Long before 'novelty sweet' was a marketing category, someone decided the best way to celebrate something was to hand out a chocolate shaped, wrapped and banded to look exactly like a cigar. The format has outlasted the reason it was originally invented.
Built to imitate a real celebration ritual
Handing round real cigars to mark a birth, a promotion or a big win is an old tradition in parts of Europe, with the Netherlands' 'geboortesigaren', or birth cigars, a well-known example, traditionally given out when a baby was born. Chocolate cigars were made as a family-friendly, edible substitute for the real thing, wrapped in printed paper bands to complete the look.
The format is simple by design
A chocolate cigar is a moulded stick of chocolate, sometimes finished with a foil or paper wrap printed to resemble a cigar band and wrapper. There's no filling and no real complexity — just chocolate shaped for effect. That simplicity is a large part of why the format has survived largely unchanged for so long.
A retro sweet-shop staple that's mostly novelty now
Today, chocolate cigars sit in the novelty and retro sweets category rather than being tied to their original celebratory purpose. They're bought more for nostalgia and the joke of the shape than for marking any specific occasion, but the format itself hasn't really changed since it was first made to stand in for the real thing.
Find them in our retro sweets collection.
Frequently asked questions
What are chocolate cigars made of?
A moulded stick of chocolate, sometimes with a printed paper band, and no filling.
Why are chocolate cigars shaped like real cigars?
They were created as an edible substitute for the tradition of handing out real cigars to mark occasions such as a birth.
Are chocolate cigars still sold today?
Yes, mainly as a novelty and retro sweet bought for nostalgia rather than for a specific occasion.