I only knew about Perky Nanas because of my stepsons, who have family in New Zealand and introduced me to them many years ago.

Perky Nanas are a chewy and delicious chocolate bar that taste just like banana – a strong, salty, chewy banana covered in Cadbury chocolate.

The banana centre is stretchy and amazing and clearly I'm a fan, although I accept that Perky Nanas are divisive. You either love 'em, or you hate 'em.

Cadbury originated in the UK and began exporting to Australia in 1881 before establishing manufacturing here 1992.

The confectionary brand began manufacturing in New Zealand a few years later in 1929.

Both countries were encouraged to create their own confectionary and gain reputations for inventiveness.

The exact date of the Perky Nana's invention isn't known, but it is considered to be one of the most inventive Cadbury products to come out of New Zealand.

They have proved difficult to find in Australia, which is why I was so excited to find them on sale at The Reject Shop for $1 each.

I used to place orders for New Zealand treats on line, but this got to be a bit pricey.

New Zealand is famous for it's delicious treats including Perky Nanas, Pinky bars and the elusive chocolate Minties – which I have never found but have been told were once sold there.

Treats that originated in New Zealand also include Pascall Pineapple Lumps, Whittaker's Peanut Slab and Juicies Frozen Fruit Treats, all of which you can also now find in Australia.

The reason many of these delicious treats are more widely available in Australia these days is because the Cadbury New Zealand production factory closed completely in 2018 and moved to Australia.

Items formerly made in New Zealand, that are now produced here, including the Moro bar, Picnic, Perky Nana and Pinky bar.

Most of us know about the Moro bar, which tastes like a chocolate Mars Bar, and the Picnic which is a wafer covered in peanuts and chocolate.

The Pinky bar is pink marshmallow with a caramel jam layer covered in chocolate. They are chewier if you keep them in the fridge.

The Perky Nana doesn't need to be kept in the fridge, as it's chewy at any temperature.

The Reject Shop has long been my go to location for overseas treats from New Zealand, the UK and the US, long before my daughter started working at our local store.

When I visited her at work a week ago and saw the Perky Nanas on sale at the checkout I was so excited and bought eight of them, and then went back the next day for more.

By then they had been moved off prime position at the checkout. I concluded that people either didn't know what they were, or didn't like them.

More for me!

While at my local The Reject Shop I also found some other delicious overseas treats that cannot be found in major supermarkets.

These include Terry's Chocolate Orange bars, by French manufacturer Carambar & Co.

I also found Griffin's Mallow Puffs. Griffin's is a snack food brand that was founded in New Zealand 1864 and now exports it's products around the world.

It is currently owned by Universal Robina Corp since 2014 but has changed hands several times.

These Mallow Puffs are double coated and make a delightful crunching sound when you bite into them.

Then there's these delicious Waterbridge chocolates that are currently at The Reject Shop, straight from Canada.

They come in mint, salted caramel and orange and are just too delicious.

I also found Ballantyne chocolates, which much to my surprise, is Australian.

I can honestly say I have never heard of them before, which is such a shame seeing as I love chocolate coated peanuts and chocolate coated sultanas alike.

The business is based in Melbourne, Victoria. Perhaps the Sydney vs Melbourne ongoing tussle prevented their earlier and more widespread travels to Sydney.

And then I found Fry's, which I have often seen in confectionary stores and love. They are part of the Cadbury family and come from the UK.

Fry's was originally known as Fry & Son and they created the first moulded solid chocolate bar in 1847 before being mass-produced.

Fry's Chocolate Cream is the first mass-produced combination chocolate bar in the world and the oldest chocolate bar brand!

There was much more to see at The Reject Shop including a lot of American confectionary but I can't say that I'm a fan of anything that comes from the US.

My son and I once decided to try all of their most famous products we'd been hearing about in movies and TV shows, including Twinkies, Junior Mints and Juicyfruits and we weren't impressed.

When it comes to confectionary, Aussies, New Zealanders and Brits do it better, in my opinion.

Got a story about delicious confectionary? Email Jo Abi at [email protected].

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