Fox's Glacier Mints

Fox's Glacier Mints are clear, translucent peppermint boiled sweets, shaped like little blocks of ice and each wrapped in its own paper. They have been sold in Britain since 1918.

How they began

Walter Richard Fox, founder of Fox's Confectionery, had been making sweets as part of a partnership called Joyce and Fox, which ended in 1897. He carried on alone, and in 1914 his son Eric joined him. In 1918 Eric Fox created a new clear mint. It had a less than catchy first name, Acme Clear Mint Fingers, but in 1919, apparently on the advice of Eric's wife, it became Glacier Mints. From 1928 each mint was individually wrapped.

Peppy the polar bear

Since 1922 the mints have carried Peppy the polar bear, designed by Clarence Reginald Dalby, usually shown standing on top of a mint as if it were an iceberg.

Peppy has an unusual past. As part of an advertising campaign, Fox's commissioned a taxidermist to shoot and stuff a real polar bear for display. The stuffed bear went on show at public events for decades, until 1969, when Fox's was bought by Rowntree's and the bear was retired and replaced by a cartoon. It is the kind of stunt no sweet company would dream of today.

Glacier Fruits and more

Fox's added Glacier Fruits in 1956 and Glacier Dark in 2002. To mark the centenary in 2018, spearmint mints and a tropical fruit selection joined the range.

Who makes them now

Today the mints are made by Valeo Confectionery, the company behind Barratt sweets. See who owns the famous British sweet makers now.

Clear mints and cloudy mints

Glacier mints are clear because the boiled sugar sets as a smooth glass without forming crystals. Stir the same kind of mixture as it cools and you get something cloudy and crumbly instead, which is supposedly how Kendal Mint Cake was invented, when a batch of glacier mints went wrong in 1869: see Kendal Mint Cake.

For other British mints, see Uncle Joe's Mint Balls and mint imperials, and try our crisp white Mint Imperials.

Download as PDF