Behind two of the most recognisable wrappers in British confectionery — the foil-wrapped Tea Cake and the striped Caramel Wafer — is a single family bakery in Lanarkshire that has turned down takeover interest for over a century.
1890: a bakery in Uddingston
Thomas Tunnock founded the business as a baker's shop in Uddingston, near Glasgow, in 1890. It grew from there into a full confectionery manufacturer while staying in family hands the entire way, which is unusual for a company of Tunnock's size and age in the UK.
The Caramel Wafer and the Tea Cake
The Caramel Wafer layers wafer and caramel into a bar dipped in chocolate. The Tea Cake, launched in 1956, is a dome of marshmallow on a biscuit base, coated in chocolate and wrapped in foil that has barely changed in almost seventy years. Between them, the two products became fixtures of the biscuit tin well beyond Scotland.
Staying independent
Tunnock's has remained family-run for well over a century, notably under Sir Boyd Tunnock, grandson of the founder, resisting the acquisition interest that swallowed up many comparable regional manufacturers elsewhere in the UK. The company is still headquartered in Uddingston.
A genuine piece of Scottish popular culture
Giant dancing Tea Cakes featured in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the brand is regularly cited alongside Irn-Bru as shorthand for Scottish food culture — not bad for a product that has barely changed its formula since the 1950s. Our chocolate collection includes chocolate-coated classics in the same tradition.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Tunnock's?
Founded in 1890 by Thomas Tunnock in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, and still family-run today.
When was the Tea Cake invented?
1956 — a marshmallow dome on a biscuit base, chocolate-coated, largely unchanged since.
Why did it appear at the Commonwealth Games?
Giant dancing Tea Cakes featured in the 2014 Glasgow opening ceremony, reflecting the brand's status in Scottish culture.