Club (biscuit) facts for kids
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The Club biscuit is a popular treat covered in chocolate. It's sold in Ireland under the Jacob's brand and in the United Kingdom as McVitie's. It's known for having lots of chocolate!
Contents
How Club Biscuits Started
Jacob's, a company in Dublin, Ireland, first made the "Club Milk" biscuit. This was just before World War I began. It quickly became very popular across Ireland.
The first Club Milk biscuit was like a sandwich. It had two rectangular Marie biscuits with cocoa cream in the middle. Then, it was covered in a thick layer of milk chocolate. Each biscuit bar was wrapped in foil, then in an outer paper wrapper.
Where the Name "Club" Comes From
Jacob's used pictures of playing cards from the Club suit to advertise their new biscuit. This is why they called it "Club." It was a clever way to link the name to something familiar!
Club Biscuits in Great Britain
Club Milk biscuits started being sold in England, perhaps through trade with Liverpool. Jacob's even opened a factory in Liverpool in 1914 to make them there.
In 1970, the Jacob's companies in Ireland and Britain became separate. By then, Club biscuits were very popular in Great Britain. There were five different kinds available. The first one was Club Milk, made with milk chocolate. Then came Club Plain, which used plain chocolate.
New flavors were also created. Club Orange and Club Mint had special flavorings added to the cocoa cream. Club Fruit had raisins mixed into the cream. Later, Club Honeycomb was also introduced.
From the mid-1970s to the 1990s, Jacob's used a famous advertising song. The slogan was: "If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit, join our Club." Many people remember this catchy tune! In 2012, it was even voted one of the catchiest jingles ever.
Who Owns Club Biscuits Now?
Over the years, the ownership of Club biscuits changed a few times.
Changes by Danone
In the mid-1990s, a French company called Groupe Danone bought both the Irish and British Jacob's companies. They changed how the biscuit looked and its packaging. Instead of two biscuits with cream, it became one biscuit topped with cream. The thick real chocolate was replaced with a thinner chocolate-like coating.
The original milk and plain biscuits were stopped. The flavored ones were sold in new plastic wrappers.
Changes by United Biscuits
In 2004, Danone sold the Jacob's brand to a British company called United Biscuits. This company brought back some of the old Club biscuit features. They returned to the two-layer packaging, with an inner foil wrapper and an outer paper wrapper. However, they didn't bring back the two-biscuit structure.
In Ireland, a different company, Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, bought the Irish part of Jacob's. This led to some disagreements over using the Jacob's brand name.
From 2013, United Biscuits started calling the product "McVitie's Club" in the UK. They decided to use the Jacob's brand for savory (salty) biscuits and McVitie's for sweet ones.
Club Biscuit Flavors in the UK
Over the years, many different Club biscuit flavors have been sold in the UK. Here are some of them:
- Club Milk: The first one, with milk chocolate. It's not made anymore.
- Club Plain: Had plain chocolate. Also not made anymore.
- Club Orange: A long-time favorite with orange flavor. Still made today!
- Club Fruit: Had raisins. It's not made anymore.
- Club Mint: Another long-time favorite with mint flavor. Still made today!
- Club Coffee: Launched in the 1980s. Not made anymore.
- Club Wafer: Launched in the 1980s. Not made anymore.
- Club Chocolate: Launched in the 1990s. Not made anymore.
- Club Coconut: Launched in the 1990s. Not made anymore.
- Club Honeycomb: Launched in 2012.
- Club Salted Caramel: Launched in 2022.
Club Biscuits in Ireland
The Irish company, Jacob Fruitfield, started making the Club Milk bar again. They brought back the original design: two biscuits joined by cocoa cream, covered in thick milk chocolate. They also made plain and wafer versions. These are sold in the Republic of Ireland.
The Irish company even promotes their Club Milk by saying "forget any poor imitations," hinting at the UK version.
In the 1970s, a TV advert for Irish Club Milk used the jingle "Club Milk is Best After All." Later, in the 1980s and 990s, another popular jingle was "If you're going to have a cuppa, have a Club."
Irish Club Biscuit Flavors
Here are some of the Club biscuit flavors available in Ireland:
- Club Milk: The original biscuit.
- Club Plain: Had plain chocolate. Not made anymore.
- Club Orange: A popular flavor, still made.
- Club Fruit: Still made.
- Club Mint: Still made.
- Club Coffee: Launched in the 1980s. Not made anymore.
- Club Wafer: Launched in the 1980s. Not made anymore.
- Club Chocolate: Launched in the 1990s. Not made anymore.
- Club Honeycomb: Launched in 2012.
See also
