Necco Wafers saved from extinction after £13m bid at auction

The divisive candy has been saved by the billionaire Metropoulos family

Necco Wafers are here to stay after the company is bought at auction (Instagram)

One of America’s iconic but strongly-disliked candies has been saved from extinction after a bid for $17.3m (£12.9m) promised to revitalise the confectionery company at auction.

Necco Wafers - fat-free but with “great flavours” - were almost gone forever when Necco, the world’s oldest candy company, revealed it would have to shut its doors in March of 2018 after 170 years of business.

Despite the namesake candy’s unpopularity among almost everyone in the country, the announcement that these chalky spheres would no longer be available caused a sudden surge in sales.

Following the news, the wafers led the way in nostalgic stock-ups, but other Necco products were also mourned as consumers realised they would no longer be able to get their hands on Mary Janes, Clark Bars, Candy Hearts and Candy Buttons.

Fortunately, if you worried you may never taste the “chalk” flavours of liquorice, chocolate, or wintergreen again, you can relax as Necco has a surprisingly bright future on the horizon.

The sweets company has been purchased by Round Hill Investments LLC, run by billionaire C Dean Metropoulos - which has a reputation for revitalising failing brands.

Past ventures by the Metropoulos family include bringing Hostess Twinkies and Pabst Blue Ribbon back to life.

However, it will take quite a lot of effort to change the public opinion around Necco and its candies.

Although the imminent death of the company caused a surge in sales of the wafers - which people have compared to the taste of “Sweetarts’ geriatric uncle,’ the company’s problems, apart from being in debt, were more health-related.

Prior to the sale of Necco during a chapter 11 auction in May, the confectioners were reported to have unpaid taxes and bills worth millions

But it was an FDA inspection that appeared to be the demise of the New England company after the outcome was “unsanitary conditions throughout the plant” due to rodent faeces and a dead rodent measuring approximately 12 in.

The candies have often been compared to 'chalk' (Stock)

Despite the rocky past, for a select few, the news that Necco Wafers won’t be gone forever has been celebrated.

On Twitter, one person wrote: “After 43 years, I have decided to come clean. I like Necco Wafers. I do. They were my dad’s favourite too. There, I said it.”

However, others expressed surprise that the wafers were meant to be eaten at all - and not created for the sole purpose of decoration.

“Wait, people EAT Necco Wafers? I literally thought they only existed for shingling the roofs of gingerbread houses,” someone wrote on Twitter.