Chocolate-coated raisins are a popular bulk vending

Bulk vending

Bulk vending is the sale of unsorted confections, nuts, gumballs, toys and novelties selected at random and dispensed generally through non-electrically operated vending machines. Bulk vending is a separate segment of the vending industry from full line vending — i.e., the snack and soda vending...

 product. They consist, as the name suggests, of raisin

Raisin

Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...

s coated in a shell of either milk chocolate or dark chocolate. They have a reputation in many countries of being food eaten in movie theaters, and are an item familiar from the concession counter. The supermarket chains also sell them in bags and they were traditionally sold by weight from jars in candy store

Candy store

A confectionery store sells confectionery and is usually targeted to children. Most confectionery stores are filled with an assortment of sweets far larger than a grocer or convenience store could accommodate...

s.

Production process

The raisins are coated with oil and spun in a hot drum with chocolate to cover them.

Varieties and brands

In some countries, they are also known as Raisinets, which is the earliest and one of the most popular brands of the product, currently made by Nestlé

Nestlé

Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

. Raisinets were introduced in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1927 by the Blumenthal Chocolate Company. Nestlé acquired the brand in 1984. A large number of other brands also exists. A popular brand in the UK is Paynes Poppets

Paynes Poppets

Paynes Poppets or Poppets is confectionery manufactured by Fox's Confectionery, first introduced in 1937. It comes in five different flavours . The Orange and Mint varieties are made of a fondant centre with a dark chocolate covering, the Choc Chip Cookie, Toffee and Raisin varieties have their...

 which are sold in small boxes.

The Promotion in Motion Companies, Inc, the candy company that make Welch's

Welch's

Welch Foods Inc. is an American company, headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts. It is owned by the National Grape Cooperative Association, a co-op of grape growers....

 Fruit Snacks, also creates a Sun-Maid

Sun-Maid

Sun-Maid Growers of California is a cooperative of raisin growers headquartered in Kingsburg, California. It was founded in 1912 as the California Associated Raisin Company...

 brand of chocolate-covered raisins.

Vegans have a non-dairy equivalent made of sugar (non-refined), cocoa mass, cocoa butter

Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, pure edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, biscuits, and baked goods, as well as some pharmaceuticals, ointments, and toiletries...

, and vanillin

Vanillin

Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde, an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. Its functional groups include aldehyde, ether, and phenol. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. It is also found in Leptotes bicolor, roasted coffee and the Chinese red pine...

.

A similar food, also commonly sold at movie theaters, is the chocolate-coated peanut

Chocolate-coated peanut

Chocolate-coated peanuts are a popular bulk vending product. They consist, as the name suggests, of peanuts coated in a shell of milk chocolate...

.