Flake (chocolate bar)

Flake is a British brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by British chocolate company Cadbury, owned by Mondelez International, consisting of thinly folded milk chocolate. The bar has a unique crumbly texture, and softens but does not melt when heated.

Flake
A Flake split in half
Product typeConfectionery
OwnerCadbury
CountryUnited Kingdom
Introduced1920 (1920)
Related brandsList of Cadbury products
MarketsUnited Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand

History

The original Flake product was first developed in 1920 and was discovered by chance by Ralph Thompson, an employee of Cadbury's at the Bournville factory who noticed thin streams of excess chocolate falling from moulds cooled into flaky ripples.[1][2]

By 1930, Cadbury's was selling half-length Flake specifically for garnishing vanilla soft serve ice cream in a cone ("99 Flakes") which was served by ice cream vendors.[2] First sold in the UK, they would later be sold in Ireland, Australia, South Africa and other nations. The later product, Cadbury Twirl, has two Flake-style bars covered in milk chocolate.

Flakes are no longer manufactured at Bournville and are now made in Dublin, Ireland, and 10th of Ramadan, Egypt.[3]

In 2021 and again in 2022, Mondelez announced that there were shortages of Flakes in the UK and Ireland. In 2021 this was attibuted to high levels of demand due to good weather.[4] In 2022, Mondelez attributed the shortages to "some global supply chain disruptions" alongside demand pressures.[5]

Manufacturing process

Cadbury refers to the exact process of making Flakes as a closely guarded secret;[6] however, experimental evidence by food scientist Ann Reardon shows that the result can be recreated by seizing chocolate.[7][8]

Variations

Flake bars

Several varieties of Flake have been produced over the years, including:

  • Versions based around dark (plain) chocolate
    • Plain Flake[9] - "A blend of plain and milk chocolate"[10]
    • Flake Noir - a dark chocolate flake bar.[11]
    • Flake Dark - dark chocolate flake covered in dark chocolate. Launched 2006.
  • Flake Snow (known as Snowflake until 2003) - a white chocolate flake bar dipped into milk chocolate. Launched 2000 and discontinued in 2008.
  • Flake Dipped - milk chocolate flake dipped into milk chocolate (resembles a larger version of Twirl), and also known as Flake Luxury. Launched 2003.
  • Flake Praline - milk chocolate flake with praline. Launched 2004.
  • Flake Bar.
  • Flake Allure - a milk chocolate flake half enrobed in rich truffle and milk chocolate. Launched 2011 (limited edition).
  • Orange Flake - orange-flavoured milk chocolate flake (available in South Africa).
  • Flake Mint - flake which has a pale green mint-flavoured centre. In South Africa it is a mint-flavoured milk chocolate flake with no colouring. Flake Mint was introduced in Australia in late 2016 as a Special Edition flavor.
  • Flake Caramilk - a Caramilk flavoured Flake composed of caramelised white chocolate introduced in Australia in 2021.
A 99 Flake presented as the topping for a soft-serve ice cream cone.
  • 99 Flake - A short (usually half-length) flake bar, typically served as a garnish on ice cream.
  • Flake McFlurry original - a McFlurry with crushed bits of flake and chocolate. Limited edition run along with flake McFlurry raspberry.
  • Flake McFlurry raspberry - a McFlurry with crushed bits of flake, chocolate and raspberry juice. Limited edition run along with original flake McFlurry.
  • Cadbury Twin Pot Flake
  • Flake Bites
  • Flake Minis
  • Flake Moments

Advertising

The product gained some notoriety for its highly sensual advertising. In the UK, the advertisements showed people – almost always women – enjoying a Flake whilst relaxing.

The Flake Girl became famous as a symbol of indulgence and secret pleasure. Her emphasis – to a jingle ("Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate, tastes like chocolate never tasted before") – was on allowing herself a guilt-free luxury. The advertising of a girl in a field was produced by Barry Myers.

