Ranked: Europe’s best chocolate bars of all time

Unwrapping Europe's best chocolate bars

Though our love of chocolate is pretty universal, the chocolate bars produced in Europe (including right here in the UK) hold a special place in many people's hearts. From the very first bar, produced by Fry's in 1847, to classics that still sell in the multimillions, the continent has also played a significant role in their history. We take a look at the diverse selection of European chocolate bars produced over the years, including some loved around the globe and others that have since disappeared, much to fans' disappointment.

Read on for our ultimate list of Europe's best-ever chocolate bars, counting down to number one, based on sales, enduring popularity and critical acclaim. Has your favourite made the list?

29: Caramac

Chocolate lovers took to social media in their droves to mourn the recent announcement that Nestlé is axing the iconic Caramac, after more than 60 years on shelves. The pale golden bar was introduced in the UK in 1959 by historic British confectionery firm Mackintosh's (the name is a portmanteau of ‘caramel’ and ‘Mackintosh’), and was known for its caramel flavour and striking red-and-yellow wrapper. The sweet treat, which isn’t technically a chocolate bar as it contains no cocoa, had a dedicated following, but recently suffered from declining sales.

28. Tony's Chocolonely Milk Chocolate

Launched in 2005, Tony’s Chocolonely Milk Chocolate has won hearts in the Netherlands and beyond for its smooth, sweet and creamy flavour, as well as its fair-trade credentials. Its bright red wrapper is pretty eye-catching, too. Tony’s Chocolonely now has a whopping 20% share of the Dutch chocolate bar market, making it one of the Netherlands' biggest sellers. Now winning fans across Europe, North America and Australasia, the brand also has a variety of different flavours, including the popular almond and sea salt.

27. Curly Wurly

Cadbury's Curly Wurly chocolate bar was launched in the UK in 1970, and has been a fixture there (and beyond) ever since. This twisty turny and, well, curly wurly creation was invented by David John Parfitt, a researcher based at Cadbury's Bournville factory in Birmingham, England. Experimenting with some leftover toffee, he came up with this swirly plait of milk chocolate, filled with a chewy caramel centre. Its colourful packaging (and wonderfully weird-shaped bars) can now be found in other countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany and Ireland.

26. Huesitos

This beloved Spanish bar features layers of thin, crispy wafers sandwiched together with chocolate cream, then dipped in milk chocolate. Its name, which means 'little bones' in Spanish, is a nod to the Hueso family that founded the first chocolate factory in Ateca, Spain in 1862. The factory was sold in the 1950s and, following the successful launch of the Huesitos bar in 1975, bought by Cadbury-Schweppes in the 1980s. The bars are now produced by Chocolates Valor, and are still hugely popular – even swirled into a limited-edition McDonald's McFlurry.

25. Turkish Delight

First introduced in 1914, Fry's Turkish Delight has a delicate rose-flavoured Turkish delight centre, enveloped in a layer of smooth milk chocolate with just the right balance of crackle and melt. Something about that combination simultaneously evokes a sense of the exotic and feelings of nostalgia. For those who love it, that is. Others find it soapy and a little too perfumed for their tastes. Whichever side you fall on, its place in the UK's confectionery canon is undeniable.

24. Old Jamaica

Cadbury Bournville's Old Jamaica, with its base of rich dark chocolate laced with rum-like flavouring and raisins, was originally launched as a limited-edition bar in the UK in the 1970s. This one is something of a comeback kid, reappearing in the late 1980s, the mid-1990s and 2010. The Bournville-branded bar was born once again in 2020, after Cadbury launched a Facebook poll asking which classic creation fans would most like to see back on shelves.

23. Twirl

Created in the early 1970s in the UK, Cadbury's Twirl features delicate, flaky layers of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate enveloped in a smooth milk chocolate shell. In late 2019, Cadbury launched an orange-flavoured variety of Twirl in the UK. Many stores struggled to keep up with demand, constantly running out of stock. So, in February 2021, Orange Twirl became a permanent product, and has been followed by additional flavours including caramel and mint.

22. Karl Fazer Milk Chocolate

The Karl Fazer Milk Chocolate bar has proved irresistible to fans since its inception in 1922. Crafted by Fazer, a renowned Finnish brand established in Helsinki in 1894, this chocolate bar has earned a special place in the hearts of chocolate enthusiasts across Europe and beyond, thanks to its smooth texture and eye-catching blue packaging – an homage to the Finnish flag.

