History of chocolate bars and sweets in the 1970s in UK and USA, including a list of 20 popular confectionery first introduced in the 1970s, such as Double Decker, Curly Wurly, Lion, Starbar in the UK or Whatchamacallit bar in the USA.
Ah Yes, now you’re talking. As a kid who became a teenager by the end of the decade, this was my time to enjoy a childhood of chocolate. And now get to write about it nearly 40 years later. So, here are my personal memories of 1970s chocolate bars.
One of my favourite snack bars was a Marathon. But of course, in the 1970’s Marathon hadn’t yet become Snickers. Our family household treat after Sunday lunch was a Marathon or a Mars bar. Usually we ate it watching American serials like Space 1999 or the Six Million Dollar man. Sometimes the bar would be cut into two pieces and my brother and I would argue as to who had been given the bigger piece. That was the Six Million Dollar question – not whether Steve Austin would save the day.
I’ve always had fond memories of 1970s chocolate bars and everything that went with it! As ever I’d love to know what you think and if you were, like me brought up in the 70s, what was your favourite chocolate snack bar? Leave me a comment in the section below – I read them all! As for me, I’m off to get myself another Bounty (this time the 2024’s version…)
TRADITIONAL SWEETS & CHOCOLATE HISTORY
- Victorian Traditional Sweets History >>
- History of Traditional Sweets in 1920s >>
- History of Traditional Sweets in 1940s >>
1. Texan Chocolate Bar (1973 – UK)
My personal favourite chocolate bar – perhaps influenced by the tv adverts – was Rowntree Mackintosh – later Nestle’s Texan chocolate bar.
‘Sure is a mighty chew’ was the catch line for this chewy nougat and toffee bar which was briefly back on the shelves in 2005, having been previously discontinued in the 1980s. The cartoon tv ads usually featured a US cowboy who spoke the famous line with a Clint Eastwood mock accent.
Often he’d be tied to a cactus plant out in the desert surrounded by Mexican bandits. ‘What is your last request?’ the captain of the firing range would ask before giving the order to shoot. Cue, some hours later, to a sunset, with the bandits by now fast asleep and the cool cowboy still chewing his Texan bar. Cactus plant uprooted, he’d then walk equally slowly into the distance.
Oh yes, a mighty chew indeed and fond memories although it goes without saying that we all ate out Texan bars far quicker than the cool cowboy.
2. Aztec Snack Bar
What else did my decimal currency childhood pocket money go on? Anyone up for an Aztec? This Cadbury’s bar was a mix of chocolate, nougat and caramel and although it was first introduced in 1967 it become more popular in 1970s. It didn’t survive intact once I’d finished with a bar – but the public’s taste must have been altogether more discerning because as a brand Atzec didn’t make it to the end of the decade.
3. Banjo Snack Bar (1970 – UK)
Does anyone remember another bar sadly no longer with us by the name of Banjo? With orange lettering and a sort of purple wrapper, Banjo was made by Mars. Perhaps, it can best be described as a cousin of Twix, which was also made by Mars and was always in the direct competition for customers.
The Banjo, similarly to the Twix was a two-finger milk chocolate bar, which had two flavours. Roast Nut in a blue and yellow wrapper and Coconut flavour in a pink wrapper. I think Banjo was quite innovative type of chocolate (Who wouldn’t want to have two chocolates in one, right?) but it sadly didn’t survive the end of 1980s and it was never brought back.
MORE CHOCOLATE HISTORY
- Wartime Sweets & Chocolates History >>
- History of Sweets & Chocolates in the 1950s >>
- History of chocolates in 1980s >
4. Rumba Bar (1975 – UK)
A bar that was marketed for adults was Cadbury’s Rumba. This two fingered fudge and rum mix came in a dark brown wrapper and red lettering and sold for 5 p. Did ‘you succumba to Rumba?’ Or maybe you just stuck with Twix instead? Sadly, Rumba didn’t survive to the present days and has long been discontinued.
5. Double Decker (1976 – UK)
Double Decker is manufactured by Cadbury, a British chocolate company that is owned by Mondelez International. The bar has a layers of milk chocolate, nougat, and crisp, crunchy cereals. At one stage it even contained raisins but marketing surveys indicated that consumers wanted to get their raisins elsewhere and so they were dropped.
It was first introduced in the UK in 1976 and each bar contains 250 calories, 9 grams of fat, 4.7 grams of saturated fat, 30 grams of sugar, and 0.10 grams of salt.
Cadburys named the chocolate bar after the iconic red British Double Decker buses. However, the bar itself was never red, and currently, in the UK has a blue overlay on orange colouring.
6. Chomp (1979 – UK)
Chomp is a milk chocolate bar with soft caramel filling, which was introduced by Cadbury in the United Kingdom in 1979. Chomp bars are relatively small, typically weighing about 21.5 grams, and have only 110 calories. Because of that they were sold at lower price point and made them popular with children and budget-conscious consumers.
