Tic Tac
- This article describes a brand of mints. For the betting signalling system, please refer to tic-tac.
tic tac (officially styled in lower case letters) is the brand name of small, hard mints manufactured by the Italian confectioner Ferrero. The individual mints are commonly known as tic tacs.
They were originally introduced to the United States in 1969 and have been a popular product throughout the world. They are usually sold in small transparent plastic boxes with a flip-action lid. Originally, tic tacs were dyed the specific colors. Now, in many countries, the transparent plastic boxes are colored for the specific flavors and the actual tic tacs remain white inside. Different flavors and forms of tic tac candies have maintained the success of the brand in a rapidly changing consumer environment.
The name "tic tac" is an example of ablaut reduplication.
History
During the 1970s, "double packs" were introduced, featuring a regular tic tac container with two flavors inside. Available combinations were Tangerine & Lime, Orange & Grape, and Berry & Cherry.
Grape was eliminated in 1976 because of health concerns about the red dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2), a suspected carcinogen. The Orange tic tacs continued on their own without the Grape.
Other innovations included:
- Holiday gift packs for Christmas, Easter, and St Valentine's Day
- Silvers - individually wrapped mints designed for candy bowls
- 30% Bigger Mints - featuring tic tacs that are 30% bigger
Besides the original Fresh mint flavor, several new varieties were added over time, including: cinnamon (or "Winter Warmer"), orange, spearmint, peppermint, mandarin, wintergreen and lime. In 2005 a limited edition flavor of lemon was introduced.
Since 1980, its tag line has been "The 1½ Calorie Breath Mint®." It currently occupies the #1 position in the U.S. breath mint category. This has changed since the size of each individual piece was increased and the caloric value increased to 1.9 calories.
In the UK, Ireland and Australia tic tacs are noted as being less than 2 kilocalories with the slogan "2 hours of tic tac freshness in less than 2 calories". A more recent, humorous TV advertising campaign encourages potential purchasers in the UK to "Shake your tic tac".
In 2006, tic tac introduced a Bold edition with stronger flavors. With 1.9 kilocalories per mint (advertised as having "less than 2 calories") it comes in two flavors, Mint and Fruit.
Flavors
Tic Tacs come in several different flavors. Here are some examples:
- Passion Fruit (Summer edition, 2007, Netherlands)
- Mango (Summer edition, 2007, Netherlands)
- Tropical Acerola (Summer edition, 2007, Netherlands)
- Cinnamon (first alternative flavor from 1970s, "limited edition" in UK called Winter Warmer)
- Tangerine
- Orange (added after the Tangerine was popular in the double pack)
- Wintergreen (added in 1980s)
- Spearmint (added in 1980s)
- Lime (added in 1990s)
- Fresh mint (Europe/US); Peppermint (Australia)
- Fruit Festival (limited edition)
- Citrus Twist (limited edition)
- Tropical Twist
- Extra Strong Mint
- Passion fruit (New Zealand and Australia)
- Hexa (Brazil)
- Carnaval (Brazil)
- Bold! (strong flavors, fruit and mint varieties)
- Lemon Mint (Australia, Argentina and Brazil)
Nutrition facts
For Fresh mint (Europe/US); Peppermint (Australia)
Nutritional Information
Per 100g - Energy 1658 KJ (390 Kcal), Protein 0g, Carbohydrate 97.5g, Fat 0g.
Per tic tac - Energy 8.5 KJ (2 Kcal), Protein 0g, Carbohydrate 0.5g, Fat 0g.
Ingredients
Sugar, Fructose, Rice Starch, Dextrin, Stabilizer (Gum Arabic), Flavorings, Glazing Agent (Carnauba wax), Filling Agent (Magnesium stearate).
Each pack weighs 15-18g and contains about 30 tic tacs. New packs in Australia weigh 24g and contain 50 tic tacs, and the tic tac "Big Box" weighs 49g and contains 100 mints