Review: BAR•ONE

What looks like a ‘Mars‘ bar? And tastes like a ‘Mars‘ bar? And has red and black packaging like a ‘Mars‘ bar?…a ‘BAR•ONE’ chocolate bar from South Africa of course!

Essentially a copy of Mars’ classic self-titled chunky chocolate snack (1932), the ‘BAR•ONE’ has been produced by Nestlé since 1965, and can be found in the South African and Indian markets.

BAR•ONE by Nestlé, South Africa

It is described as a ‘thick milk chocolate [bar] with nougat and caramel centre’ – sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it? It even boasts that it is a hefty energy source, providing ‘energy for a 25 hour day’.

Work – Rest – Play…BAR•ONE?

The whipped nougat is chewy and gives a good, long pull, as does the caramel. But I fail to find any malty tones in the filling. As advertised, the milk chocolate certainly is thick, but as with most Nestlé chocolate, is a little bland and undistinctive.

BAR•ONE – Energy For A 25 Hour Day

Considering temperatures have been averaging out around 32’c (89’F) here in Kansas, and I took these photographs outside, this chocolate bar holds up pretty well against the summer heat! A factor that went into its creation no doubt with destinations such as India and South Africa.

It would be interesting to eat these side by side a British ‘Mars‘ bar and do a VS. review…but, another time perhaps. The ‘BAR•ONE’ does provide a satisfying chocolatey mouthful, but if I ever find myself needing a ‘concentrated source of energy‘, I’ll probably still reach for the ‘Mars‘ bar over a ‘BAR•ONE’.

Fact Friday: Pineapple Mars Bar

Did you know that there once was a pineapple flavoured ‘Mars‘ bar?

This illusive and short-lived chocolate bar was launched in England during the 1930’s.

Following the success of the hand-made ‘Mars‘ bar in 1932, this fruity variation was the second product to be launched by creator Forrest Mars. Sadly, it ultimately proved unpopular and was dropped from the line. It remains a ghost in the lore of confectionery history…

* a silly advert created by me

Do you think a pineapple Mars bar would go down well?

Founded by American entrepreneur Forrest Mars, the UK arm of the chocolate company was (and still is) based in Slough. His father Frank Mars (creator of the Milky Way, Snickers and 3 Musketeers bars) ran the American business in Chicago. It is reported that the once estranged father and son duo had a major disagreement on how to progress their candy business, and so Forrest took with him the rights to manufacture ‘Milky Way‘ abroad and carved his own path into food history.

The US nougat, caramel and chocolate bar ‘Milky Way‘ acted as the foundation for the British made ‘Mars‘ bar – hence why the two are very similar today.

Fact Friday: [Cadbury] Mars Bar

Did you know that Mars bars were originally coated in Cadbury chocolate?

In 1932 the original whipped nougat and caramel-based chocolate ‘Mars’ bar was created in Slough, England, after Forrest Mars established his own confectionery company.

Ten years prior, on the other side of the Atlantic, Forrest’s father Frank Mars had invented the similarly composed ‘Milky Way’ chocolate bar at their MAR-O-BAR candy company. Following a series of disagreements between father and son, Forrest left to pursue his own career in confectionery and reinvented the ‘Milky Way‘ into a thicker, chunkier bar he called the ‘Mars‘ bar for his new English audience.

Marvellous Mars bars from Slough!

However, in the early days of production Forrest lacked the machinery needed to create his own chocolate blend to coat his anglicised bar. Until his fledgling company was able to produce its own chocolate, the famous Cadbury Dairy Milk was used to coat the candy.

This was known as ‘couverture‘ – where chocolate producers (such as Cadbury) sold their chocolate for other firms to use.

The original price of an English Mars bar was threepence. There was also a short-lived pineapple flavoured Mars bar following the end of the Second World War!

So, in the US, the closest thing to a British ‘Mars‘ bar is an American ‘Milky Way‘. And a British ‘Milky Way‘ is closer to an American ‘3 Musketeers‘ (also invented and produced by Mars). There has been an American ‘Mars‘ bar in the past, but instead of caramel it contained almonds…did you get all that!

Helpful hints!

Fact Friday: Mars Invasion

Do you know what the first Western company was to sell candy in the [former] Soviet Union?

It was Mars!

A year before the collapse of the fifteen unified republics, Western imports slowly began to make their way into Russia.

On the 4th January 1990, Mars (the famous UK/US giant behind the Mars bar, Snickers and 3 Musketeers) opened their first commercial premises in Moscow. Sugar-starved and excited Muscovites queued for more than a quarter of a mile in order to be some of the first Russians to sample a Western chocolate bar.

Sales were limited to just four bars per person.

Can you remember the first time you ate a Mars product? For a generation this ended up being a symbol of consumer confectionery freedom.

Fact Friday: Snickers the Horse

Did you know that the American chocolate bar ‘Snickers’ is named after a horse?

Invented in 1930 by Frank Mars, the founder of the Mars empire, the peanut, caramel and nougat confection was only the second chocolate bar to be produced by Mars Inc, following their debut with the ‘Milky Way’ in 1924. Before the company was able to invest in machinery, the countline Snickers was made by pouring, layering, dipping and cutting the shaped ingredients by hand.

