Crunchie

Crunchie is a chocolate-confectionery brand associated with Cadbury and best known for a centre made from honeycomb toffee, also called cinder toffee, covered in milk chocolate. The product originated in the United Kingdom and was launched in 1929 by J. S. Fry & Sons, a historic British confectionery company that later became part of the Cadbury business. Although the brand is British in origin, Crunchie is sold in a number of international markets, with local availability, formats and variants differing by country. The defining product experience is the contrast between the crisp, aerated honeycomb centre and the smoother chocolate coating. This texture has shaped both the brand's name and its long-running communications. Crunchie is generally sold as an individually wrapped bar, but the range has also included smaller snack portions, larger formats and multipacks. The product has been adapted into other confectionery and dessert formats, including ice cream bars and cheesecake products containing pieces or nuggets of honeycomb. Crunchie's history includes several limited editions and related products. A lemonade-flavoured bar appeared in Britain in the late 1990s, while a champagne-flavoured edition was introduced for New Year's Eve 1999. In 2000, Cadbury and Britvic jointly released Crunchie Tango, a short-lived sister product incorporating Tango orange flavouring. Crunchie Blast, introduced in 2006, combined honeycomb with popping candy; although the bar was discontinued, a similarly named ice-cream product later appeared in the British and Irish markets. Crunchie Rocks, launched in 2010, combined chocolate, cornflakes and Crunchie pieces. Regional experimentation has also included a white-chocolate version sold in South Africa. Manufacturing requires particular care because the honeycomb centre is brittle and porous. The toffee is made in large slabs and cut into portions using a focused oil jet, which avoids the fragmentation caused by a conventional blade and the dissolving effect that water would have on the material. In Canada, rotary saws have been used for cutting. The portions are then coated in chocolate, cooled and packaged. Production in England continued at Cadbury's Somerdale plant in Keynsham until September 2010, when manufacture moved to Cadbury's facility at Skarbimierz-Osiedle in Poland. Advertising has been central to Crunchie's identity. In Britain and Ireland, the brand has been associated since the 1980s with the slogan “Get that Friday feeling,” positioning the bar as a small reward connected with the anticipation and enjoyment of the weekend. Earlier British advertising used “Crunchie makes exciting biting.” A notable 1991 campaign used The Pointer Sisters' song “I'm So Excited” in animated commercials produced by Aardman Animations; the campaign continued in various forms until 2008. In Australia and New Zealand, the “Crunchie Train Robbery” commercial became a particularly durable piece of confectionery advertising, running in substantially unchanged form for more than two decades from the late 1970s and receiving advertising awards. The brand remains an active Cadbury offering. Its core proposition continues to rely on the recognisable honeycomb-and-chocolate combination, while seasonal editions, dessert extensions, multipacks and packaging changes provide ways to refresh the product. In 2025, Mondelēz International and Tesco began a trial of revised packaging for Cadbury Crunchie four-bar multipacks in the United Kingdom. The trial was described as reducing the amount of outer plastic by 60 percent per pack and was planned to cover approximately 1.8 million multipacks sold through Tesco stores until early 2026.

