Product type Confectionery Introduced 1967 Previous owners J. Lyons and Co. | Owner Nestlé Markets Confectionery Website www.myfabland.com | |
The brand Fab is an ice lolly on a stick in the United Kingdom, introduced by J. Lyons & Co. Ltd. who launched the product in 1967. The brand 'FAB' was brought out in order to take advantage of the popularity of Gerry Anderson's new television series Thunderbirds that regularly used the phrase "F-A-B" as an equivalent to "Roger" (communications jargon indicating that a message has been received). The original lolly packaging had a prominent image of Lady Penelope and her butler/driver Parker on the wrapper. The lolly was originally pitched at the female market with the association to purchase being the attraction of Lady Penelope. The equivalent male lolly was the Zoom whose marketing was also connected with the Thunderbirds brand by use of the Thunderbird 3 rocket imagery.
The lolly consists of strawberry fruit ice and vanilla ice with the top portion dipped in chocolate and coated with sugar confectionery (hundreds and thousands). In the modern era, their popularity has reduced having been replaced by lollies such as the Twister and various ice snacks based on cartoon characters, however Nestlé still continue production of the iced snack into the 21st century, both as a single item and as part of a multipack.
The description on the packaging reads "Real Strawberry and vanilla flavour ice lolly with chocolate flavour coating (5%) and sugar strands (5%)".
The fab lolly, Fruit And Berries, has changed from a jelly type centre many years ago, to strawberry ice used now. An orange variety has also been manufactured as has a limited edition lemon flavour, a limited edition apple and blackcurrant flavour (in 2010), and a limited edition tropical flavour in 2015.
The brand connection to the Thunderbirds television series has not been maintained and was quietly dropped in the early 1970s.