Wham Bars were a fixture of 1980s and 90s British sweet shop counters — a lightning-bolt-wrapped chew bar with a sherbet kick that made it stand out from ordinary toffee and chew bars, and it's still one of the most nostalgia-searched retro sweets around.
Barratt's sherbet-filled chew bar
The Wham Bar was made by Barratt, the same British confectioner behind other penny-sweet staples, and combined a chewy outer with a fizzy sherbet centre — a format that set it apart from straightforward chew bars like Chewits or standard toffee bars. Its bright, lightning-bolt branded wrapper made it instantly recognisable on the counter.
Part of a wider chew-bar era
Wham Bars arrived during a boom period for individually wrapped penny chews and bars in UK sweet shops, sitting alongside other Barratt and Swizzels lines as a cheap, distinctive treat aimed squarely at children buying with pocket money — which is a big part of why it's remembered so fondly now.
What we actually stock right now
We don't currently stock the Wham Bar itself. If it's the sherbet-filled chew format you're after, we do carry the closest thing on the market: Swizzels Refreshers Original Lemon Flavour Chew Bar 18g — Case of 60, Swizzels Refreshers Strawberry Flavour Chew Bar 18g — Case of 60, and Swizzels Refreshers Sour Apple Flavour Chew Bar 18g — Case of 60 — all genuinely in stock and all built around the same sherbet-in-a-chew idea as the Wham Bar.
FAQ
Do you sell Wham Bars?
No — we don't currently stock the Wham Bar. We carry Swizzels Refreshers Chew Bars instead, which use the same sherbet-filled chew format.
Who made the Wham Bar?
Barratt, a long-established British confectioner known for other penny-sweet classics of the same era.
What's inside a Wham Bar?
A chewy outer shell with a fizzy sherbet filling — the sherbet centre is what set it apart from plain chew bars.
What's the closest sweet you stock to a Wham Bar?
Swizzels Refreshers Chew Bars, available in Lemon, Strawberry and Sour Apple, all currently in stock as cases of 60.