Sweetberry Ponies in the UK

The Sweetberry Ponies arrived in the UK in 1990, a full two years after they had first been sold in North America. They were sold in several countries across Europe during 1990, on the same style of card as that in the UK, with dark pink borders down the sides and Mainsail under the rainbow.

Sweetberry Pony card
(Palette - dark pinkish purple)
UK, 1990
(Note, pony not sealed on card but came with mane still sealed and accessories shown - ribbon may or may not be correct)

This same style of card featured across Europe, even in Italy, which now had cards in keeping with other areas of the continent. The set names, pony names and stories were translated for the regions they were sold in.

The European release, as indicated by the catalogue image at the top of the page, comprised four ponies. Six had originally been sold in North America -  Blueberry Baskets, and Cranberry Muffins, were not included in the European and UK assortment. There was also one name change in the English language release -  "Boysenberry Pie" was changed to Blackberry Pie in the UK.

The decision to make the set smaller seems a conscious marketing decision instead. Releasing only four ponies from a full set of six in the UK and Europe (or releasing sets of four overall) was increasingly common as the 1990s rolled around. The other scented set for this year, the Candy Cane Ponies, also featured a four-from-six release model. Unlike the Candy Cane ponies, however, the additional two characters did not make an appearance in the UK via a Woolworths exclusive import offer.

Another quirk of the Sweetberry Pony set in Europe is manufacture. Probably because of the two year delay in releasing them here, the majority (if not all) European-sold Sweetberry Ponies are made in China. They also all lack forelocks.

The North American release all have forelocks (except for Blackberry Pie, who, as a unicorn, did not have one). They are also predominantly made in Hong Kong, although some have been found made in China as well. The Chinese ones sold stateside still have forelocks, however.

The promotional image from the above Hasbro catalogue image features ponies with forelocks - but it was common during the 1990s for photos in UK or European catalogues to either use American catalogue images, or be posed with the existing American release of the set (even if actual production details differed). For that reason, we cannot use the catalogue images as a true representation of what was sold here.