Crunchie emerged from the British confectionery industry in 1929, when J. S. Fry & Sons launched a chocolate bar containing a honeycomb or cinder-toffee centre. The product belongs to a broader family of honeycomb confectionery, and a similar Australian product, Violet Crumble, had already been invented in 1913. Crunchie's enduring identity nevertheless developed around its own name, chocolate coating, advertising and distribution through the Cadbury portfolio. The bar's basic construction has remained consistent: an aerated honeycomb toffee core is portioned and covered with chocolate. This formulation gives the product its characteristic brittle, porous bite and makes manufacturing more technically demanding than producing a solid chocolate bar. The honeycomb is made in large slabs and cut into individual pieces. A focused jet of oil has been used to make clean cuts without shattering the toffee, while rotary saws have been used in Canada. After cutting, the centres are enrobed in chocolate, cooled and wrapped. Crunchie developed into a broadly distributed product in the United Kingdom and later became available in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and other markets. Pack sizes have ranged from small snack portions to larger or “king size” formats, with the standard bar commonly presented as a single-serving rectangular piece. International distribution has not always been uniform; some products have also appeared through grey imports in markets where official availability was limited. The brand expanded beyond its original bar through flavour experiments and related products. Britain saw a lemonade-flavoured edition in the late 1990s and a champagne-flavoured bar for New Year's Eve 1999. In 2000, Cadbury and Britvic collaborated on Crunchie Tango, which used Tango orange flavouring. Crunchie Blast followed in 2006 with popping candy inside the bar. The bar was discontinued, but the Crunchie Blast name was subsequently used for a honeycomb ice cream product covered in milk chocolate and shaped similarly to a Magnum-style ice cream bar. Crunchie Rocks, introduced in 2010, combined chocolate, cornflakes and Crunchie pieces. Regional products have included Crunchie ice cream, cheesecake products and a white-chocolate bar formerly sold in South Africa. Manufacturing geography changed significantly in 2010. Until September of that year, Crunchie was produced in England at the Somerdale plant in Keynsham. Production then transferred to Cadbury's facility in Skarbimierz-Osiedle, Poland. The move formed part of the industrial history of a brand that had originated in the British confectionery sector but was by then manufactured within a broader international production network. Advertising has been one of Crunchie's most visible cultural contributions. British advertising before the 1980s used the line “Crunchie makes exciting biting.” From the 1980s onward, “Get that Friday feeling” became the principal British and Irish association, linking the product with anticipation of the weekend. In 1991, Cadbury introduced animated commercials using The Pointer Sisters' “I'm So Excited.” The campaign, produced by Aardman Animations, remained in use until 2008 and became one of the brand's longest-running advertising platforms. Australia and New Zealand developed their own distinctive advertising history through the “Crunchie Train Robbery” commercial, which ran in largely unchanged form for more than 20 years from the late 1970s and won multiple awards. Crunchie continues as an active Cadbury brand. Its current relevance rests on a stable core product, broad recognition and the ability to extend honeycomb into ice cream, desserts, limited editions and sharing formats. A 2025 packaging trial with Tesco in the United Kingdom introduced reduced-outer-plastic packaging for four-bar multipacks, indicating an effort to update the retail presentation while retaining the established product identity.

• 2025

  Reduced-plastic multipack packaging trial

  [1]Crunchieen.wikipedia.org

  Mondelēz International and Tesco begin a United Kingdom trial of revised four-bar Crunchie multipack packaging, described as reducing outer plastic by 60 percent per pack.

• 2010

  Crunchie production transfers to Poland

  [1]Crunchieen.wikipedia.org

  Manufacturing moves from the Somerdale plant in Keynsham, England, to Skarbimierz-Osiedle in Poland.

• 2010

  Crunchie Rocks launches

  [1]Crunchieen.wikipedia.org

  Cadbury launches Crunchie Rocks, combining chocolate, cornflakes and Crunchie pieces.

• 2006

  Crunchie Blast launches

  [1]Crunchieen.wikipedia.org

  Cadbury introduces a Crunchie bar containing popping candy. The bar is later discontinued, while the name is retained for a related ice-cream product.

• 2000

  Crunchie Tango is introduced

  [1]Crunchieen.wikipedia.org

  Cadbury and Britvic release Crunchie Tango, a sister product featuring Tango orange flavouring.

• 1991

  Animated “I'm So Excited” advertising campaign begins

  [1]Crunchieen.wikipedia.org

  Cadbury introduces an animated Crunchie campaign using The Pointer Sisters' song “I'm So Excited,” with production by Aardman Animations.

• 1929

  Crunchie is launched

  [1]Crunchieen.wikipedia.org

  J. S. Fry & Sons launches Crunchie in the United Kingdom as a chocolate bar with a honeycomb-toffee centre.

An accessible, impulse-oriented chocolate bar distinguished by the sensory contrast of crisp honeycomb toffee and milk chocolate. Its advertising traditionally emphasizes excitement, indulgence, texture and the Friday/weekend reward occasion.

