pasties, Scotch whisky, Wensleydale cheese, and Melton Mowbray pork pies can only be used if they are made in their respective regions.
Rather than limiting the protection to Blackpool, the rock makers want candy made anywhere in the UK to qualify, allowing more homegrown producers to benefit.
“There are very few products that evoke the same nostalgia as a stick of rock from the seaside,” said Thorp. “It’s a part of our national heritage.”
Shipping in candy from China also has an environmental cost, Thorp added.
Anita McAleese, owner of McAdams Confectionery and another co-signer of the letter, told CNN that most consumers are unaware that the stick of candy they’re buying has been made in China. “We don’t stand a chance if there’s not public awareness,” she said.
McAleese’s husband started their business in 1995. “It was a thriving industry when we started—there were 18 factories in Blackpool, and there was no competition between us because there was enough [business] to go around,” she said. Her workforce has dwindled from 14 to just six since the imported rock started taking hold.
“It’s the retailers looking for the cheapest [option],” she explained. “I had one distributor who was probably 50% of my work—and he has gone for the imported rock.”
Thorp stressed that it would be a “massive shame if the homegrown industry collapses.” “Sticks of rock are over 100 years old and a national treasure. It’s part of our shared culture,” he said. “I’ll do anything to stop that from happening.”
