Pink Panther Wafers: UK's Pink Diamond and Where to buy Them

Are you a fan of the Pink Panther series of shows and movies? Are you searching for the so-called “pink diamond”? You’re in the right place then, as today I’ll be taking a look at Pink Panther wafers, named after the iconic TV series character

The Pink Panther wafers: How do they taste and who makes them

The Pink Panther is a brand of pink wafers distributed by Asvina from Middlesex, after the former distributor Rivington Biscuits went bust. Don’t let the wafers’ colour fool you, however. Since these wafers are pink, many people come to believe that they taste like strawberries, which is understandable. However, they are actually vanilla-flavoured. But how come they’re pink then if they are vanilla-flavoured? That’s because the wafers’ manufacturers use food colouring to colour the wafer-filling. Not only that, but they also colour the wafers themselves. The fact that these confectionaries are pink, and branded with the hugely-popular TV series, makes for a truly unique confectionary which people of all ages adore.

Children like these wafers because they see the cute Pink Panther character branded on the packaging, while older folk like them because they grew up with the Pink Panther animated series. I believe there’s not many people in most parts of the world who haven’t heard about the famous Pink Panther.

Sometimes, huge biscuit and/or wafer companies own their success to well-planned and creative marketing and/or branding. While these things, of course, are not the main reason why a certain Biscuit Products brand is successful, it can certainly contribute a lot to the biscuits/wafers’ sales. Take Oreo or Chips Ahoy! for an example. While Oreo is certainly tasty in its own right and considered to be one of the greatest cookies of all time, you have to admit that if it weren’t for its established popularity and marketing campaigns, it certainly would not have become the giant of the industry it is today.

There are many other biscuit brands which are just as tasty but not nearly as popular as Oreo. This can be due to a lot of different reasons. Poor marketing, poor design, poor packaging, branding, the list goes on. While the taste of a biscuit is certainly the most important part, all of these things combine to create a truly successful product. You can have the best marketing team in the world, it won’t matter if your biscuits are not tasty. That is why it is important to pay attention to all of the aspects of a successful commercial product. Luckily for Pink Panther wafers, they have both! It is really a surprise then that the Pink Panther brand almost got cancelled.

Everybody knows by now that the United Kingdom has left the European Union, which has been dubbed “the Brexit”. Just to clarify right away, this article will not be in anyway political. I’m just writing about what I have read online, and the previous distributors of Pink Panther wafers have blamed Brexit for the company’s financial loss.

The situation seems to have gotten better, as the Pink Panther wafers now have a new distributor, which has repackaged the wafers and changed the recipe a bit to give it a new, stronger taste. They’re also planning to make additional version of the wafers, with less sugar etc.

This was the general overview of the Pink Panther wafers, but what about their ingredients, their taste, their health benefits etc.? Well, I’ve already written that they have a vanilla filling, but if you are interested in a detailed look at their ingredients, as well as potential health risks, if there are any, be sure to read-on. I’m also going to see if they’re vegan-friendly!

Vegan or vegetarian? The ingredients in Pink Panther wafers

Let’s get straight to the point shall we? First of all, I’m going to list the ingredients that can be found inside Pink Panther wafers, and then we’re going to see whether they are Vegan-friendly wafers or vegetarian. What is the difference, you may be asking yourself? I will explain that later as well.

So, the ingredients that can be found in Pink Panther wafers are as follows:

• Wheat flour
• Palm oil
• Sugar
• Wheat starch
• Whey powder (Milk)
• Potato starch
• Skimmed milk powder
• Emulsifier: Soya lecithins
• Vegetable concentrate (Red Beetroot)
• Rapeseed oil
• Natural vanilla flavouring
• Red radish powder
• Salt
• Raising agent: Sodium Carbonates

Quite a colourful list of ingredients, is it not? As for the allergens, they might also contain egg, nuts, peanuts and sesame. So, if you have any allergies connected with these ingredients, it might be safest to simply avoid the wafers. Sad, I know, but safety should always come first! I myself am allergic to eggs. If I were to consume them I’d feel tired and there’s a chance I could get a nasty skin rash, which I’d have to treat with special allergen ointment. It’s okay if they’re only found in traces inside the recipe, but if I were to take any medication which is based on eggs, it could seriously endanger my life.

That is why you should consult with your doctor to see just how much of such allergy-inducing ingredients you can safely consume. If you can eat a little bit, then you can treat yourself to a pack or two of these delicious wafers. Otherwise, best stay clear of them. There is other, Free-from food which is more suited towards you.

Another ingredient found on this list that might be bad for your health is palm-oil. Many biscuit and wafer brands are no longer using palm-oil. In fact, many brands have started marketing their biscuits/wafers as “palm-oil” free. But what exactly makes it so controversial? It’s the effect palm oil has on your health and the environment. You see, palm oil has a high saturated fat content, which can prove to be detrimental to one’s cardiovascular health. However, if consumed in small amounts, as part of a healthy diet, palm oil can actually prove to be very healthy, as it is a great source of tocotrienols, which is a form of vitamin E, a type of antioxidant.

