Caramello Koala
Encyclopedia
Caramello Koala is a brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by Cadbury Australia
. It consists of a chocolate cartoon shaped koala
(named "George" in certain advertising material) with a caramel
center, similar to that of a Freddo, albeit a fully chocolate bar.
The chocolate bar is sold in two sizes: the more common 20 gram
size and the "Giant" 40 gram size, usually sold as a fundraiser. 40 million Caramello Koalas are sold in Australia each year, making the product the second most popular in the Australian children's confectionery market, after the Freddo Frog
.
Cross-over products are occasionally made available featuring the Caramello character, including Cadbury Caramello Koala Choc Caramel flavoured milk
in 2003 and Caramello Koala Sundae ice-cream in 1997. They are also sold in South Africa
under the name "Caramello Bear", where they are marketed with the Caramello Bear admitting: "Caramel? That's a weakness!"
A 20 g Caramello Koala contains 415 kJ of energy
and 5.5 g of fat
.
Caramello Koala was introduced in Australia as the Caramello Bear in 1966. It was reputedly the first mass marketed confection to be modelled on Australian fauna. Television advertisements for the chocolate in Australia featured Caramello and his cartoon friends sailing down a river or riding on a steam train to a modified version of Donovan
's "Mellow Yellow
". Caramello's packaging and imagery was updated in 2000, after market research revealed the character was seen as daggy, one-dimensional and not sufficiently 'animated'.
In 2003, then Australian Labor Party
MP
, Mark Latham
, was labelled a "Caramello Koala" by Liberal
MP
Christopher Pyne
, for allegedly being "soft in the centre".
Cadbury
-Businesses:*Cadbury Adams, the company's North American subsidiary*Cadbury Ireland, the company's Irish subsidiary*Cadbury UK, the company's UK subsidiary*Cadbury India, the company's Indian subsidiary*Cadbury New Zealand, the company's New Zealand subsidiary...
. It consists of a chocolate cartoon shaped koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
(named "George" in certain advertising material) with a caramel
Caramel
Caramel is a beige to dark-brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, and as a topping for ice cream, custard and coffee....
center, similar to that of a Freddo, albeit a fully chocolate bar.
The chocolate bar is sold in two sizes: the more common 20 gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
size and the "Giant" 40 gram size, usually sold as a fundraiser. 40 million Caramello Koalas are sold in Australia each year, making the product the second most popular in the Australian children's confectionery market, after the Freddo Frog
Freddo Frog
Freddo is a brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by Cadbury. It was invented in 1930 by Harry Melbourne, an 18 year old moulder employed by MacRobertson's; an Australian confectionery company. It is sold in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.Each chocolate...
.
Cross-over products are occasionally made available featuring the Caramello character, including Cadbury Caramello Koala Choc Caramel flavoured milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
in 2003 and Caramello Koala Sundae ice-cream in 1997. They are also sold in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
under the name "Caramello Bear", where they are marketed with the Caramello Bear admitting: "Caramel? That's a weakness!"
A 20 g Caramello Koala contains 415 kJ of energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
and 5.5 g of fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
.
Caramello Koala was introduced in Australia as the Caramello Bear in 1966. It was reputedly the first mass marketed confection to be modelled on Australian fauna. Television advertisements for the chocolate in Australia featured Caramello and his cartoon friends sailing down a river or riding on a steam train to a modified version of Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
's "Mellow Yellow
Mellow Yellow
"Mellow Yellow" is a song and single release by Donovan. It reached #2 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. in 1966 and #8 in the UK in early 1967....
". Caramello's packaging and imagery was updated in 2000, after market research revealed the character was seen as daggy, one-dimensional and not sufficiently 'animated'.
In 2003, then Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, Mark Latham
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham , an author and former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
, was labelled a "Caramello Koala" by Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...
, for allegedly being "soft in the centre".