Clarnico Mint Creams were, for the best part of a century, as familiar in British sweet shops as anything Cadbury or Rowntree's made — yet the company behind them has almost entirely vanished from public memory.
Clarke, Nickolls & Coombs
The name Clarnico is simply a squeeze of its founders' surnames: Clarke, Nickolls & Coombs, a confectionery firm established in 1872 at Hackney Wick in east London. By the early twentieth century it had grown into one of the largest sweet manufacturers in Britain, with a factory complex employing thousands and exporting across the Commonwealth. Its most famous lines were Clarnico Mint Creams — a soft peppermint fondant centre dipped in dark chocolate — and Clarnico Eclairs, a chewy toffee sweet unrelated to the pastry of the same name.
A household name that quietly disappeared
- 1872 — company founded in Hackney Wick, London.
- Early 1900s — becomes one of the UK's largest confectionery exporters, alongside Fry's, Rowntree's and Cadbury.
- 1960s — merges with Trebor to form Trebor Sharps.
- Later — absorbed into Trebor Bassett, then Cadbury, as the parent brand consolidated and the standalone Clarnico name faded from packaging.
Why mint creams still matter
Chocolate mint creams as a category never went away — they remain one of the enduring styles of British boxed chocolate and sit alongside other classic retro sweets that outlived the companies that first made them famous. Clarnico's version, with its dark chocolate shell and smooth fondant centre, set the template that most supermarket mint creams still follow today.
Frequently asked questions
What does Clarnico stand for?
Clarnico is a contraction of Clarke, Nickolls & Coombs, the London confectionery company that made the mint creams from 1872 onwards.
What are Clarnico Mint Creams?
Clarnico Mint Creams are a soft peppermint fondant centre coated in dark chocolate, one of the company's flagship products alongside Clarnico Eclairs.
What happened to Clarnico?
Clarke, Nickolls & Coombs merged with Trebor in the 1960s to form Trebor Sharps, which was later absorbed into Trebor Bassett and then Cadbury, and the Clarnico name gradually disappeared from shelves.