Jaffa Cakes

Jaffa Cakes are a cake introduced by McVitie and Price in the UK in 1927 and named after Jaffa oranges. In their most common form, Jaffa cakes are circular, 2+1⁄8 inches (54 mm) in diameter, and have three layers: a Genoise sponge base, a layer of orange-flavoured jam, and a coating of chocolate. Each cake is 46 calories. Jaffa Cakes are also available as bars or in small packs, and in larger and smaller sizes. The original Jaffa Cakes now come in packs of 10, 20, 30, or 40, having been downsized in 2017 from 12 or 24 per pack.
Because McVitie's did not register the name "Jaffa Cakes" as a trademark, other biscuit manufacturers and supermarkets have made similar products under the same name. The product's classification as a cake or biscuit was part of a VAT tribunal in 1991, with the court finding in McVitie's favour that Jaffa Cakes should be considered cakes and not biscuits for tax purposes. In 2012 they were ranked the best selling cake or biscuit in the United Kingdom.
McVitie's entire line of Jaffa Cakes are produced at the McVitie's factory in Stockport. The Jaffa Cake production area covers an acre (44,000 sq ft; 4,000 m) and includes a production line over a mile (1.6 km) long. In the early 2000s, it pioneered the development of advanced machine vision technology for quality control.
Although Jaffa Cakes are usually orange flavour, limited edition flavours have been available, such as lemon-and-lime, strawberry and blackcurrant. McVities launched limited-edition pineapple flavour Jaffa Cakes in early 2020. In early 2021, McVitie's unveiled the new flavours cherry and passionfruit. In mid 2023, McVitie's launched Raspberry flavour Jaffa Cakes. In June 2024, McVitie's launched Cola Bottle flavour Jaffa Cakes.
In the United Kingdom, value added tax (VAT) is payable on chocolate-covered biscuits, but not on cakes of any kind. When VAT was introduced in 1973, Jaffa Cakes were treated as cakes for the purpose of VAT, but this classification was challenged by Inland Revenue in 1991 who argued that Jaffa Cakes should be taxed as chocolate-covered biscuits.
A tribunal was held to decide how Jaffa Cakes should be legally classified for VAT. The presiding judge, Donald Potter, considered the "ordinary meaning" of the word cake, rejecting any consideration of the purpose of VAT legislation in determining what would count as a cake. The court also discounted expert evidence, as it went "beyond the capacity of an ordinary purchaser". Potter concluded that while there is no strict dividing line between cakes and biscuits in ordinary language, and while Jaffa Cakes had characteristics of both cakes and biscuits, they had "sufficient characteristics of cakes to qualify as cakes" and hence to be zero rated for VAT. The ruling was based on the following criteria:
According to Christopher Mark Hutton, the decision prioritised the material properties of the Jaffa Cake (its ingredients and composition) over social factors such as its packaging and marketing. Ross Charnock analysed the case as focusing on stereotypical features of cakes rather than comparison to prototypical examples.
The tribunal has been viewed by tax experts as an example of the complexity and market distortions arising from multiple tax levels and the use of ambiguous categories. It has been cited as an example of expensive litigation resulting from different tax rates for similar products. It spawned further legal disputes, in particular Marks & Spencer argued that it should be refunded VAT it paid on its chocolate teacakes. It has also been used as an example of arbitrary distinctions in tax law and the "absurd tests" that need to be used when there is not an underlying policy purpose or principle to different tax rates.
The debate over classification has aroused interest from philosophers such as Tim Crane who view it as an example of how concepts relate to reality. Crane argues that the classification of Jaffa Cakes is more than a matter of definition, and relates to their essential features, which he agrees are cake-like. By contrast, Cristian Constantinescu argues the question is indeterminate, and Roy Sorensen cites the case as an example of vagueness forcing judges to answer unanswerable questions. Tim Juvshik states that Jaffa Cakes are an "artifact kind" whose classification is a matter of stipulation and social convention. Others argue that a binary dichotomy is problematic and Jaffa Cakes are neither cake nor biscuit, but something in-between.
The Irish Revenue Commissioners also regard Jaffa Cakes as cakes, since their moisture content is greater than 12%. As a result, they are charged the reduced rate of VAT (13.5% as of 2016).
In 2021 McVities launched a £4.7 million advertising and social media campaign to promote the brand.