The Munch Bunch is a series of children's books,[1] created in the UK by Barrie and Elizabeth Henderson and originally published between 1979 and 1984.
The Munch Bunch are a group of unwanted vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts who were swept to the corner of a shop but ran away together and set up home in and around an old, forgotten garden shed.[2]
A spin-off television programme also ran for four series during the early 1980s.
In addition, a licensed range of children's yoghurts- originally a tie-in with the television series- were launched in the early 1980s. "Munch Bunch" yoghurts and fromage frais continue to be marketed today, albeit using a cow mascot and with little remaining connection to the original characters and stories.
The original books were written under the pen name Giles Reed by Barrie Henderson, Elizabeth Henderson, and British author Denis Bond, and illustrated by Angela Mitson. They were published between 1979 and 1984 by Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. in the United Kingdom. United States publication rights were sold to Rourke Publications, Inc.[3]
The books went out of print in the mid-to-late 1980s following a fire at a Studio Publications which destroyed all the original artwork.
A completely different series of Munch Bunch books was published in 1998 by Ladybird Books in the UK to tie in with the yoghurts, following the resurgence brought about by the TV commercials of 1994–96. Denis Bond and Angela Mitson were not involved and the characters were different, although a few such as Sally Strawberry were similarly named.
There was also an early 1980s marionette/puppet-based television show, produced by long-time Gerry Anderson associates Mary Turner and John Read for ITC Entertainment, that featured the characters from the books.
The stories for the television series were different from those contained in the books and were written mainly by Bond (this time under his real name), though other writers such as Rosemary Kingsland also contributed.
The characters in the series were voiced by the veteran husband-and-wife team of Judy Bennett and Charles Collingwood, well best known for their work in The Archers. 52 ten-minute editions were produced, thus originally airing between September 1980 and May 1982. The show was also broadcast in Hong Kong on TVB Pearl and New Zealand on TV One.
The Munch Bunch yoghurt brand- aimed at children between three and line- was launched by Express Dairies' Eden Vale division circa 1981 to coincide with the launch of the television series. These originally featured Mitson's characters as well as a few non-book characters such as Jenny Cherry and Charlie Chocolate. However, by the 1990s the yoghurt line had struck out completely in its own right retaining only the logo and a few character names.
The brand had a resurgence in the UK during the 1990s, largely as a result of a popular TV commercial for the Munch Bunch "pot shots" range (a petits-filous type yoghurt aimed at the young) set in a pool hall, which ran from May 1994 until February 1996. This popularity proved short-lived, and only three of the Munch Bunch characters were featured in the "pot shots" range.
A new range of Munch Bunch books based on the then-current characters used by the yoghurt line (including "Sally Strawberry") were released by Ladybird in 1998.
The Munch Bunch yoghurt brand was sold by Express Dairies' parent company to Nestlé in 2002 and continues to this day under their ownership. However, since 2008 marketing has been focused on a new mascot, Munch the Cow, with little remaining connection to the original "fruit and veg" characters, stories or concept.