21. Bounty

Introduced by Mars in 1951, and originally sold only in the UK and Canada, the Bounty is known for its tropical twist, with a coconut filling covered in smooth milk chocolate. It's a flavour profile the brand has run with, creating adverts such as this one, from the 1970s, that play up the exotic holiday feel. Today, the bar has a huge global following, alongside a dark chocolate variation. Though it's one of those 'love it or hate it' snacks, Bounty ranked third in a 2018 survey on Britain's favourite chocolate bars.

20. Wispa

The Wispa chocolate bar was introduced by Cadbury in the 1980s. Its unique texture of aerated milk chocolate distinguishes it from other bars. So much so that many fans see it as irreplaceable. After it was discontinued in 2003, an internet campaign eventually saw it return in 2007, and permanently back on UK shelves a year later.

19. Guylian Premium Dark 72%

Guylian Premium Dark 72% is a favourite among those who prefer their chocolate a little less sweet, a little more bitter and a lot more luxurious. Crafted with the finest cocoa beans, it's considered a quintessential example of Belgian chocolate mastery, full-bodied and bursting with bittersweet notes.

18. Crunchie

Created by Cadbury in 1929, this UK-born confection stands out for its distinctive honeycomb toffee centre, covered in a layer of milk chocolate. The combination of sticky and smooth has proven a winner (if a little tough on the teeth, at times), while its purple-edged, gold packaging has made Crunchie a recognisable treat worldwide – outside Europe, it's sold in countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

17: Yorkie

Yorkie was originally launched in 1976 by York-based confectioner Rowntree's, positioned as a chunkier competitor to Cadbury's Dairy Milk. It was heavily marketed towards men, with television adverts featuring the rugged 'Yorkie bar trucker' aired until 1992. A 2002 relaunch made this positioning more explicit, with ads that featured a variety of controversial slogans (though the divisive 'It's Not For Girls!' slogan was finally dropped in 2011). Aside from the original milk chocolate bar, several variants have been available over the years, including raisin and biscuit, honeycomb, and an ice cream bar.

16. Freia Melkesjokolade

Freia Melkesjokolade, a Norwegian chocolate bar, has been loved for generations. Launched by Oslo-based Freia Chocolates in 1906, it's celebrated for its exceptionally creamy milk chocolate, which devotees say melts in the mouth with a velvety smoothness. Freia Melkesjokolade’s first slogan was 'The Best Chocolate in Europe'. A few challengers have come onto the scene (and others have come and gone) since then, but this yellow-wrapped bar is still up there.

15. Twix

Launched by Mars in the UK in 1967, and hitting the US market 12 years later, Twix gets its name from the fact there are twin sticks of chocolate-covered biscuit and caramel, each delivering a satisfying snap. It was sold across mainland Europe too but, until 1991, was known as Raider. The name was eventually changed in line with the global branding.

14. Côte d’Or Original Lait

From the renowned Belgian chocolatiers, founded in Schaerbeek in 1883, Côte d’Or Original Lait takes the smooth, creamy, melt-on-the-tongue chocolate the company is famed for and puts it in a snappable, shareable (if you like) format. Côte d’Or remained 100% Belgian until the company was taken over by Kraft in 1989, and is now (like many bars on our list) owned by Mondelèz International, with a global presence. Some bars are still manufactured at the Belgian factory, with another production site in Quebec, Canada.

13. Flake

Introduced in the UK in 1920, the Flake (now sold in other European countries plus Australia, Canada and the US) is renowned for its delicate, crumbly texture – and, as all Brits know, makes an excellent addition to an ice cream cone. It was invented entirely by accident; a machine broke down at Cadbury's Bournville factory, and workers cleaning the ovens later found the chocolate had hardened into fine, flaky sheets. Its adverts are also memorable, especially the soft-focus productions of the 1980s (as featured in this still), which highlighted 'the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate'.

12. Lindt Lindor Milk Bar

Lindt, established in 1845 in Switzerland, is perhaps most famous for its velvety truffles and cute, gold foil–wrapped bunnies and teddies. But its Lindt Lindor Milk Bar – which has evolved from the first Lindor solid bars, developed in 1949 – is also worthy of a mention, and a place on our list. With the brand's signature silky-smooth texture, wrapped in red-and-gold packaging, it's just as indulgent as the other products. Perhaps best of all, because it's a bar, there's really no obligation to share it with anyone.

11. Fruit & Nut

Introduced in 1926, Cadbury's Fruit & Nut combines the favourite Dairy Milk texture with plump raisins and crunchy almonds, bringing a little extra texture and flavour to the party. Cadbury's Whole Nut, launched seven years later, replaces the dried fruit for extra almonds – and, to some, is the preferred choice of the two.

