Curly Wurly (History, Pictures & Commercials)

The Curly Wurly is actually a British candy but it has always been popular in the United States, as well as several other countries. This classic snack is just another delightful addition to the Cadbury brand.

If you know much about Cadbury, you already know that they really do know a little something about making really great candy. Add the Curly Wurly to your list! By the time we finish here, you will be ready to order your own to try (if you don’t already love them!

History

Cadbury has plants throughout the world, with one of its major plants being in the UK. They do make different candies in different regions and the Curly Wurly snack is one that is made through Cadbury UK.

The Curly Wurly first came out in the UK in 1970. The United States is one of the largest buyers of the snack but it is also commonly sold in several other countries. It’s unclear whether it’s sold directly to the U.S. for stores but the U.S. can order the candy still from Cadbury UK.

Here are some of the other countries it is distributed in.

• Australia
• The Netherlands
• Canada
• Portugal
• Malta
• Ireland
• Belgium
• Germany
• Malaysia
• Denmark
• Norway
• Romania
• United Kingdom

When you look at the bar, it almost looks like a long pretzel that is covered in milk chocolate. However, it’s really not a pretzel. This is a common misconception because it’s a long bar like a candy bar but it’s woven together in a pattern.

That pattern is actually caramel that is flattened and shaped together. The caramel is then coated in chocolate to create a delicious treat.

Curly Wurly were first created by David John Parfitt. David was a research confectioner that had been working with Cadbury for quite some time. He actually made this particular treat almost by mistake when he was playing around with another idea he had.

There have been some competitors that tried to mimic Curly Wurly over the years but none of them have been as successful. Those include the 3 Musketeers (Germany), Marathon Bar (US), Wig Wag (Canada), and Loop (Sweden).

It continues to be the favorite despite the copycats.

When Was Curly Wurly Invented?

Curly Wurly first was introduced to the world in 1970. Cadbury UK distributed the candy after one of their researchers came up with the idea by mistake.

David Parfitt was that research confectioner that came up with the idea. He had been working on another project that involved toffee and out of that was born this idea. They introduced it a short time later for the world to enjoy and it has pretty much been popular ever since that time.

While this is a British candy, it is still available in a lot of other areas. You do not have to go to Britain to acquire it for sure. Quite a few countries in and around Europe sell the candy. Canada is a major distributor of this delightful candy.

People in the United States can definitely get it and the US is one of the largest buyers of Curly Wurly. You might not find it in your everyday candy store or at the local Wal-Mart but you can still get it. It’s really easy to get online especially.

Who Owns Curly Wurly?

The brand Curly Wurly is owned by Cadbury UK. You probably recognize Cadbury for things like the Cadbury eggs that are popular at Easter time. The UK Cadbury store does have different chocolates and treats than what you might be used to in some areas but you may recognize some of the names.

Here are some other popular candies from Cadburys.

• Flake
• Wispa
• Twirl
• Crunchie
• Dairy Milk bars (various flavors)

These are just a few of the popular treats from Cadbury UK on the market. Their Cadbury Dairy Milk bars come in several different flavor choices and are much like milk chocolate bars with alternative flavor choices in them. They use dairy milk, hence the name.

Interestingly enough, Curly Wurly has never changed owners through the years. Some candies will change hands over and over throughout their history but Curly Wurly snacks have been with Cadbury since their original introduction to the world in 1970.

That says a little something about this fun and tasty candy.

How Did Curly Wurly Get its Name?

Curly Wurly was named because of the design behind the treat. If you take a look at the candy, it’s a long piece about the length of a regular candy bar.

The bar is designed in a pattern that curls around and wurls around to create the wurly effecr. It was the curly design that inspired the name and it stuck.

Cadbury describes the Curly Wurly as a chocolate-covered ladder, or “a swirly ladder of golden caramel, draped in Cadbury milk chocolate.” In the same line, they refer to this as everyone’s favorite twisty treat.

They certainly are not wrong!

The name is really fun and is pretty fitting of the overall design. We dare you to say Curly Wurly 10 times fast! Next, try saying it while you’re savoring a Curly Wurly. Be sure to send us that video so we can laugh WITH you!

Logo

Buy Online

You can also buy Curly Wurly at Old Time Candy by clicking the image below.

Flavors

There are no other flavors of Curly Wurly and there really never have been.

Why add a new flavor to something that is already almost nearly perfect, right? You simply don’t need to change anything about it.

There have been some other renditions of Curly Wurly made by other brands. We mentioned some of those earlier but here is a bit more of an overview for you.

In 1972, Three Musketiers was released in Europe (Germany). This is not the same as the 3 Musketeers candy bar popular from the Mars Company. This was wholly different and similar to the Curly Wurly.

The Marathon candy bar was a US version of the Curly Wurly. This candy bar was sold by the Mars Company in the US in 1973. It came on the heels of the candy bar being introduced to the United States, within just a few weeks. That candy bar was discontinued in 1981.

Wig Wag was a version of Curly Wurly that was produced by Makintosh’s in Canada. This was available for a short time in the 1970s.

Finally, Loop was created in Sweden in 2011. It’s unclear if that candy is still around. This was created under a Swedish brand owned by Kraft at the time.

Ingredient Information

Cadbury has always taken a unique approach with their candy. They are known for the quality of ingredients that they use because they use true dairy milk in all of their chocolate.

The candy bar is high in carbohydrates, fats, sugars, and protein. It’s made with some of the best ingredients to be the very best chocolate. Of course, when you look at the nutrition information, it isn’t actually that much different than most others, apart from using milk.

Here are the main ingredients.

• Glucose sugar
• Sugar
• Palm oil
• Skimmed milk powder
• Cocoa butter
• Cocoa mass
• Whey permeate powder
• Milk fat
• Emulsifiers
• Salt

The candy bar is labeled as milk chocolate with a caramel center. Milk solids in the Cadbury version are a minimum of 14%.

Cadbury is specifically known for using milk and you see that stand out here in these details.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 bar (26g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	119
Total Fat	4.5g	7%
Saturated Fat	3.1g	16%
Trans Fat	0.1g
Polyunsaturated Fat	0.1g
Monounsaturated Fat	0.6g
Cholesterol	2.3mg	1%
Sodium	43mg	2%
Total Carbohydrates	19g	6%
Dietary Fiber	0.3g	1%
Sugars	16g
Protein	1g
Vitamin D	0mcg	1%
Calcium	30mg	2%
Iron	0mg	1%
Potassium	32mg	1%
Caffeine	1.6mg

• The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Pictures

Where to Buy?

While Curly Wurly is available in the United States, it is not necessarily as easy to find as some of the other popular candies out there. There are several online shops that are United States friendly or even located in the United States and some of these may be your best resource .

The British Corner Shop is one of the places where you can easily shop online and get some of these Curly Wurly bars for your own liking. Another great place to look that might even be easier for US access is Amazon. Amazon has plenty of them to go around and they are easy to get your hands on there without paying excessive shipping rates.

Commercials

FAQ