The Flake song was composed by UK jingle writer Ronnie Bond (not the guy from The Troggs), who also composed "Tasty tasty very very tasty" for Bran Flakes, and "I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops" for Coco Pops.

Former Tyrannosaurus Rex percussionist Steve Peregrin Took wrote a song, Peppermint Flickstick, in 1970 as a satire on the campaign. The song was recorded that year by his band Shagrat and released in 1990.[12]

In 1999, a tribute advertisement to the Flake Girls of decades past was released. The montage began with a clip of the very first Flake Girl advertisement from 1959, followed by a 1965 clip of a girl relaxing in a rowing boat whilst being pestered by a cheeky swan for a peck of her Flake bar. The next clip showed the 1973 advertisement of a doe-eyed artist in a field of poppies painting a watercolour and indulging in a Flake bar, before being caught in a summer shower. This was followed by a clip of the exotic 1987 ad in which a restless woman in silk negligee reposes on a window sill on a sultry night, indulging in a Flake bar whilst a gecko lizard is noted crawling over a ringing telephone. Next was a clip of the classical 1991 Flake advertisement in which a woman sporting a dark, cropped hairstyle reposes in an overflowing bath tub in a great painted hall. Lastly, this tribute montage advertisement ended with the latest Flake Girl advertisement (1999), featuring a Parisienne relaxing in a summery garden overlooking the Eiffel Tower. As she bites into the Flake bar in her ice-cream, the garden sprinklers are set off and she is drenched in refreshing water.

The Flake girl was finally retired after 40 years, in 2004.[13] However, in 2005 she was found to have a 19% recall in the UK population, leading to a revival in 2007.[14] The new advertisement featured Australian model Alyssa Sutherland eating a Flake in a convertible during a shower of rain.[15]

UK singer Joss Stone became the new Flake girl in 2008 – the first non-model to promote the product.[16] In the television advertisement she is seen breaking off a small piece of Flake before popping it into her mouth and brushing the crumbs off her blouse whilst softly singing the Flake theme song.

On 8 June 2010, a new advertisement (first aired on Channel 4) saw a woman float around on a black background. Whilst part of 'The Flake girl' series, there is no mention of any text or slogan aside from the image of the bar at the end of the advertisement, and the familiar music jingle is replaced by a haunting piano piece.

See also

References
  1. Corporate history of the product
  2. Oliver Thring (24 August 2010). "Consider the 99 Flake". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  3. "Cadbury's Flake shortage causes 99 problems". 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  4. Javed, S., Cadbury confirms 99 Flake shortage in the UK Archived 2023-02-10 at the Wayback Machine, The Independent, published 18 May 2021, accessed 10 February 2023
  5. BBC News, Flake snag means 99 problems for ice cream sellers Archived 2023-02-10 at the Wayback Machine, published 14 June 2022, accessed 10 February 2023
  6. Cadbury Flake Official Site https://web.archive.org/web/20210413105043/https://www.cadbury.co.uk/products/cadbury-flake-11309
  7. Debunking Exploding Egg Hacks and blowtorching chocolate • Ann Reardon on YouTube
  8. Cooks Illustrated: Chocolate seizing Archived 2021-02-14 at the Wayback Machine)
  9. "70s and 80s TV ads for chocolate bars". Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016. I didn't even realise that Cadbury's produced a plain flake [accompanying image displays- amongst other items- 'Plain Flake' in crimson wrapper with gold writing]
  10. Image of Cadbury's "Plain Flake" wrapper Archived 2017-02-16 at the Wayback Machine bearing description "a blend of plain and milk chocolate" (via Archived 2016-10-01 at the Wayback Machine)
  11. Cadbury Australia - Home - Products - Chocolate Bars - Flake
  12. "Slicing up Bacon for Baby Snakes". www.arsydd.btinternet.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 April 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  13. "R.I.P. The Flake girl". BBC News. August 17, 2004. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  14. The Scotsman Archived 2006-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ""Cadbury brings back Flake Girl" The Guardian (February 9, 2007)". Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  16. "Singer Stone is new Flake girl". Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  • Cadbury's Flake
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