Yorkie (chocolate bar)

New packaging with the current Yorkie logo used since c.2011
The previous Yorkie packaging with the 'Not for Girls' slogan
A Yorkie bar

Yorkie is a chocolate bar made by Nestlé.[1] It was originally made by Rowntree's of York, hence the name.

History

In 1976, Eric Nicoli, of Yorkshire, spotted a gap in the confectionery market and used the cocoa from Rowntree's favourable futures market position to launch Yorkie. Production was at York and Norwich (until 1994).

The Yorkie bar, a chunkier alternative to Cadbury's Dairy Milk, was aimed at men. In the 1980s for example, toy lorries with the Yorkie bar logo were manufactured by Corgi, and television advertisements for the Yorkie bar featured truck drivers. In 2001, the advertisement campaign made this more explicit with the slogan and wrapper tagline It's not for girls, which caused controversy. Special versions for use in Ministry of Defence ration packs read It's not for civvies.[2] In 2006 a special edition that was for girls was sold, wrapped in pink. Aside from the original milk chocolate bar, several variants are available, such as "raisin and biscuit" flavour, "honeycomb" flavour, and Yorkie Ice Cream.

For a time, trains arriving at York railway station would pass a billboard which read "Welcome to" and then a picture of a Yorkie bar, with the end bitten off, so it read "Welcome to York" (and beneath it, the slogan "Where the men are hunky and the chocolate's chunky").

Size changes

Yorkie was originally composed of six chunks of chocolate, with each chunk having a single letter marked Y-O-R-K-I-E,[3] weighing 2oz or 58g.[4] More recently, in an effort to reduce costs, the number of chunks has been reduced to five with "Yorkie" moulded into each chunk. The weight of the bar has varied over the years. In 2002, Yorkie bars were 70 grams. This had been reduced to 64.5 grams by 2010, and was reduced further to 61 grams in 2011 and then 55 grams later that year. Yorkie King size bars have also reduced in size.[5] In 2011, standard Yorkie bars became available in 3 packs and the 'Not for Girls' slogan was dropped around that time. but however it is still occasionally used.

The Yorkie was shrunk again in November 2014 to 46g.

In January 2015, UK, Raisin & Biscuit Yorkies are now 44g.

Flavours

A Raisin & Biscuit Yorkie split

Other information

Yorkie sponsored the Stealth roller coaster at Thorpe Park.[9]

The title to the Pet Shop Boys song "The Truck Driver And His Mate" - b-side to the single Before (song) - was inspired by the Yorkie Bar's catchphrase.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Yorkie". http://www.nestle.co.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxk4YFs3jLw[]
  3. ↑ "Original Yorkie Advert". YouTube. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  4. ↑ http://www.ayrshirehistory.com/sweetie_papers/rowntrees_yorkie.jpg
  5. ↑ It may not be for girls, but Yorkie no longer man-sized - Irish, Business - Independent.ie
  6. ↑ "Nestle Yorkie Original". Taquitos.net. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  7. ↑ "Nestle Yorkie Honeycomb". Taquitos.net. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Yorkie Blue Ice". taquitos.net. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Case Studies | Merlin Sponsorship – Yorkie Stealth". merlinsponsorship.com. Retrieved 25 December 2012.

External links