ABOUT ICE CREAM
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about
ice cream and more...
Types of
ice cream and ices
Why is a
'99' called a '99' or a ‘99’ flake?
’99’ is a trademark of Cadbury Limited and it is used to describe a scoop or swirl of soft serve ice cream with a Cadbury chocolate Flake in it.
Unfortunately, the origin of the name for ’99’ ice creams is unknown. We have been unable to get confirmation from Cadbury’s
We do, however, have a variety of possible explanations:
- The King of Italy had a personal guard of 99 elite soldiers and the flake was said to represent one of these soldiers. There is no evidence that this guard ever existed
- 99 is top of the house in bingo
- 99 in Italian means ‘top class’
- It is called a 99 because it was number 99 on the product list
- Other manufacturers do make chocolate sticks, but only ice creams containing Cadbury Flakes, made by Cadbury’s, are officially ’99’s
Came from Parent Company Mondalez International who own Cadbury products:
The origin of the name 99 prompts similar levels of debate each year as many believe the treat first took its name because it used to cost 99p from ice cream vendors.
But Cadbury says the exact origins of the 99 have been somewhat lost over time and points to a reference connected to the Italian monarchy, where native Italian ice cream sellers named the ice cream style after a guard of 99 men that would protect royalty and subsequently anything decadent was nicknamed ‘a 99’.
Other theories involve a suggestion that it dates back to Scotland in 1922 when an ice cream shop opened at 99 Portobello High Street and the cone took its name from the shop’s address. While others believe the name honours Italian First World War conscripts, born in 1899, who had long feathers in their hats which resembled chocolate flakes.
By Robin Weir
Co-author of Ices – The Definitive Guide