Crunchie bars made by Fry's

[George 1978]

I was quite interested to read in the news that someone in Cambridgeshire had found a Crunchie wrapper from before the Decimalisation era of 1971, hence its 6d price on the wrapper. They mention that Fry's used to make them in those days, and I can see the resemblance with the coloured texture of Crunchie bars just like the Turkish Delight has. (I very much doubt that any crumbs had survived after all these years!)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y73p031zxo

I was wondering when Cadbury's actually took over from Fry's as the maker of Crunchie bars, and whether they were there a gap when neither made the product and so the chocolate bar was not made.

I know that they were being advertised on TV in 1976 where neither Fry's or Cadbury's were mentioned in the advert - just "Crunchie" - so was this from an "in-between" period? I have seen that advert many times without thinking about this. I always associate Crunchie advertising with "That Friday Feeling" and that Pointer Sisters' song in the late 1980s and 1990s.

This is the advert, seen during during the ad break a forgotten Reg Varney Sitcom (it wasn't On the Buses but something called 'Down The Gate) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIUzqbHq7_Q

The "heart" over the Crunchie logo on screen makes me think that Cadbury's had already taken over the brand by then.

[HG]

Interesting stuff George. According to Chat GPT Cadbury bought Frys in 1919 and rebranded Crunchie to Cadbury in the early 80s. I never knew Crunchie had ever been Frys branded.

[Richard1978]

Interesting stuff George. According to Chat GPT Cadbury bought Frys in 1919 and rebranded Crunchie to Cadbury in the early 80s. I never knew Crunchie had ever been Frys branded.

Same here, I never knew it was a Fry's brand!

[andrec]

Growing up in the 60s/70s I didn't take much notice of who made the chocolate bars I enjoyed, so can't say whether I ever saw a Fry's branded Crunchie, but I had just assumed that they had always been made by Cadbury.

[tracqua]

That’s a fascinating find! It’s incredible how old packaging can offer a glimpse into the history of a product. As for when Cadbury took over Crunchie from Fry’s, it seems there wasn’t a true gap in production—Cadbury had already owned Fry’s since 1919, but for a long time, Fry’s branding remained on certain products. By the mid-1970s, the shift towards Cadbury branding was more apparent, which would explain why the 1976 advert simply used "Crunchie" without explicitly mentioning either company.
Space Waves

[Heather74]

Taken from the Sweet Wrappers over the years thread

[Heather74]

Taken from the same thread Peppermint Crunchie also Fry's