Sharjah24 – AFP: Edward Gray sweet factory in central England evokes a bygone age where brass cauldrons steam with molten sugar and workers wrestle with huge chunks of gooey treacle, but its handmade produce now enjoys a global demand.

The company -- also known as "Teddy Grays" -- dates back to 1826 when John Gray went house-to-house in a horse and cart buying homemade sweets, before selling them to retailers.

But it was his son Edward, an entrepreneur in the mould of Willy Wonka and Colonel Sanders, who built the business's name.

The small factory in Dudley now makes around five tonnes of boiled sweets a week, with products including rhubarb and custard, pineapple rock, strawberries and cream, pear drops, toffee and chocolate-coated coconut ice.

But the jewel in the crown is its "Herbal Tablet", a menthol sweet that it claims has provided relief from "cold nights and mornings" for more than 100 years.

"It's an acquired taste, but with Covid now, it relieves coughs and colds," explained Dave Healy, the company's marketing manager.