About Penguin
Penguin is one of Britain's most beloved chocolate biscuit bars, famous for its iconic "P-p-p-pick up a Penguin!" advertising slogan and the jokes printed on every wrapper. First created in 1932 by William McDonald in Glasgow, Penguin has been delighting generations of British families for over 90 years. The original Penguin was inspired by chocolate-covered biscuits from abroad. William McDonald created a biscuit with chocolate cream sandwiched between two biscuit layers, all coated in chocolate - the dark chocolate and cream inspired the penguin mascot representing the black and white colours. In 1965, McDonald's company joined United Biscuits, bringing Penguin under the McVitie's brand. Penguin bars are renowned for their wrapper designs featuring playful penguin characters, often parodying famous artworks, along with jokes and fun facts that have become a lunchbox tradition. Over the years, McVitie's has introduced variations including Penguin Chukkas, Wing Dings, Flipper Dippers and Penguin Minis. In 2025, rising global cocoa prices (increasing over 150% due to poor weather affecting West African crops) led McVitie's to reformulate their recipe. Penguin bars now use "chocolate flavour" coating rather than chocolate, as the cocoa content falls below the 20% minimum required for the chocolate designation. Despite this, consumer polls show 70% notice little taste difference. Available in original milk chocolate flavour, mint chocolate and orange varieties, Penguin remains a staple in British households and lunchboxes. Grocefully helps you compare Penguin prices across Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons and all major UK supermarkets.





















