Prince Polo (History, Pictures & Marketing)

There actually wasn’t ever anyone named Prince Polo or with the title of Prince of some fictional place called Polo. This part of the branding of this candy bar was entirely made up, but it does bring forth some very interesting ideas about who Prince Polo is or what kind of person this fictional Prince could have been in order to have chocolate named after him.

Prince Polo is a candy bar from Poland that has been a big part of the sweets landscape in this country since the 50s. While the Prince himself never existed, that did not impact the popularity of the candy bar, which is still one of the most beloved sweets in Poland today. You can even try this lovely snack out for yourself if you wish, but ordering it online and having it sent to you!

History

The company that makes Prince Polo was actually founded in 1920. At this time, the company was making other candy products, but Prince Polo did not land on the shelves of stores until 1955. This was the early years of the Polish People’s Republic, and the name of the candy bar was likely intended to communicate some form of message in relation to the changing political landscape in Poland at the time. The creator of the candy bar was Olza S.A.

Prince Polo is a Chocolate-covered candy bar with four layers of wafers inside, which are joined to one another with chocolate-flavored filling. This is the most popular candy bar in Iceland as well as Poland, and for a long time, this was the only candy bar that you could buy in Iceland. Today, the candy bar is sold in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, and Ukraine under the name Siesta. In Iceland, it is named Prins Polo.

For fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the golden wrapper for the original candy bar will immediately recall thoughts of the golden ticket to see the chocolate factory. There is no connection between the livery of this candy product to the most famous American story about a chocolate bar, but the golden livery of the original candy bar product was very noticeable and caused comment. Other varieties of this candy bar come in wrappers that are equally shiny, but the base color is not gold.

Kraft Jacobs Suchard bought the Prince Polo brand in 1993. They revised the logo of the product but did not remove the shiny and comment-worthy exterior wrapper. They also removed the paper wrapping from the inside of the exterior foil and wrapped the products in plastic. This made them last longer, and it helped to pave the way for some new varieties of the candy products to be made, such as the Hazelnut candy bar.

The new owners of the candy products also made an XXL bar that is 52g. This can be people’s favorite size of this candy bar since Prince Polo is quite light and is not as sweet as American candy bars. You might be able to eat most of an XXL candy bar in a single sitting due to the different, lighter texture of this candy bar with the wafer center.

Today, Pince Polo bars are no less popular than they were in the 50s when they were the only candy bar on the shelves of most stores in Iceland and Poland. This is still a product that is commonly found in people’s Instagram stories, and locals might even take the time to post pictures with this iconic candy bar from time to time when they decide to grab one to snack on.

Iceland was not even allowed to have beer imported into the country for many years. Prince Polo bars were the only candy products that were allowed to be sold in Iceland for a very long time, which likely cemented the candy bar as a hugely iconic part of the experience of coming to Iceland. It’s hard to imagine depriving your citizens of anything sweet or delicious, but Iceland’s government was very concerned about morals for many years.

This candy bar has actually become something of a national symbol in Iceland, and people often feel like their arrival in the country to visit or to stay for a while is not complete until they have bought and taken a picture with a Prince Polo bar.

A singer-songwriter in Iceland actually changed his name to Prins Polo, and there have been numerous songs written about the chocolate bar. Some people in Iceland remember that their parents used to have them hang Prince Polo bars on the Christmas tree each year. This attachment to this candy product likely has its roots in the original bit of clever truth-bending that made it possible for Prince Polo to end up in Iceland at all. 

The original makers of the Prince Polo bar were actually able to convince lawmakers in Iceland that the Prince Polo bar was not a candy bar but instead a biscuit. This is how Iceland was able to get its first and, for many years, only candy bar to enjoy. Everyone loves a bit of vigilante activity so long as it leads to something everyone can enjoy, and the Prince Polo bar fits this scenario to a T.

While Prince Polo is not marketed to the US or the UK specifically at this time, you can still order these candy bars online and have them sent to you to try. There is something really delightful about the classic nature of the Prince Polo bar, and the lightness of it is what really stands out to most consumers. So many candy bars are heavy and very sweet, but the Prince Polo products are light, crispy, and a bit less sugary than many other candy bars on the market today.

Varieties

• Classic Dark Chocolate
• Hazelnut Milk Chocolate
• Prince Polo Classic
• Prince Polo Classic XXL
• Prince Polo Hazelnut XXL
• Prince Polo with Coconut in White Chocolate
• Premium
• Prince Polo Mini

Livery

The shiny and noticeable nature of the wrappers for this candy brand is a big reason that people remember the Prince Polo bar. Even if you cannot go down to the store and get your own Prince Polo Bar, once you have seen the Prince Polo wrapper, you will remember it forever. 

The classic candy bar has a bright, shiny, golden base. There is a picture of the candy bar on the front of the wrapper that is cut in half and which shows the interior layers of the wafers inside. As part of the tradition of the candy bar not being called candy so it could be sent to Iceland, the bottom of the wrapper states that this is a, “dark chocolate confection”.

The logo for the Prince Polo products is consistent across varieties of the candy bar, and the lettering that proclaims the brand name is always placed over a big, red rectangle. In a little blue box above the Prince Polo name, there is also the word “Olza”.

The Hazelnut version of the candy bar has a shiny green background, and the candy bar is shown alongside some hazelnuts. There is also a tag for Kraft foods on some of these candy bars since Kraft helps to distribute the candy bars in some markets. The XXL versions of the candy bars all have the same livery, but there are big block letters in the place of the image of the candy bar itself that proclaim, “XXL”.

While the improved wrappers that are made with plastic instead of paper can help keep Prince Polo bars from melting as easily when it’s warm out, this is still a really fragile candy bar when exposed to the daily heat of places like Texas or Arizona. People who live in warm regions of the world but love the Prince Polo bar usually just place their candy bars in the freezer and enjoy them cold.

Most people say that the candy bars survive being partially melted and then frozen, so if your candy bars show up from Amazon a bit worse for wear due to heat during shipping, don’t panic. They will probably bounce right back after spending some time in the fridge or the freezer.

Logo

Ingredients:

From the Amazon entry to order Prince Polo online:

• Sugar
• Wheat flour
• Fractionated palm oil
• Chocolate
• Whey cocoa butter
• Cocoa powder (processed with alkali)
• Milk fat
• Potato starch
• Soy lecithin
• Baking soda
• Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (emulsifier)
• Artificial flavor
• Salt

There will be some variation in the ingredients for the other versions of these candy bars, but the base recipe is the same. This is not a candy bar that can be enjoyed by those with nut or milk allergies, and the base recipe is also not gluten-free. You will have to enjoy this candy bar at your own risk if you have any of these allergies.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 bar (50g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	270
Calories from Fat	126
Total Fat	14g	22%
Saturated Fat	8g	40%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	2.5mg	1%
Sodium	95mg	4%
Total Carbohydrates	32g	11%
Dietary Fiber	0.5g	2%
Sugars	21g
Protein	3g
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		8%
Iron		0.7%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet.

Pictures

Commercials

A classic commercial:

An ad from 2009: