Facts About Flakes

My first point about the "99 Flake" is simple, it is nothing to do with them costing 99p. Some traders in the past may have sold them for 99p to go with the name but Cadburys did not invent a RRP and thus traders can sell them for a price they seem worthy depending on amount of ice cream. In modern society with prices of Milk and sugar rising selling a "99 Cone" for 99p is nearly impossible, especially if the traders want to earn a living. 

A 99 Flake ice cream, or more commonly a 99, is an ice cream cone, usually made with Soft Serve ice cream rather than scooped ice cream, into which a Flake bar has been inserted, typically at an acute angle to the cone. The ice cream is usually vanilla flavoured. They are traditionally sold by Ice Cream Vans and Parlours. Variations include a 99 with two flakes - often referred to as a double 99 or "bunny's ears" - and a 99 with Strawberry or Raspberry topping sauce, sometimes known as Monkey's Blood.

HISTORY

 The Flake chocolate bar itself was developed in 1920. An employee of Cadburys noted that when the excess from the moulds used to create other chocolate bars was drained off, it fell off in a stream and created folded chocolate with flaking properties In 1930, Cadbury started producing a smaller version of the standard Flake bar especially for Ice Cream cones. These were marketed under the name 99 Flake and sold loose in boxes rather than individually wrapped like the traditional Flake. 

The origins of the name are uncertain. One claim is that the '99' was coined in Portobello, Scotland, in 1922, by the Arcari family, Rudi Arcari's father Stephen came up with the idea not long after opening the shop in 1922. He would break a large 'Flake" in half and stick it in an ice cream. A cadbury's rep asked Stephen if he could take this idea to his bosses at Cadbury's to which Stephen had no problem because in those days copyright was not something anyone ever considered. The rep asked Stephen what he called it and he gave it the name simply because the shop was sited at 99 Portobello High Street. The idea spread locally, then further afield.

There are other theories as to where the name came from but nothing is yet certain as many tried to claim the invention of the name. But even with that little mystery we can be sure that an Ice Cream is just not the same without a flake. 

Of course companies can't help but try to beat others by inventing the same product for cheaper. The same has been done by a company I am choosing to keep anonymous. Selling their version of "Flakes" to Ice Cream Traders via a blue or pink box. But, although cheaper than the real thing, they are nowhere near as good. A simple fact remains... You cant fake a flake!