eat between meals

Milky Way bar

The Milky Way bar is a popular candy bar distributed by the Mars candy company. The American version of the Milky Way bar is made of chocolate-malt nougat topped with caramel and covered with milk chocolate and is similar to the European Mars bar. The European Milky Way bar, on the other hand, is not topped with caramel and is therefore similar to the American 3 Musketeers bar.

History

The Milky Way bar was created in 1924 by Frank C. Mars and was the first filled candy bar. Its taste was inspired by the chocolate-malt milkshake that was popular at the time.

On March 10, 1925, the Milky Way trademark was registered in the US, claiming a first-use date of 1922. In 1926, the Milky Way bar was introduced nationally in two flavors, chocolate and vanilla, each for a nickel. In June 1932, the Milky Way bar was sold as a two piece bar, but just four years later, in 1936, the chocolate and vanilla flavors forever parted.

The vanilla Milky Way bar, which was covered in dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, was renamed the Forever Yours bar. The Forever Yours bar remained available until 1979 when it was discontinued. Due to popular demand, the Forever Yours bar returned in 1989 renamed as the Milky Way Dark bar. In 2000, it was renamed again, creating the now-popular Milky Way Midnight bar.

A long running advertising slogan for the product in the United Kingdom and Australia was "The sweet you can eat between meals - without ruining your appetite". Originally available only in chocolate flavour, the centre changed to vanilla flavour in 1989. Also available in Europe are Milky Way Crispy Rolls, chocolate covered wafer rolls with a milk-cream filling.

In the US, as of 2006, the slogan is "Comfort in every bar." Previously, the long-standing slogan was "At work, rest and play, you get three great tastes in a Milky Way."

In Australia, Milky Way bar flavours also include banana and strawberry.

Trivia

The European version of the bar will float in water (and/or in milk) without sinking due to its low density (0,88 g/cm³). This rare attribute was used for an advertising campaign in Germany, France, Russia, Ireland, Poland and the United Kingdom in the past.

Old Milky Way items (including old wrappers) have now become very collectable, due to the brand's iconic appeal. A wrapper from 1975 sold for £8.70 in Collecticus magazine (UK) in 2005.

Also similar to the European Mars Bar, Milky Way Bars come in a "Midnight" (dark chocolate) variety.