White Rabbit Creamy Candy: China’s Favourite Sweet

The White Rabbit Creamy Candy is a favourite in China, with the iconic white, red and blue wrappers instantly recognisable to those in south-east Asia. First created in Shanghai in the 1940s, the sweets are now enjoyed in over 40 countries around the world. We take a look at these delicious sweet treats and how they have become so popular worldwide!

In China, White Rabbit Creamy Candy makes up around five percent of the total sweets sold in the country each year. Over 24,000 tonnes of these candies are made each year at their factory in Shanghai. While there are normally around 500 employees to help create these treasured candies, this number of staff often doubles in the run-up to national holidays such as the Lunar New Year, Christmas and Mid-Autumn Festival which are some of the most popular times for sharing White Rabbit Candies.

Many Chinese people have fond memories of these sweets, from enjoying a white rabbit candy at their grandparent’s house to receiving sweets at celebratory times of the year, such as the Lunar New Year. Playing off this sense of nostalgia, some chefs in China have taken to making dessert dishes inspired by these iconic sweets, such as White Rabbit ice cream, which is now even served at a luxury restaurant.

The packaging itself also makes the sweets unique. While the white rabbit design with a touch of vibrancy from blue and red detailing makes the sweets stand out, the paper wrapping is made from rice paper, meaning that the sweet’s wrapper itself is edible!

While the wrappers are now instantly recognisable, the original sweets actually didn’t even feature a white rabbit! Taking inspiration from the creamy candies that were popular in Britain at the time, the original sweets were launched in 1943 by a company called ABC and named Mickey Mouse Sweets and even featured the famous Disney character on the wrapper! Following the nationalisation of ABC, the company turned away from Westernised imagery, rebranding the sweets as ‘White Rabbit’ in 1959.

In recent years, the brand has diversified its range, introducing a variety of new flavours such as chocolate, red bean, yoghurt and peanut. Despite this, the original milky flavour is still the best-selling sweet in the brand’s line.

While exports only account for around five percent of the total sales of these sweets, they are still enjoyed internationally. You can enjoy White Rabbit sweets in the UK from Oriental Mart whether they were your favourite childhood sweet or if you’ve never actually tried them before, you’re bound to find them delicious!