Too much quirky madness for the mass-market: Ruth Mortimer takes a bite out of Nestle Maverick chocolate and asks why the confectionery brand has left the shelves. (That Was The Brand That Was)

Brand Strategy, May, 2002 by Ruth Mortimer

The Nestle Maverick chocolate bar was so wacky that it lasted only three years. The quirky confectionery brand was launched in 1997 with a marketing budget of 6m [pounds sterling]. But three years later Maverick's spirit was quashed and Nestle dropped the brand.

The Maverick comprised caramel, raisins, biscuit balls and toffee pieces covered in milk chocolate. Its packaging was a shiny hotch-potch of bright colours, with the name emblazoned across the middle. Giles Lury, head of brand consultancy at agency Springpoint says: "I'm not sure the packaging did much for the Maverick. It was a bit harsh and unappetising."

Maverick was the answer to Cadbury's Fuse bar, launched in 1996, with similarly bright, anarchic packaging. But despite being supported by its...