They’re not up there with the big guys like A. W. Allen or MacRoberston, but Lagoon Confectioners outlasted those bigger names until selling the business to Darrell Lea in 2024. The business was founded in 1929 by George and Violet McQuade and its foundation product, according to their son Bob, was the sherbet bomb.
The first Lagoon Confectioners factory was at 118 Albert Road, opposite Albert Park Lake which had previously been known as the Lagoon. The “factory” was a shed behind their house. In the early days, in addition to sherbet bombs, they produced a range of now long-forgotten sweets. ‘Clubs’ came in a range of flavours including butterscotch, chocolate, pineapple and eucalyptus. There were also Cough Balls, Lasters, Acid Drops and a form of stick candy called Long Toms. The products would be collected by wholesalers and distributed to lolly shops, where many of them were sold two for a penny.
The McQuades continued to make lollies at the Albert Road address until 1970, with their son Bob entering the business as a teenager in the early 1950s. In 1970, they moved to larger premises in Port Melbourne and then, in 2000, to Williamstown where the factory could churn out two tons of confectionery daily. Bob McQuade evolved the original sherbet bombs into a range of fruity flavours and further products in the range included Eucalyptus Diamonds, Barley Sugar, Chewy Mints, Chocolate Ruffies, Sherbet Lemons and Fizzoes.
In 2007, Lagoon Confectioners revived the old-fashioned Choo Choo Bar, purchasing the brand from Nestlé which was, after a series of acquisitions, the custodian of the popular liquorice-flavoured chew invented by Plaistowe. They also made a raspberry Choo Choo.
Bob McQuade and his wife Lorraine continued to work in the business until 2024, with their son Dean and daughter Tina also working alongside them. In 2024, Bob and Lorraine decided to sell and found a willing buyer in another Australian-owned company, Darrell Lea. Darrell Lea were interested in extending their manufacturing capacity but, apparently, did not put much value on the Lagoon name. All Lagoon products were soon listed as “out of stock” by online confectionery retailers. I was advised, in February 2025, that Darrell Lea had launched its first Lagoon product: Life Savers Lemon Sherbet Bomb Fizz. Yes, it carried the Life Savers brand. No word yet on Choo Choo bars. Watch this space.