Milk Bars

Global Confectionery had its beginnings owning milk bars in Melbourne. The 1970s and 1980s were the heyday of Melbourne’s Milk bars, selling everything from newspapers, cigarettes, and of course lollies and chocolate. These iconic destinations festooned with advertising and the ubiquitous Peters ice cream sign were the destination for kids of all ages. After school each day and on bikes at the weekend, the social and cultural life of many kids centred around the local milk bar and the world of 1 cent, 2 cent and 3 cent lollies.

The story of Global Confectionery is a story like many migrant stories. Mum and Dad worked hard to make their business a success. Their sons, Chris and Mike were both born under the lucky stars of Rowntree and Darrel Lea.

Van Life – Lollies On The Road

The spirit of Global Confectionery began with selling wholesale confectionery direct to businesses from a mobile confectionery van. While Mum looked after the shop, Dad took to the road selling wholesale lollies and chocolate. Mike and Chris came along when they weren’t at school.

This was the heady late 1970s and early 1980s. All those different colours and flavours, the smell of chocolate; Mike and Chris were living any kid’s dream in the back of Dad’s van and learning everything about the wholesale confectionery business.

Up To The Scuppers – The Lolly Garage

As the business grew, storage moved to the home garage. Life went on as usual, except that many regular garage items took second place to boxes of chocolate, jelly babies, smarties and hubba bubba.

New types of confectionery and chocolate came and went. Global Confectionery sourced new lollies from the U.S and the U.K that had not been tasted in Australia. Customers started to demand the latest flavours, reminisced about the lollies they grew up with outside Australia, or ones they saw on the television and in movies.

Life was good for Global Confectionery.

Lolly Wholesale Warehouse – Bayswater

Global Confectionery came of age in the 1980s when the business moved to a warehouse location in Bayswater. This was a significant step. Pushbikes, lawn mowers and the old couch no longer had to compete with boxes of wholesale jelly beans, rock candy and snakes.

Global now supplied convenience stores, supermarkets and boutique chocolate and confectionery shops. They had been around long enough to have built a reputation among Melbourne businesses. New businesses that rang Global Confectionery always told the same story; they were a new business and Global Confectionery had been recommended as the only wholesale supplier to contact for confectionery and chocolate for their shelves.

Global had hit the big time!

Number 1 in Lolly Wholesale Melbourne – Kilsyth

Eventually Global Confectionery out grew the Bayswater warehouse. In 2011 Global moved to its current location in Kilsyth and decided to open a retail lolly shop at the front of the warehouse. Opening the retail shop was like going back to where it all started in Milk Bars, over 40 years ago.

Now settled in the new location on Canterbury Road, the growing team at Global Confectionery are still having the same fun they’ve always had, supplying a huge range of wholesale lollies and chocolates to Melbourne customers. The business is also getting a reputation among the locals for  its humorous roadside billboards. Mike, Chris and the team try not to take themselves too seriously. They’re hopeful their funny one-liners can get some attention and crack an occasional smile from passers by.

Global Confectionery hasn’t reached the end of the road yet. They love their loyal customers and think they’ve earned the recommendations they receive. They’ve certainly worked hard and sampled a few thousand lollies along the way.

Global Confectionery has witnessed the milk bar come and go, the rise of the 24 hour convenience store and the arrival of the confectionery aisle in the supermarket. But in all those years, and with the changing shape and flavour of lollies and chocolate, one thing has remained consistent – an almost universal excitement and enjoyment of lollies.

Global Confectionery reckon they’ve earned their status as the best at lolly wholesale in Melbourne.