Flake is the chocolate bar built to fall apart — anyone who's eaten one over a sink knows it makes a mess almost on purpose. That's not a manufacturing flaw, it's the entire point of the product, and the story behind it goes back over a century.
An accident that became the recipe
Cadbury launched Flake in 1920. The story goes that it was discovered almost by accident at the Bournville factory: a worker noticed that excess chocolate running off the moulding machines, as it thinned and folded over itself, set into a light, ripple-layered strip rather than a solid block. Cadbury turned that folding process into the product itself — Flake is made by folding thin ribbons of chocolate back on themselves as they're deposited, which is exactly why it's full of air pockets and breaks into crumbly flakes rather than snapping cleanly like a solid bar.
"Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate"
Flake's advertising became as well-known as the bar. From the 1960s onward, Cadbury ran a long-running campaign built around the tagline "only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate", often featuring a woman eating a Flake in slow, deliberate close-up. The ads were some of the most recognisable — and most parodied — in UK chocolate advertising, and they cemented Flake's reputation as an indulgent, slightly messy treat rather than an everyday bar. Flake is also the bar behind the "99", the soft-serve ice cream with a Flake pushed into it, which has been a British seaside and ice cream van staple since the 1930s.
What we actually stock right now
We currently carry Cadbury Flake Chocolate Bar 4 Pack 80g, sold as a wholesale case of 20 x 4-packs, and Cadbury Flake Chocolate Bar 32g, sold as a case of 48 singles. Both are in stock and active on the site right now, so whether you need multipacks or singles for a tuck shop or vending line, both formats are available.
FAQ
Why is Cadbury Flake so crumbly?
Because of how it's made. Thin ribbons of chocolate are folded back on themselves as they're deposited, trapping air pockets and layers rather than setting as one solid block. That folded, layered structure is what makes it break into flakes instead of snapping cleanly.
What is a "99" ice cream?
It's a soft-serve ice cream cone with a Flake bar pushed into the top. It's been sold at British seaside resorts and from ice cream vans since the 1930s and remains one of Flake's most famous uses outside the wrapper.
Is Cadbury Flake in stock at Supreme Sweets?
Yes — we currently stock both the 4-pack multipack case and the 32g singles case, and both are in stock and available to order now.
How old is Cadbury Flake?
It was launched in 1920, making it over a century old, and its distinctive folded-layer method of production has stayed essentially the same since.