Dips and chews causing a fizz.

Sales of retro sweets are rocketing as the recession continues to bite.

Lincolnshire people are turning to the treats of yesteryear as a quick fix to help them feel better.

Figures show that sales of Sherbet Dib-Dabs are up 19 per cent year on year, while Flying Saucers are flying high with sales up by a third.

Meanwhile, sales of Catherine Wheels have spun up by a massive 35 per cent.

Kate Henning, owner of an online retro shop, says she has seen sales double in the last few months, which she attributes to people needing to find a cost-effective way of cheering themselves up.

“With sweets, you don’t have to spend a lot of money,” she said.

“It’s one of the things people who are on a budget turn to when they want to make themselves feel better.

“People are going further back to the old-fashioned sweets made in an old-fashioned way with old-fashioned ingredients.

“I’ve also found that people have been using retro sweets as a cheap alternative to party or wedding favours. There’s certainly a nostalgia that’s universally appealing.”

Francesca Johns, 21, an administration officer and resident of Lincoln, said she thought retro sweets added an extra element of excitement over modern sweets, which made them appealing to young and old customers.

“People are thinking less about buying sweets because they don’t have as much of a disposable income.

“But retro sweets have that edge. They’re so much more fun, usually because they have some kind of humorous selling point or can be a bit silly in their nature.

“There are loads of places in Lincoln you can buy these retro sweets, like Goodies at the bottom of Steep Hill. I could spend hours in there trying to decide what I want.

“The best thing about retro sweets is the memories attached to them. They remind me of being little, walking home from school without a care in the world.”

On the back of this recent upsurge in popularity, Waitrose has launched a Sweet Revival campaign asking the nation to vote for their favourite nostalgic confectionary to help them decide which treat to put back on their shelves, with the winner being announced in October.

Waitrose confectionary buyer Matthew Jones said he agreed with the growing resurgence of retro food being a result of people looking to recreate their fond childhood memories as a way of cheering themselves up.

“Everyone’s favourite memories are different, so it’s been a really tough task deciding which retro sweet varieties to bring back on our shelves,” he said.

“That’s why we’ve launched the great sweet campaign, to give people the chance to bring back their favourites.”

For more information, visit www.waitrose.com/sweetrevival.