Flake is a British brand of

chocolate bar A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nut (fruit), nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some variet ...

currently manufactured by British chocolate company

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...

, owned by

Mondelez International Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, Holding company, holding, drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual rev ...

, consisting of thinly folded

milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a form of solid chocolate containing Chocolate liquor, cocoa, sugar and milk. It is the most consumed types of chocolate, type of chocolate, and is used in a wide diversity of chocolate bar, bars, tablets and other confectione ...

. The bar has a unique crumbly texture, and softens but does not melt when heated (unless put in a velvetiser).

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 Bournville () is a 19th century model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" (or "model") village where the sale of alc ...

factory who noticed thin streams of excess chocolate falling from moulds cooled into flaky ripples. By 1930, Cadbury's was selling half-length Flake specifically for garnishing

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

soft serve

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 ...

in a cone ("

99 Flake A 99 Flake, 99 or ninety-nine is an ice cream cone with a Cadbury Flake inserted in the ice cream. The term can also refer to the half-sized Cadbury-produced Flake bar, itself specially made for such ice cream cones, and to a wrapped product marke ...

s") which was served by ice cream vendors. First sold in the United Kingdom, they would later be sold in Ireland, Australia, South Africa and other nations. The later product, Cadbury

Twirl Twirl may refer to: * TWIRL, The Weizmann Institute Relation Locator, a hypothetical hardware device * Twirl (chocolate bar), a brand of chocolate bar manufactured by Cadbury * ''Twirl'' (film), a 1981 movie about baton twirlers starring Erin M ...

, has two Flake-style bars covered in milk chocolate. Flakes are no longer manufactured at Bournville and are now made in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, and

10th of Ramadan 10th of Ramadan () is an List of cities and towns in Egypt, Egyptian city located in Sharqia Governorate. It is a first-generation New Urban Communities Authority, new urban community, and one of the most industrialized. It is in close proximity ...

, Egypt. In 2021 and again in 2022, Mondelez announced that there were

shortage In economics, a shortage or excess demand is a situation in which the demand for a product or service exceeds its supply in a market. It is the opposite of an excess supply ( surplus). Definitions In a perfect market (one that matches ...

s of Flakes in the UK and Ireland. In 2021 this was attributed to high levels of demand due to good weather. In 2022, Mondelez attributed the shortages to "some global

supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...

disruptions" alongside demand pressures.

Manufacturing process

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

Variations

Flake bars

Several varieties of Flake have been produced over the years, including: *Versions based around dark (plain) chocolate **Plain Flake - "A blend of plain and milk chocolate" **Flake Noir - a

dark chocolate Dark chocolate is a form of chocolate made from cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. It has a higher cocoa percentage than white chocolate, milk chocolate, and semisweet chocolate. Dark chocolate is valued for claimed—though unsupported— ...

flake bar. **Flake Dark - dark chocolate flake covered in dark chocolate. Launched 2006. * Flake Snow (known as Snowflake until 2003) - a

white chocolate White chocolate is a chocolate made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. It is Ivory (color), ivory in color and lacks the dark appearance of most other types of chocolate as it does not contain the non-fat components of cocoa (cocoa sol ...

flake bar dipped into milk chocolate. Launched 1999 and discontinued in 2000. *Flake Dipped - milk chocolate flake dipped into milk chocolate (resembles a larger version of

), 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 Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

-flavoured milk chocolate flake (available in South Africa). *Flake Mint - flake which has a pale green

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

-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.

Related products

- A short (usually half-length) flake bar, typically served as a garnish on

. *Flake

McFlurry The McFlurry is a brand-name of frozen soft serve dessert produced and sold by American-based multinational fast food chain McDonald's. It is served in a cup, with additional mixed-in ingredients such as candy and cookie fragments and sweet to ...

original - a McFlurry with crushed bits of flake and chocolate. Limited edition run along with flake McFlurry raspberry. *Flake

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 Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

. 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, who also composed "Tasty tasty very very tasty" for Bran Flakes, and "I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops" for

Coco Pops Cocoa Krispies (also known as Choco Krispis, Choco Krispies, Coco Pops, Choco Pops depending on region) is a breakfast cereal produced by WK Kellogg Co (formerly Kellogg's), coming both as a boxed cereal and as a snack bar with a 'dried milk' c ...

. Former

Tyrannosaurus Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...

percussionist

Steve Peregrin Took Steve Peregrin Took (born Stephen Ross Porter; 28 July 1949 – 27 October 1980) was an English musician and songwriter, best known for his membership of the duo Tyrannosaurus Rex with Marc Bolan. After breaking with Bolan, he concentrated on h ...

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. 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 Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

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

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

ienne relaxing in a summery garden overlooking the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

. 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. However, in 2005 she was found to have a 19% recall in the UK population, leading to a revival in 2007. The new advertisement featured Australian model

Alyssa Sutherland Alyssa Sutherland (born 23 September 1982) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Ellie in '' Evil Dead Rise'', the fifth installment of the ''Evil Dead'' franchise. Early life Sutherland was born in Brisbane. She is of Sco ...

eating a Flake in a convertible during a shower of rain. UK singer

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

became the new Flake girl in 2008 – the first non-

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

to promote the product. In the

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

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 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

) 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.

References

External links

*Cadbury's Flak

{{Mondelez Products introduced in 1920 British confectionery Cadbury brands Chocolate bars Mondelez International brands