Picnic (chocolate bar) facts for kids
The Picnic is a yummy chocolate bar that's famous for its unique mix of ingredients. It has a chewy center of nougat, gooey caramel, crunchy biscuit, and puffed rice. All of this is covered in smooth milk chocolate and tasty peanuts. Picnic bars have a fun, lumpy shape!
You can find Picnic bars in many countries. These include Australia, New Zealand, India, Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa (where it's called "Lunch Bar"), and the United Kingdom. The Picnic bars sold in the UK and India are a bit different. They also have raisins inside! The Cadbury Picnic bar first came out in Australia in 1958. It was also released in the UK by Fry in the 1950s.
Contents
The Story of Picnic Chocolate
How Picnic Joined Cadbury
In 1967, a big chocolate company called Cadbury bought MacRobertson Chocolates. This was an important Australian candy maker. MacRobertson Chocolates had been making treats since 1880. This purchase helped Cadbury make more chocolates in Australia. It also added many popular treats to Cadbury's family of brands. These included Picnic, Old Gold, Cherry Ripe, and Freddo Frog. These were already well-known names in Australian homes.
Fun Facts About Picnic
Catchy Slogans and Ads
In the early 2000s, a popular saying for the Picnic bar was "Deliciously ugly." This slogan highlighted its unique, lumpy look. In the 1970s, the slogan in Australia was "More like a banquet than a picnic." This meant it was so full of good stuff, it felt like a big feast!
In the early 1990s, a funny TV commercial for Picnic aired in the UK. It featured a singing camel named Calvin. Calvin was an Animatronic camel. He sang a funny version of the song "Spirit in the Sky." The song lyrics described all the yummy ingredients in the chocolate bar. Words like "Chew" and "Goo" were chanted. The commercial also showed captions, like a music video show. These captions gave funny facts. The ad's main message was: "There’s no goo in it when Calvin’s chewin’ it." This commercial was also shown in Russia and Ukraine. The captions were translated for those countries.
Different Kinds of Picnic Bars
Special Editions and Changes
Over the years, Cadbury has made special versions of the Picnic bar. In Australia, some limited-edition types have been sold. These include:
- Picnic Honeycomb: A Picnic bar with crunchy honeycomb pieces.
- Picnic Hedgehog: This one had extra biscuit pieces.
- Picnic Rocky Road: This version included mini marshmallows and gumdrops.
In 2010, a special Almond Picnic bar was sold in New Zealand. Now, it's also available in Australia. It is called the Roast Almond Feast there. In 2011, a fruit and nut Picnic bar was released in Australia too.
How Picnic Bar Sizes Changed
Sometimes, companies change the size of their products. In April 2009, Cadbury changed the weight of the standard Picnic bar. It went from 50 grams down to 48.4 grams. Then, in August 2014, the weight changed again in Australia. It became 46 grams. The bar also became a bit narrower. But it still came in the same size wrapper! In the UK, the standard bar weighed 48.4 grams as of 2018. You can also buy multipacks of Picnic bars there.
Picnic in Russia
As of 2018, Russia has two different kinds of Picnic bars. There's the classic one with peanuts and raisins. There's also another version with walnuts. The walnut one was first a limited edition. But it became so popular that it's now a regular part of the Picnic family!