However, despite these apparent health issues, the main problem people have with palm oil is the effect it has on the environment. You see, to produce the oil, fruit is collected from the trees, which can grow really tall. Once they become too high to climb, they are cut down, so it becomes easier to reach the fruit. This leads to the deforestation of the rainforests.

While I understand that the demand for palm oil is high and that it is cheaper than some other oils, due to the fact that our environment is already strained and polluted as it is, the distributors of Pink Panther wafers might want to look into some alternatives to palm oil. They could proudly market their wafers as “palm-oil free” then.

Now to answer whether these wafers are vegan or vegetarian. While those who already follow such diets (or lifestyles, however you prefer) already know whether these wafers are vegan or vegetarian just by looking at the ingredients list, the nuance between the two terms might be hard to distinguish for those who are not familiar with such diets.

But the difference is very simple. While it is true that these diets are very similar due to the fact that both vegans and vegetarians do not consume meat, vegetarians still use some animal products, while vegans use none. These animal products include dairy such as eggs or milk, or leather, hides, fur etc.

Since milk can be found in the ingredients list for the Pink Panther wafers, this does not make them vegan-friendly. However, if you are a vegetarian, you can consume these confectionaries knowing that they contain no animal parts. More and more people are becoming vegan, however, so it might prove lucrative to produce a vegan-friendly variant of these wafers.

This actually goes hand in hand with looking into alternatives to palm oil. While palm oil is certainly a plant-based product, meaning that vegans do consume it, many people become vegans out of the conviction that the meat industry has a negative impact on the environment. Since they’re environmentalists, removing palm oil would be a great move in their eyes.

Health information: calories and gluten

Now that I’ve taken a look at the wafers’ ingredients list, I thought it would be a good idea to also take a look at the wafers’ nutritional values. This is important to those who wish to know how many calories they’re consuming on a daily basis, whether they are looking to gain or lose weight.

These nutritional values are per a hundred grams of Pink Panther wafers. The values are as follows:

• Energy: 2201 kJ / 527 kcal
• Fat: 28.0 g
  • Of which saturates: 13.0 g
• Carbohydrate: 64.0 g
  • Of which sugars: 26.0 g
• Fibre: 1.9 g
• Protein: 4.6 g
• Salt: 0.23 g

So, as you can see, a standard packaging of Pink Panther wafer biscuits (185 grams) contains a lot of calories. Almost half of the daily recommended intake of calories for adults. However, the standard pack contains 24 wafers, which means that one wafer (7.7 grams) contains only 41 calories, which is not that much. This means that you can enjoy a couple of these delicious wafers with your favourite beverage without worrying that you’ll gain weight. Another thing to note is that, if you have children, you might want to treat them with these wafers from time to time only, as they contain a lot of fats and sugar and are low in fibre and protein values. Everything is good in modesty!

And for those of you wondering if the Pink Panther wafers are gluten-free, judging from the list of ingredients, I can say that they certainly aren't. People with allergies to gluten avoid it because it can trigger many dangerous symptoms. For example, it can damage the lining of the small intestine and lead to problems like osteoporosis or infertility. If you’re not allergic to gluten, you have nothing to worry about.

Are Pink Panther wafers halal and kosher friendly?

To those wondering if Pink Panther wafers are halal or kosher friendly, I’ve got you covered! For those of you who do not know what halal or kosher means, it refers to Islamic and Jewish religious laws concerning dietary guidelines. Some ingredients are deemed lawful, while others should be refrained from if one is a practicing member of these religions. Halal refers to the Islamic set of laws as to which ingredients are good for consumption and which are not. In Islam, everything is considered halal except pork and its by-products, carnivorous animals, birds of prey, animals without external ears, blood and alcohol. This means that Pink Panther wafers are safe for consumption by our Muslim friends. Kosher, on the other hand, is the Jewish set of laws for lawful ingredients. It’s very similar to Halal. However, by Jewish religious law, meat must not be paired with dairy products. Since the Pink Panther wafers contain no meat, not even in traces, these wafers are safe for those following Kosher laws, since the milk is not paired with meat.

I’m sure that the milk inside these wafers comes from Kosher animals. If you’d like to make sure that that is indeed the case, you can always contact the distributors directly. I’m sure they would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. To conclude, if you follow Kosher and Halal laws, you can rest easy knowing that these wafers are safe for you.

The future of these wafers seems bright. They are now being produced by a new distributor, which has taken steps to modernize this range of wafers. I hope they’ll continue to improve this amazing product, as it has been around for a very long time and generations of people have enjoyed them. It would be a shame for future generations to miss out on them.

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Leading image By Dawn Quadling/Shutterstock