Fry's Chocolate Cream is a

chocolate bar A chocolate bar (Commonwealth English) or candy bar (some dialects of American English) is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily brea ...

developed by J. S. Fry & Sons and currently manufactured by

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

. Launched in 1866, Fry's Chocolate Cream is the first mass-produced chocolate bar and is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand.The first ever chocolate bar suitable for widespread consumption having been created by J. S. Fry & Sons in 1747, in Union Street, Bristol, England. The original chocolate bar consisted of a plain

fondant Fondant is a mixture of sugar and water used as a confection, filling, or icing. Sometimes gelatin and glycerine are used as softeners or stabilizers. There are numerous varieties of fondant, with the most basic being poured fondant. Others in ...

centre enrobed in plain chocolate. Variants include Peppermint Cream, Orange Cream, Raspberry Cream and Strawberry Cream.

History

Fry's Chocolate Cream was first produced in 1866 and is considered the direct descendant of Fry's Cream Stick produced in 1853. The Cream Stick was the first industrialised and affordable chocolate bar. In 1875, Fry's Chocolate Cream was remoulded to the shape it still has today. During production, it once exceeded half a million units per day and the foil wrapping and label would appear in 1925. The Orange Cream and Peppermint Cream, followed by Fry's Five Centre, were introduced in 1934. In World War II, Bomber crews in

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

were regularly issued with Fry's Chocolate Creams before missions.

Products and branding

There are currently five variants of Fry's Cream: *Fry's Chocolate Cream *Fry's Peppermint Cream *Fry's Orange Cream (Discontinued 2015, relaunched 2018) *Fry's Raspberry Cream *Fry's Strawberry Cream (Relaunched 2020 Limited edition) Over the years, other variants existed: *Fry's Five Centre (orange, raspberry, lime, strawberry, and pineapple), produced from 1934 to 1992. Five Centre was also sold with a combination of orange, coffee, vanilla, lime, and raspberry centres. It is probable that other combinations were sold at one time or another; for example, one reproduction 1950s advert shows a blackcurrant flavoured segment in place of vanilla. The Five Centre bar was renamed Fruit Medley during the 1960s, but this was later reversed. *Fry's Strawberry Cream *Fry's Pineapple Cream An unsuccessful mid-1990s relaunch attempt also saw new variants available under the modernised "Fry's Spirit" branding for a while: *Fry's Spirit Berry Margarita *Fry's Spirit Piña Colada *Fry's Spirit Velvet Dream (cream liqueur) Cadbury also produced a solid milk chocolate bar called ''Five Boys'' using the Fry's trademark from 1902 until 1976. Cadbury produced milk and plain chocolate sandwich bars under the Fry's branding also. In 2021, Fry's launched a hot chocolate powder which can be blended with milk.

Lazenby commercials

In the 1960s, Fry's Chocolate Cream was advertised by model

George Lazenby George Robert Lazenby (; born 5 September 1939) is an Australian actor. He was the second actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service' ...

as 'The Big Fry' man, making him a celebrity in the UK. The commercials rivalled

Milk Tray Milk Tray is a brand of boxed chocolates currently manufactured by Cadbury. Introduced by Cadbury UK in 1915, it is one of the longest running brands in the confectioner's portfolio. Milk Tray is sold in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, N ...

which has been advertised by the 'Milk Tray Man'. Dyson Lowell, a casting director for

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

, saw the Fry commercials and contacted Bond producer

Harry Saltzman Herschel Saltzman (; – ), known as Harry Saltzman, was a Canadian theatre and film producer. He is best remembered for co-producing the first nine of the ''James Bond'' film series with Albert R. Broccoli. He lived most of his life in Den ...

in the belief Lazenby could be groomed for the role of 007. Lazenby later portrayed James Bond in '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', in 1969.

Location and ownership

The Fry's chocolate bar was first produced in Union Street, Bristol, England in 1866, where the family name had been associated with chocolate making since c. 1761. In 1923, Fry's (now Cadbury) chocolate factory moved to Somerdale Garden City, Keynsham, England. Following a 2010 takeover of Cadbury plc by Kraft Foods, the Somerdale factory was closed on 31 March 2011 and its machinery shipped to Warsaw, Poland. Then, after acquisition of Cadbury by Mondelez International production was relocated and Warsaw plant became part of Lotte Wedel.

References

External links