1930’s/1940’s Snickers box

The bar was given the name ‘Snickers’ in the United States after one of the family’s favourite racehorses. Snickers, along with several other stable mates, lived on Fred and Ethel Mars’ Tennessee farm…called the ‘Milky Way Farm‘! Sadly Snickers the horse died two months before the chocolate bar’s launch, and was so named in his memory.

In Britain however the candy was marketed as ‘Marathon’ until 1990. Like many chocolate bars invented in the early 20th century, Snickers was advertised as a healthy and energising food stuff, and supposedly this is where the name ‘Marathon’ came from…urban rumors also say that the name ‘Snickers’ sounded too similar to the word ‘knickers‘, and the gentile men and women of the United Kingdom simply couldn’t tolerate such an idea…that all sounds a bit daft!

Twins – Marathon and Snickers

In recent years Mars has released a ‘retro edition’ of the Snickers, temporarily bringing us back a taste of nostalgia as the ‘Marathon’ once again can be bought in supermarkets (the recipe is all the same, it’s a marketing ploy first released to celebrate the bar’s 85th birthday).

Fact Friday: Candy’s Dandy Keep It Handy

Did you know that in the 1940’s there was a food advertising campaign with the very catchy slogan ‘Candy’s Dandy Keep It Handy’?

Released by the National Confectioners Association, the series of images featured a selection of wholesome American citizens enjoying a variety of chocolate and candy snacks at home and in the work place.

‘The Crave For Candy’ – 1947

At the time, candy and chocolate bars were heavily marketed as a nourishing and sustaining ‘food’, both in America and in the UK. With natural ingredients such as sugar, milk, cocoa, fruits and nuts, candy bars and candy selection boxes were pushed as the ideal meal replacement, energy boost and healthy snack.

The advertising posters portrayed home-makers, secretaries, sports-players, manual workers, flight attendants, hunters, children and idealistic young couples all enjoying a chocolaty snack and expressing the energy-giving benefits.

‘For work or play, there’s ‘Can Do’ in candy’.

In order to be the best American you can be, you’ve got to look after your body, and (not surprisingly), according to the National Confectioners Association, the best way to do that is to eat a stimulating candy bar after a hard day’s work or activity.

Even the Slough-based chocolate bar Mars recognized these selling points, coining their most iconic tagline ‘A Mars A Day Helps You Work, Rest and Play’ in 1959 (this was later shortened to ‘Work, Rest, Play’). The chocolate, whipped nougat and caramel bar today is still a go-to snack for those needing a glucose boost.

What I find interesting about these adverts, is that unlike so many traditional confectionery adverts, these are not solely aimed at women consumers, or at men purchasing candy as gifts for their womanly sweethearts. In this campaign, candy is advertised as a ‘delicious food’ for all healthy and active people, so in some sense, it is a more inclusive picture of candy consumers of the time.

A manual worker and skier take an candy-fueled energy break

The images do portray gender stereotypes of 1940’s society; the home-maker bushed from doing her ‘duty by the dishes’, and the beautiful blonde tired from being in her kitchen, but it somewhat refreshing to see men as a targeted market for sugary treats in these vintage advertisements.

So, remember that ‘Candy’s Dandy Keep It Handy’ – even the ‘scientific folks know it’!

Wrapper Wednesday: Cadbury Moro

There’s not one, not two, but three wrappers featuring in this week’s Wrapper Wednesday! Here are three variants of the chocolate bar Moro…

Cadbury Moro chocolate bars

Commonly found in Australia and New Zealand, this whipped nougat, caramel and milk chocolate enrobed chocolate bar has been manufactured by Cadbury since 1967, and can draw paralells to rivals Mars’ Mars bar. Both contain the same basic ingredients, in the same basic form, and both also advertise their chocolate bars as a way to gain a quick and tasty energy boost.

Remember ‘A Mars A Day Helps You Work, Rest and Play’? Well the Cadbury Moro’s slogan, featured on these wrappers at least, has a somewhat punchier attitude – it’s simply a ‘Fistful of Awesome’. Now there’s a candy bar with energy!

Moro comes in a few variants; featured here are a couple of Moro Gold wrappers, which has the inclusion of biscuit balls in the bar (a little bit like the British Cadbury Boost).

It’s been a long time since I’ve tried a Moro – I’d definitely like to sample it next to the Mars bar in order to directly compare!

Fact Friday: A Scandal at Ascot

Did you know that in 1979 at Ascot, the winning horse No Bombs was later disqualified when theobromine had been found in its system? Turns out his stable boy had fed him a Mars Bar before the race! And since both theobromine and caffine are stimulants, the award was null and void!

A Mars Bar certainly helped No Bombs play!

Fact Friday: Mars Bar

Did you know that originally Mars Bars (1932) were made with Cadbury milk chocolate?

This was known as ‘couverture’ – chocolate producers sold their chocolate for other firms to use in coating their confections.

Forrest Mars Senior was initially on a limited budget when producing his Mars Bar here in England, and so used Cadbury chocolate on his version of his father’s American chocolate bar – Milky Way – in order to keep costs down and to produce a best selling chocolate bar!