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Fry's Chocolate Cream
It was on sale before the first telephone call. Fry's Chocolate Cream is the oldest chocolate bar brand in the world, and it has barely changed shape since 1875.
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Fry's Chocolate Cream is a bar of plain chocolate with a soft fondant cream centre. It was launched in 1866 by J. S. Fry and Sons of Bristol, and it is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand.
The first filled bar
Fry's had already made history in 1847, when it produced the first moulded, solid chocolate bar for eating. Its Cream Stick followed in 1853, probably inspired by French chocolates filled with fondant, and it was the first industrially made, affordable chocolate bar. Fry's Chocolate Cream, launched in 1866, is its direct descendant, and it was the first mass produced combination bar, meaning chocolate combined with another filling.
In 1875 the bar was remoulded into the shape it still has today. At its peak, production passed half a million bars a day, and the foil wrapper and label appeared in 1925.
Flavours
The original is a plain fondant centre in plain chocolate. Peppermint Cream and Orange Cream followed. The Orange Cream was discontinued in 2015 and relaunched in 2018.
The Big Fry
In the 1960s, the bar was advertised on British television by the model George Lazenby, who became famous as the Big Fry man. The adverts ran against Cadbury's Milk Tray Man, and the role caught the attention of the James Bond producers. Lazenby went on to play Bond in 1969.
Rations for bomber crews
During the Second World War, crews in the RAF's Bomber Command were regularly given Fry's Chocolate Creams before their missions.
No longer dairy free
For most of its life, Fry's Chocolate Cream contained no milk, which made it an option for people avoiding dairy. That changed in 2022, when the recipe was altered and skimmed milk powder was added. If you avoid milk, check the label carefully: see milk in sweets.
From Bristol to Cadbury
Fry's merged with Cadbury in 1919, and its chocolate was made for decades at the Somerdale factory near Bristol, which closed in 2011: see the Somerdale factory promise. Fry's Chocolate Cream is now made by Cadbury, which is owned by Mondelez International. For the family behind it, see Joseph Fry and the first chocolate bar.
Citable formats
For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
What is the oldest chocolate bar in the world?
Fry's Chocolate Cream, launched in 1866, is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand, and the first mass produced chocolate bar with a filling.
Is Fry's Chocolate Cream dairy free?
Not any more. For most of its history the recipe contained no milk, but in 2022 skimmed milk powder was added.
Who advertised Fry's Chocolate Cream?
In the 1960s the model George Lazenby became famous as the Big Fry man in the television adverts, which helped bring him to the attention of the James Bond producers.
Sources
- Fry's Chocolate Cream, Wikipedia
- J. S. Fry and Sons, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- The people behind the sweetsJoseph Fry and the first chocolate barJoseph Fry, a Bristol Quaker, began making chocolate around 1759. In 1847 his family firm made what is often called the first chocolate bar.
- Questions people askWhat is the oldest chocolate bar in the UK?Fry's Chocolate Cream, from 1866, is the oldest chocolate bar brand still sold. Fry's also made what is often called the first bar, in 1847.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesThe Somerdale factory promiseKraft said it believed it could save Cadbury's Somerdale factory. A week after taking over, it said it would close. The Takeover Panel criticised it.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesHow Cadbury was sold to KraftIn 2010 the American food giant Kraft bought Cadbury for £11.5bn after a hostile bid. How a British institution was sold, and why it still stings.
- Sweet by sweetTurkish delightTurkish delight, or lokum, is a gel of starch and sugar. Its history runs from Istanbul to Narnia and Fry's 1914 bar. What is in it now, and diet points.
- British heritage sweetsOld fashioned sweets: the A to ZAn A to Z of old fashioned British sweets, from acid drops and aniseed balls to Wham bars and yellowman, with a line on each and a link to its full story.