Bertie Beetle ice creams now sold at Aldi

It was a staple of milk bars during the 1970s that most of us can now only buy once a year – but Aldi is selling the iconic product with a twist.

Getting a Bertie Beetle showbag has to be one of the highlights of Sydney’s Royal Easter Show.

The iconic chocolate, sold at stores across the country during the 1970s, is available at agricultural shows around Australia and is easily the nation’s most popular showbag.

But if you can’t get your hands on a Bertie Beetle showbag this year then Aldi has the next best thing – Bertie Beetle ice cream.

The discount supermarket is exclusively stocking the cold sweet treat after fans spotted it in stores last week, news.com.au can reveal.

The Peter’s ice cream, which costs $4.99 for a six pack, previously made a limited-run appearance in Woolies back in 2019.

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Bertie Beetle ice cream has arrived at Aldi. Picture: Facebook/Aldi Fans Australia.

“OMG … found this today at our local Aldi store,” one shopper wrote in the Aldi Fans Australia Facebook group.

“No need to go to the Royal Easter Show Sydney lol.”

Her post got dozens of comments from others excited at the find.

“Oh these are so delicious,” one person wrote.

“Why did you have to post, I’m on a strict diet for a few months,” another commented.

Others said they “nearly bought a few boxes for my wife” or were “going now” to their nearest Aldi to stock up.

But some preferred the chocolate the old school way, with one person advising: “Better to mix crushed up Bertie Beetles through your favourite vanilla ice cream.”

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The Bertie Beetle was invented in 1963.

THE HISTORY OF BERTIE BEETLE

Speaking to NCA NewsWire, Nestle Oceania head of corporate affairs Margaret Stuart said the sweet treat was invented in 1963 and initially sold in stores, but decades later a deal was struck to sell it mainly in showbags at major events.

“Bertie is much more successful in a showbag than it was in store,” she said.

When Bertie was born in the ’60s, to rival Cadbury’s Freddo Frog, its original maker Hoadley’s Chocolates used waste from Violet Crumble trimmings to produce the chocolate treat.

Then in 2011 the company stopped using waste honeycomb and switched to sourcing other honeycomb pieces.

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Bertie Beetle chocolate is only sold at agricultural shows or speciality stores. Picture: Dylan Coker/NCA NewsWire

Bertie’s branding has evolved over the decades too, including its packaging and also the shape of the chocolate itself.

“Bertie has changed shape and changed his wrapper,” Ms Stuart said.

“It used to be a little beetle-shaped chocolate wrapped in foil.”

There are about 50 independent “retro” confectionary stores across the country that sell the honeycomb beetle, according to the product’s agency Chicane Marketing.

Showbags can also be purchased online. But otherwise the only way to indulge in the honeycomb treat is to line up with the masses at the annual show.