Fab is an
ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
brand made by
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
. Both the
ice lolly on a stick brands 'Zoom' and 'FAB', were introduced in
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
by
J. Lyons & Co. Ltd., and were brought out in order to take advantage of the popularity of
Gerry Anderson's television series ''
Fireball XL5'' and ''
Thunderbirds''.
The brand Zoom was launched first, in April/May 1963, to capitalise on Fireball XL5, with Fab appearing in May 1967. Initially the Zoom's commercial target was for boys only, being
rocket
A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
shaped, which left a vast market niche that was filled by the development of the "Fab"; a more feminine looking lolly designed in mind for girls. The lolly was originally pitched at the female market with the association to purchase being the attraction of Lady Penelope. Regularly used in the show was the phrase "F-A-B" as an equivalent to
"Roger" (communications jargon indicating that a message has been received). The original lolly packaging had a prominent image of Lady Penelope and her butler/driver Parker on the wrapper.
[Original wrapper](_blank)
/ref>[Jane Furniva]
telegraph.co.uk, 10 August 2000
The lolly consists of strawberry fruit ice and cream with the top portion dipped in chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods.
Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...
and coated with hundreds and thousands.
The description on the packaging reads "Real Strawberry and vanilla flavour ice lolly with chocolate flavour coating (5%) and sugar strands (5%)".
The fab lolly, Fruit And Berries, has changed from a jelly type centre many years ago, to strawberry ice used now. An orange variety has also been manufactured as has a limited edition lemon flavour, a limited edition apple and blackcurrant flavour (in 2000), and a limited edition tropical flavour in 2003. A new limited edition lolly was created in 2018, to celebrate fifty years of Fab lollies. The "Birthday Cake" lolly has raspberry water and sponge cake flavour ice with a vanilla flavour coating and sugar strands.
See also
* List of frozen dessert brands
* Neapolitan ice cream, traditionally strawberry, vanilla and chocolate
References
External links
Froneri UK
Brand name frozen desserts
British brands
Products introduced in 1967
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