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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Rebecca Daly

Real reason 99 ice creams are called 99s - and it's got nothing to do with the price

There is nothing like a 99 during the summer, even if it’s not overly sunny out.

No 99 is complete without a Flake either, despite a shortage expected for a second year in a row due to supply chain issues.

99s are a popular choice for many, but where did they originate and where does the name come from?

Read more: Met Eireann issues 24-hour warning for 11 counties as weather takes horrible turn

While some may think that the popular ice cream got its name from the original cost of it, that is not the case.

The name actually comes from the Flake, rather than the ice cream or the cone. This is down to confectionary giant Cadbury, which was founded in Birmingham in 1824.

A spokesperson from Cadbury told Birmingham Live : “An ice cream served in a cone with a Flake 99 is our favourite ice cream.

People waiting for Ice Cream enjoying the good weather on Portmarnock Beach, Dublin. (Collins Photo Agency)

"In the days of the monarchy in Italy, the King had an elite guard consisting of 99 soldiers.

"Subsequently anything really special or first class was known as ‘99’.

“When Cadbury launched its small Flake for ice creams in 1930, the UK ice cream industry was dominated by ex-pat Italians.

"So, to appeal to Italians we called our superb Flake a ‘99’.

So, the ice cream is named after the Flake that goes in it, but where did the Flake get its name?

A representative from Cadbury told Surrey Live that a sales manager named Mr Berry recounted how the chocolate bar became associated with the ice cream and how it came by its name.

He said: “When I first came north in 1928 I found that some of the Italian soft ice cream makers in County Durham were trying ways of introducing other lines to increase their sales, which in those days were largely in the form of sandwich wafers.

"The possibilities were obvious if we could get a suitable line, both in shape and size and texture - and the most promising was Flake, which at that time only sold as a 2d line, and therefore had to be cut with a knife to reduce its size."

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