Fab (brand) facts for kids
A modern Fab lolly on its stick
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| Type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Owner | Nestlé |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1967 |
| Markets | Confectionery |
| Previous owners | J. Lyons and Co. |
| Website | www.myfabland.com |
The Fab lolly is a popular ice lolly made by Nestlé. It's known for its unique layers of strawberry ice, cream, and a chocolate-dipped top with sprinkles. Fab lollies were first created in the United Kingdom.
Fab lollies were launched in 1967 by a company called J. Lyons & Co. Ltd.. They wanted to create a fun ice lolly that would be popular with kids. The idea for Fab came from the success of another lolly called 'Zoom'. Both Zoom and Fab were inspired by popular TV shows from Gerry Anderson, like Fireball XL5 and Thunderbirds.
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The Story Behind Fab
The 'Zoom' lolly came out first in 1963. It was shaped like a rocket and was mostly aimed at boys. This left a gap in the market for a lolly that might appeal more to girls. That's where the "Fab" lolly came in!
Inspired by Thunderbirds
The original Fab lolly was designed with girls in mind. It was linked to the character Lady Penelope from the Thunderbirds TV series. In the show, the phrase "F-A-B" was often used, similar to saying "Roger" to confirm a message. The first Fab lolly wrappers even showed pictures of Lady Penelope and her butler, Parker. This connection to Thunderbirds was very popular at first, but it was quietly stopped in the early 1970s.
What's in a Fab Lolly?
A classic Fab lolly has three main parts:
- The bottom part is made of strawberry fruit ice.
- The middle part is a creamy vanilla-flavored ice.
- The top part is dipped in a chocolate-flavored coating.
- Finally, the chocolate part is covered with colorful sugar sprinkles, also known as sugar strands.
The packaging describes it as "Real Strawberry and vanilla flavour ice lolly with chocolate flavour coating (5%) and sugar strands (5%)".
Fab Flavors Over Time
While the original strawberry and vanilla Fab is the most famous, there have been other flavors too:
- An orange version was made.
- A limited edition lemon flavor was available for a short time.
- In 2000, a limited edition apple and blackcurrant flavor was released.
- A tropical flavor came out in 2003.
- In 2018, to celebrate 50 years of Fab lollies, a special "Birthday Cake" flavor was created. This had raspberry water ice and sponge cake flavor ice, with a vanilla coating and sprinkles.
- In 2019, Nestlé introduced a Raspberry Doughnut flavor. This lolly had raspberry doughnut water ice with a raspberry sauce center, plus the usual chocolate coating and sprinkles.
Even though new lollies like the Twister and cartoon character ice snacks are popular now, Nestlé still makes Fab lollies today. You can buy them individually or in multipacks.
See also