10. Daim

Launched in Norway and Sweden in 1953, the Daim chocolate bar also has roots in the US – its original name, Dajm, was the phonetic Norwegian spelling of 'dime'. Ironically, though, the bars are not sold in the US, though they did later launch across Europe and in Japan, with the name changed to Daim to reflect its increasingly global market (it was considered easier to pronounce). For those who love it, the unique combination of crunchy caramel coated with smooth chocolate is pretty irresistible.

9. Galaxy Smooth Milk

Galaxy (known as Dove in the US and some parts of Europe) has achieved remarkable popularity across Europe, and the world. since it was launched by Mars in the UK in the 1960s. The silky-smooth milk chocolate bar is known for its balance of sweetness and, most of all, the indulgent texture. Galaxy claims that the pleasure of consuming the chocolate promotes a deep sense of relaxation, and they may well be right, given that around 23 million Galaxy Smooth Milk blocks are sold each year in the UK alone.

8. Mars

Depending on the depth of your chocolate knowledge, it may or may not surprise you that Mars bars were invented in Slough, England, in 1932. Now wrapped in black-and-gold packaging, and without the original addition of roasted almonds (shown in this vintage ad), the bar remains a favourite in the UK and beyond (though, in the US, Mars' Milky Way is almost identical, with the same combination of nougat and caramel). More than 200 million bars sell each year in the UK and Ireland alone.

7. Kinder Bueno

Created by Michael Ferrero in the early 1990s, Kinder Bueno was originally sold in Italy and Germany, and is now a global favourite found in around 60 countries. The light crispy wafer with a creamy hazelnut filling, all coated in smooth milk chocolate, was originally marketed at children – its bilingual name translates as 'children' (in German) and 'good' (in Spanish) – but it's now pretty popular with adults, too.

6. KitKat

The KitKat, whose distinctive two- or four-finger format and crisp, chocolate-coated layers of wafer debuted in the UK in 1935, was originally known as Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp. Now produced by Nestlé (except in the US, where it's made under licence by the H. B. Reese Candy Company), it has since travelled from its British birthplace to global fame. In 2014, Time magazine in the US named KitKat one of the 'most influential candy bars of all time'.

5. Ritter Sport Alpine Milk Chocolate

German chocolate sensation Ritter Sport has earned widespread acclaim for its premium ingredients and smooth taste. Created in 1932, these chocolate bars are known for their colourful square packaging, created to fit neatly into the pocket of a sports jacket. The brand prides itself on quality, offering varieties from classic milk chocolate to unconventional combinations like cornflakes and yogurt. Ritter Sport's innovative approach to chocolate making, commitment to sustainability and convenience factor have made it a favourite across Europe and beyond.

4. Toblerone

The iconic Swiss, pyramid-shaped Toblerone was created by Theodor Tobler in 1908, meaning Its distinctive smooth milk chocolate filled with honey and almond nougat has been charming chocolate lovers (and sticking in their teeth) for well over a century. Its packaging, adorned with the Matterhorn Mountain, is instantly recognisable, and a staple of airport shopping around the globe. Every year, a special oversized bar is made to celebrate the bar's anniversary, with the weight representing the years of Toblerone’s existence.

3. Fry's Chocolate Cream

Fry's Chocolate Cream was the first mass-produced filled bar, launched in 1866 by the company that, 19 years earlier, pioneered the solid, moulded chocolate bar format. J.S. Fry & Sons, based in Bristol, England, followed up with this cream-filled treat, which has a plain fondant centre covered in dark chocolate. It's now owned by Cadbury, wrapped in classic blue packaging that reflects its nostalgic taste.

2. Milka

Around since 1901, Milka was launched in Lörrach, Germany by Swiss chocolatier Philippe Suchard. Even back then, it featured the now-classic lilac wrapper that's helped it cement its place as a chocolate legend in Europe and beyond. Now produced by Mondelez International, the classic bar (there's a range of other flavours and additions) is still made with creamy Alpine milk chocolate, resulting in a rich, indulgent flavour. The bars are now sold in more than 40 countries, with 150,000 Milka products sold every hour worldwide.

1. Dairy Milk

Created in 1905 in the UK, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk takes the top spot thanks to its enduring popularity and classic simplicity. This really is just smooth, ultra-creamy milk chocolate, and fans can't get enough. Around 350 million bars of Dairy Milk are sold worldwide each year, and it's been named Britain's favourite chocolate bar in numerous surveys through the year. A 2020 survey even saw it take the title of the world's favourite chocolate bar.

Now read our list of America's best candy bars of all time