Flake is a British brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by British chocolate company Cadbury, owned by Mondelez International, consisting of thinly folded milk chocolate. The bar has a unique crumbly texture, and softens but does not melt when heated. History The original Flake product was first developed in 1920 and was discovered by chance by Ralph Thompson, an employee of Cadbury's at the Bournville factory who noticed thin streams of excess chocolate falling from moulds cooled into flaky ripples. By 1930, Cadbury's was selling half-length Flake specifically for prodding into vanilla soft serve ice cream in a cone ("99 Flakes") which was served by ice cream vendors. First sold in the UK, they would later be sold in Ireland, Australia, South Africa and other nations. The later product, Cadbury Twirl, has two Flake-style bars covered in milk chocolate. Flakes are no longer manufactured at Bournville and are now made in Dublin, Ireland, and 10th of Ramadan, Egypt. In 2021 and again in 2022, Mondelez announced that there were shortages of Flakes in the UK and Ireland. In 2021 this was attibuted to high levels of demand due to good weather. In 2022, Mondelez attributed the shortages to "some global supply chain disruptions" alongside demand pressures. Manufacturing process Cadbury refers to the exact process of making Flakes as a closely guarded secret; however, experimental evidence by food scientist Ann Reardon shows that the result can be recreated by seizing chocolate (see external link: Chocolate seizing). Variations Flake bars Several varieties of Flake have been produced over the years, including: Versions based around dark (plain) chocolate Plain Flake - "A blend of plain and milk chocolate" Flake Noir - a dark chocolate flake bar. Flake Dark - dark chocolate flake covered in dark chocolate. Launched 2006. Flake Snow (known as Snowflake until 2003) - a white chocolate flake bar dipped into milk chocolate. Launched 2000 and discontinued in 2008. Flake Dipped - milk chocolate flake dipped into milk chocolate (resembles a larger version of Twirl), and also known as Flake Luxury. Launched 2003. Flake Praline - milk chocolate flake with praline. Launched 2004. Flake Bar. Flake Allure - a milk chocolate flake half enrobed in rich truffle and milk chocolate. Launched 2011 (limited edition). Orange Flake - orange-flavoured milk chocolate flake (available in South Africa). Flake Mint - flake which has a pale green mint-flavoured centre. In South Africa it is