It was acquired by Cadbury in the 1990s, which in turn was acquired by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) in 2010. Nevertheless, Charles Riley, a strictly teetotal Methodist, gradually came round to the idea when his son persuaded him that the new sweets would not contain alcohol. The gums usually come in five shapes: kidney, crown, rhombus, circle and oblong, and are usually labelled with the name of a wine: for example, Maynards use port, sherry, champagne, burgundy, and claret; other manufacturers may prefer different names such as rioja, merlot or rum.

Wine gums are popular in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, South Africa and many Commonwealth nations, as well as several European countries. Around the turn of the century, Charles Gordon, heir to the confectionery firm, suggested to his father that the company should diversify into making "wine gums". The red flavours are traditionally red berry, strawberry, or raspberry-flavoured in the United Kingdom and cherry in the United States. Depending on local laws or manufacturer's practices, packages may bear a specific statement that the sweets "contain no wine". The grandfather of engineer Kenneth Maynard Wood (co-founder of kitchen appliance company Kenwood Ltd) [1] Charles Riley Maynard and his brother Tom started manufacturing sweets in 1880.

It took Charles Gordon Maynard some time to persuade his strict Methodist and teetotaller father that the sweets did not contain wine, [1] after which the father accepted that the sweet was to be marketed as an alternative to alcohol.

As Maynards grew, it expanded its manufacturing operations to other locations, such as a toffee factory in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle upon Tyne. The brand merged in 1990 with the Tottenham liquorice mill Bassett's, and Trebor as well as sweet manufacture of the three brands moved to Sheffield in 1991.