Bounty Chocolate Bar (History, Flavors & Marketing)

If you love chocolate bars that are a similar to Mars Bars or Almond Joy, then the Bounty Chocolate Bar is for you! This candy bar has been around since 1951, and it is now only sold in Canada, Australia and the UK. You might need to order it online, but you can still try out this really delicious candy bar despite the fact that it is not sold in the US any longer.

Bounty is a basic but really delightful candy bar that is perfect for those who love coconut and fluffy candy bar fillings. This is a unique candy bar that crosses over the territories of some other products that Mars already makes, but it continues to be popular and relevant despite how similar it is to these other candy products. Bounty has been a well-known name in the UK and Canada for years, and you will see why when you try one for the first time!

History

Bounty chocolate bars were first sold by Mars Incorporated in 1951. This product is a coconut-filled candy bar that is a lot like Mars’ Almond Joy and the Mars bar, but it is simpler than these other two candy bars that are still sold in the US. This candy bar actually came out before the Almond Joy bar, but US buyers often only associate this flavor profile with the Almond Joy Bar. In the UK, when coconut chocolate bars are mentioned, the Bounty Bar will probably be the candy that is named first. Bounty Bars are actually the original coconut candy bar, but this information might seem incorrect when viewed through the lens of the US markets.

There is a dark chocolate version of the Bounty Chocolate Bar that is sold in the UK as well, and it comes in a red wrapper. The regular candy bar comes in a blue wrapper with coconuts on it. There are also smaller wrappers that offer one of each bar enclosed in their own unique little packets attached in the middle. These single-serve candy bars are more popular at Halloween than other times of the year, but that is not the case in all countries since not every country celebrates this holiday.

In 2006, a cherry-flavored version of the Bounty Bar was introduced just to be sold in Australia. This was intended to be a limited-edition flavor, but it was so popular that it was sold all the time until 2013. In Europe, there was a mango flavor that was sold for a limited time as well from 2004-2005, and in Russia and Ukraine, this candy was rolled out and sold in 2010 alone. Russia also had access to a pineapple flavor that was sold only in 2014.

These unique flavors are no longer sold in any of these markets, but there is always the chance that they could be sold again for a limited time in certain markets. Most of the alternate varieties are fairly popular when they are on shelves, so Mars Inc could always choose to add them back to the mix of products they are currently selling if they felt like the timing was right.

Bounty has not been sold by Mars in the US in years, but that is likely because Mounds and Almond Joy are so approximate to this product. International food markets will sometimes sell Bounty Chocolate Bars, but that is likely to be the only place that you will be able to source this candy bar in the US. The candy bar was first rolled out in Canada and the UK, and it has continued to sell best in these markets.

In the 1980s, Bounty chocolate bars were sold in convenience stores all across the US. By 1988, Almond Joy bars had already started to perform better than Bounty chocolate bars. Hershey owned the Almond Joy and Mounds candy bars at the time, and they were more successful at marketing these products that were arguably the same thing as the Bounty bar already. Mars went ahead and pulled the Bounty bar off the market in the US at this time, and it has never returned.

Mars attempted in 2003 to register the shape of the Bounty Bar as a trademark within the European Union. The EU court ruled that the bar’s rounded ends and the chevron arrows that were on the bars were not enough to make it unique from other candy bars. Part of the research that went into this determination required that a bunch of Europeans be asked to identify the candy bar’s shape in a survey. It was found that only six of the 15 EU countries’ residents that were polled could recognize the shape of the bar among other candy bars.

Logo

Flavors

• Milk Chocolate
• Dark chocolate
• Cherry 2006-2013 in Australia
• Mango – Europe from 2004-2005 and Russia and Ukraine in 2010
• Pineapple – Russia in 2014
• Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate bars in 2-packs

Ingredients:

• Sugar
• Desiccated Coconut (Contains Sulphites)
• Glucose Syrup (Sources Include Wheat
• Contains Sulphites)
• Milk Solids
• Cocoa Butter
• Cocoa Mass
• Emulsifiers (471, Soy Lecithin)
• Humectant (Glycerol)
• Sal
• Natural Flavours

The company warns that this product contains allergens like milk, soy, sulfites, and wheat. There are also warnings that there might also be allergens related to barley, egg, and tree nuts. This is clearly not an allergy-friendly candy bar, and if you have various dietary limitations, you will need to be sure to try something else for your snacking. This candy bar will not meet your needs.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	2 pieces	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat	0
Calories	270
Total Fat	0g	0%
Saturated Fat	12g	60%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	5mg	2%
Sodium	60mg	3%
Total Carbohydrates	34g	11%
Dietary Fiber	1g	4%
Sugars	27g
Protein	2g
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		2%
Iron		4%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet.

How Does the Bounty Bar Taste?

It can be easy to compare this candy bar to Almond Joy bars, but what if you have never tried one of those candy bars? The Bounty Bar offers you a strong coconut flavor that is imparted by the soft and fluffy center filling of the candy bar. There is a layer of sweet chocolate that is layered over the top and which gives the bar its shape. The candy bar is sold in separated little chunks that are slightly rounded, which helps the candy bar to hold together and also improves the chocolate to coconut ratio for better flavor.

Ways to Enjoy Bounty Bars

You can enjoy the Bounty Bar just like any other candy bar, but a lot of people prefer to freeze their Bounty Bars and enjoy them as a cold treat when the weather is hot. There are fun-size products that are sold in Australia that are very easy to freeze and snack on in their frozen form. These treats are easily used for baking as well, and there are various sweets and other homemade goods that might include the Bounty Bar as well.

Marketing

The marketing of this candy bar has usually been focused on the tropical nature of the flavor of the bar. You will usually be treated to scenes of the ocean, women in hula attire, and vacation-themed activities in these ads. There were also sometimes scenes of milk chocolate being poured over the soft filling of the bar, much like the Almond Joy bar advertising that many people remember from when the bar was at its peak popularity in the 80s.

Bounty bars themselves were not wrapped in any kind of wrapper that would suggest right away that the bar is coconut flavored. The wrappers are very plain overall and very basic, and you might not even notice the coconuts on the wrappers until you have picked up the bar and looked at it a little. The name of the product is clear on the wrapper, and the color is distinct when compared to the simple design of the label.

Other than the brightness of the logo and brand name itself, this product is very anonymous in its wrapping. There are so many candy bars that are wrapped in loud and colorful wrapping, but the Bounty Bar is understated overall. Even the alternate varieties were not given a very unique wrapper, and the only way to know that you were not eating the original was often the color of the back side of the candy bar or the edges.

Pictures

Commercials:

This brand has always been advertised with a focus on attractive people hanging out at the beach. This is kind of funny if you consider that you would need to know that the candy bar had something to do with coconut to understand why this was the focus of the ad campaigns.

You were definitely supposed to understand that the Bounty Bar was tropical in nature, but you might not have been able to tell that this was to do with the flavor if you had not already enjoyed this candy bar before. The packaging is not clear about this connection, but apparently, Mars Inc. assumed that everyone would know that by the time these ads were being placed on TV.

A commercial from the 90s:

An 80’s ad that was definitely focused on being sexy:

Another beachy ad from the 90s: