The sugar-coated chocolate sweets have been packaged in round tubes since 1938. They were first launched as Chocolate Beans in 1937 but the name was changed the following year.
The redesign also spells the end of the plastic lid featuring a letter of the alphabet. The new lid is a flip-top version that may incorporate humorous messages and stickers.
Neil Ducray, Nestle Rowntree's director of marketing, said: "The change has come from feedback from mothers who said the kids want something a bit more exciting."
Smarties have launched spin-offs such as the Smarties Bar, which appeared in 2002, and Fruity Smarties, which made their debut last year.
Ducray said: "We have already introduced Smarties Bar and Fruity Smarties, which have proved to be a complete success, and the Hexatube represents the next exciting stage for the brand."
Every minute 307 tubes of Smarties -- 16,000 sweets -- are consumed in the UK.
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