Tom's Look At The Visual Side Of Snacks And Candy - Ross’s Edinburgh Castle Rock

If you are new to this feature on Candy Critic, let me say, even though this piece is about a candy package with a retro look (last time was Lucky Elephant) it’s completely by chance. Non-retro packaging will feature again!

This particular item was found at “Paisley’s, the Wee British Shop” in Bowmanville, Ontario (Canada, for any international Candy Critic enthusiasts). I was immediately struck by the simple, yet effective design with it’s tartan pattern. A cut-out window shows the candy’s muted, pastel colours. It made me think of sticks of chalk, which may not be the best mental association for food. The name of the treat, Edinburgh Castle Rock, also might suggest an extremely hard, dense candy. I was assured by the clerk that neither was it chalk nor was it hard.

The package features a classic script text for  the possessive of the company name: “Ross’s”. The script name is printed red on a yellow background that fades like a sky behind a silhouette of the titular castle. A solid, simple sans serif typeface in one uniform size spells out the product’s name against the blue cliffside castle. A sense of depth is created with a dark, silhouetted tree scape in the foreground. The tartan design is created with careful overlaps of three of the basic printing ink colours to create several secondary colours. The cutaway window cleverly ties the candies’ colour into the overall colour design.

While a look at the company didn’t reveal how long the company had used this package design, it did reveal that Ross’s has been making candy since 1880! The clerk at Paisley’s said she had a relative who would bring a box to gift the family when she (the clerk) was a child. The company is still a family run operation that uses classic recipes as well as explores new candy creations. The range of “rock” stick candy flavours is extensive and includes some intriguing ones such as haggis, marmite, pizza and rhubarb. It seems the three flavours featured in this box only scratch the surface!

Tom

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