• Chocolate bar · 1929

  Crunchie

  The core Crunchie product is a rectangular chocolate bar with a crisp, porous honeycomb or cinder-toffee centre covered in milk chocolate. It is sold in individual portions and a range of pack sizes, from snack formats to larger bars. The contrast between the brittle centre and chocolate coating is the product's central sensory characteristic.

• Flavoured chocolate bar · 2000

  Crunchie Tango

  Crunchie Tango was a short-lived sister bar jointly produced by Cadbury and Britvic. It incorporated Tango orange flavouring into the Crunchie concept and represented a cross-brand extension between confectionery and soft-drink flavouring.

• Chocolate bar · 2006

  Crunchie Blast

  Crunchie Blast added popping candy to the honeycomb-and-chocolate format. The bar was introduced in 2006 but was later discontinued. The Crunchie Blast name subsequently appeared on an ice-cream product rather than continuing as the original bar.

• Ice cream

  Crunchie Blast ice cream

  The ice-cream version of Crunchie Blast combines honeycomb ice cream and popping candy with a milk-chocolate coating. It has been sold by Cadbury in the United Kingdom and Ireland and uses the brand's textural contrast in a frozen-dessert format.

• Chocolate confectionery · 2010

  Crunchie Rocks

  Crunchie Rocks is a chocolate-based product made with cornflakes and Crunchie pieces. It extends the brand from a single coated bar into a more textured, cluster-like confectionery format.

• Dessert products

  Crunchie ice cream and desserts

  The Crunchie name has also been applied to ice cream bars and cheesecake products in selected markets. These products generally contain nuggets or pieces of the brand's honeycomb centre, transferring the signature texture into chilled or dessert applications.

• 1991I'm So Excited

  United Kingdom · Ireland

  Cadbury launched animated Crunchie commercials built around The Pointer Sisters' song “I'm So Excited.” The advertisements were produced by Aardman Animations and used energetic animation to dramatize the bar's enjoyment and texture.

  Outcome. The campaign continued to be used until 2008 and became one of the longest-running advertising campaigns associated with Crunchie.

  Source
• 1980Get that Friday feeling

  United Kingdom · Ireland

  Crunchie advertising in Britain and Ireland adopted the “Get that Friday feeling” slogan, linking the product to the anticipation of the weekend and an informal reward occasion.

  Outcome. The slogan became a long-term positioning device for the brand in its principal home markets.

  Source
• 1970Crunchie Train Robbery

  Australia · New Zealand

  The “Crunchie Train Robbery” television advertisement became a signature campaign in Australia and New Zealand. It ran in substantially unchanged form for more than 20 years from the late 1970s and received multiple advertising awards.

  Outcome. The campaign became one of the longest-running television advertisements associated with a confectionery brand in New Zealand and established a durable regional identity for Crunchie.

  Source

• 2025

  Trial of reduced-plastic multipack packagingStrategy

  Background

  Mondelēz International and Tesco tested a packaging change for Cadbury Crunchie four-bar multipacks in the United Kingdom.

  Action taken

  The trial used revised packaging that was described as reducing outer plastic by 60 percent per pack and applying to approximately 1.8 million multipacks.

  Aftermath

  The trial was planned to run in Tesco stores until early 2026; broader rollout is not established by the supplied material.

  Source

• 2010

  Transfer of Crunchie manufacturing to PolandOther

  Background

  Crunchie had previously been manufactured at Cadbury's Somerdale plant in Keynsham, England.

  Action taken

  Production was transferred to Cadbury's facility at Skarbimierz-Osiedle in Poland.

  Aftermath

  Crunchie continued as an active international product, but its principal manufacturing location moved from England to Poland.

  Source

• 2006

  Launch of Crunchie BlastProduct launch

  Background

  Cadbury explored a novelty variation of the established honeycomb bar by adding popping candy to the product.

  Action taken

  The company introduced Crunchie Blast as a bar containing popping candy inside the chocolate-and-honeycomb format.

  Aftermath

  The bar was discontinued after a short period, although a related Crunchie Blast ice cream was later sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

  Source

1. 1Crunchieen.wikipedia.org