Cadbury Flake 99 Multipack Box, 144 Individual Chocolate Bars for Ice Cream, Baking and Catering, 1.4 Kg (Packaging May Vary)

Product Information

News of the shortage has sparked panic on social media, with some users coming up with alternative toppings to replace the 99 Flake.

With summer nearing and lockdown restrictions lifting, ice cream trucks will be ready to serve ice cold treats to those enjoying the sunny outdoors. While Cadbury admits the invention of the 99 ice cream "has been lost in the mists of time", it does have evidence that County Durham-based Italians could be the creators of the 99. The possibilities were obvious if we could get a suitable line, both in shape and size and texture - and the most promising was Flake, which at that time only sold as a 2d line, and therefore had to be cut with a knife to reduce its size'. The chocolate flake may have reminded the ice cream sellers of the long dark feather cocked at an angle in the conscripts' Alpini Regiment hats.

As lockdown restrictions ease and the weather warms, the UK is facing a new challenge: a shortage of Cadbury 99 Flakes. We recommend that you always check the packaging for allergen advice and talk to your doctor if you need any further food allergy advice. The Flake emerged around 1920 when a clever worker at Cadbury's Bournville factory noticed that chocolate overflowing its moulds fell and set in appealing ripples.

But it points to one explanation that suggests the name takes inspiration from the former Italian monarchy after a Cadbury sales manager saw some ice cream makers - originally from Italy, but working in the UK - cutting chocolate fingers in half and adding them to cones. Extremely disappointed, now been individually wrapped, to make up or disguise the product, due to it been shrunk in size they werent full size to begin with. It may not be reproduced in any way whatsoever without Wm Morrisons Supermarkets Limited prior consent, nor without due acknowledgement.

Cadbury's were meant to have dropped Flake Girl in 2004, the BBC commenting that "her genuine enjoyment … seemed out of step in an age in which knowing irony and parody had become the norm".