7. Curly Wurly (1970 – UK)
I always thought Curly Wurly is a such a fun name for a chocolate bar! Curly Wurly is manufactured by Cadbury (British multinational confectionery company) and it’s basically a chewy caramel inside covered in milk chocolate.
Curly Wurly was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1970 and was marketed as a fun and playful snack that was perfect for kids. The bar’s unique shape, which resembles three flattened, intertwined serpentine strings, was designed by David John Parfitt, a research confectioner based at the Cadbury Bournville factory.
If Texan had the coolest ads, then the most cringe worthy tv campaign for me, was that for Curly Wurlys. Remember a grown up Terry Scott dressed in school boy short trousers speaking in an equally silly high pitched voice? Was he pretending to be Just William? Curly Wurly may have been marketed as ‘out chewing them all’ – but the marketing budget would have been better spent on filling in the gaps in long and thin chocolate bars themselves.
MORE SWEETS HISTORY
- The story behind traditional Spanish churros >>
- Traditional Boiled Sweets History >>
- The history of a traditional toffee sweets >>
- The story of traditional candy cane >>
8. Starbar (1976 – UK)
Starbar was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1976 by Cadbury and was marketed as a satisfying snack that was perfect to pick up on the go. The bar has a chunky layer of roasted peanuts and caramel which is covered in milk chocolate.
The bar was later introduced in other countries around the world, such as Canada and Germany, where it is known by different names, such as Wunderbar.
The current slogan for Starbar is “Get Some Nuts!” However, Starbar has had several different slogans over the years, including “The Munchiest Bar Ever!”, “Starbar – the bar with peanut power”, and “Starbar – go nuts with Cadbury”.
9. Yorkie (1976 – UK)
Yorkie bar is manufactured by Nestle Chocolates, a Swiss multinational food and beverage company. The bar was originally marketed as a “man’s chocolate” when it was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1976 by Rowntree’s, a British confectionery company that was later acquired by Nestle.
Yorkie bar was created by Eric Nicoli, who noticed a gap in the market for a chocolate bar that was marketed specifically towards men. The name “Yorkie” was chosen because the bar was originally made at the Rowntree’s factory in York, England. Yorkie bar has a distinctive yellow packaging and it also has other flavours, such as Yorkie Raisin and Biscuit, Yorkie Nut or Yorkie Honeycomb.
10. Lion (1976 – UK)
Lion was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1976 by Rowntree’s, a British confectionery company that was later acquired by Nestle. The bar was created as a snack that was designed for consumers “roaring hunger” and was marketed with the slogan “A Lion’s appetite”. The name “Lion” was chosen to reflect the bar’s association with strength and power.
The Lion bar consists of a crispy wafer filled with caramel and cereal, and is covered in a layer of milk chocolate.
11. Reese’s Pieces (1978 – USA)
Reese’s Pieces were first introduced by The Hershey Company in 1978 as a spin-off of their iconic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. They were initially launched as a competitor to M&M’s, which had gained popularity in the candy-coated chocolate market.
Reese’s Pieces are bite-sized candies with crunchy candy shell filled with creamy peanut butter. The candy shells come in various colours, including orange, yellow, and brown, although the peanut butter filling is always the same.
Reese’s Pieces gained widespread recognition and popularity after being prominently featured in the 1982 film “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” In the movie, the character E.T. is lured by a trail of Reese’s Pieces, which made the chocolates into an instant hit.
A standard serving of Reese’s Pieces (about 51 pieces) contains approximately 200 calories, making them a relatively high-calorie treat. They are also a good source of protein and fiber, thanks to the peanut butter filling, so that’s my excuse for eating them!
12. Whatchamacallit (1978 – USA)
Oh my goodness, what a fab name! Whatchamacallit was first introduced in 1978 by the Hershey Company and has been a popular chocolate bar ever since (and you can even buy it in the UK).
The original Whatchamacallit candy bar was made with a peanut butter crisp center that was coated in a thin layer of chocolate, which was later changed to include caramel, peanut-flavored crisps, and a chocolate coating.
The Whatchamacallit candy bar name was chosen through a contest held by the Hershey Company. The contest was open to the public in the late 1970s, and the winning name was chosen from over 40,000 entries. The name “Whatchamacallit” was suggested by a woman from California, who received a cash prize for her winning entry. The name was chosen because it was catchy and easy to remember.
There were also lots of new sweets introduced in the 1970s and since there are so many to name, here are my favourite ones:
- Gobstopper sweets (1976)
- Sour Patch Kids sweets (1970)
- Pop Rocks (1975)
- Blow Pop (1973)
- Ring Pop (1979)
- Jelly Belly (1976)
- Bottle Caps (1972)
- Zotz Candy (1970)
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Magdalena
This blog post was originally written on 10 September 2016 and last updated on 21 February 2024
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