Tic Tac

Tic Tac (stylized as "tic tac") is a brand of small, hard mint manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero. They were first produced in 1969 and are now available in a variety of flavours in over 100 countries.

Not to be confused with Tactic or Tic-tac-toe.
"Tic tac" redirects here. For other uses, see Tic tac (disambiguation).
Tic Tac
Product typeBreath mints
OwnerFerrero
CountryItaly
Introduced1969 (1969)
MarketsWorldwide
Websiteferrero.it/tic-tac

Tic Tacs are usually sold in small transparent plastic boxes with a flip-action living hinge lid. Originally, Tic Tacs were dyed specific colours for different flavours, although in many countries the transparent plastic boxes are now coloured and the actual Tic Tacs are white.

Tic Tac has featured advertising that emphasizes the low calorie count of the mints. Most flavours have approximately 1.9 calories per mint.

History
The first logo of the company, as of 1969 (left), and the 1970 version featuring the leaf for first time

Tic Tac were first introduced by Ferrero in 1969, under the name "Refreshing Mints".[1] In 1970, the name was changed to Tic Tac, after the distinctive clicking sound made by the pack being opened and closed.[2] Besides the original mint and orange flavours, several new varieties were added, including aniseed, cinnamon (or "Winter Warmer"), an orange and lime mix (in 1976), spearmint, peppermint, Powermint, sour apple, mandarin, tangerine, berry, fresh orange, strawberry, wintergreen, pink grapefruit, orange and lime together (in 1978[3]), cherry, passionfruit (in 2007), pomegranate (in 2010), mango, lime, and popcorn (2014). The grape flavour was eliminated in 1976 because of health concerns about the red dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2), a suspected carcinogen.

Other offerings have included holiday gift packs for Christmas,[4] Easter,[5] St Patricks Day, and Valentine's Day.[6]

Tic Tac "Fruit Adventure"
Tic Tac "Coca-Cola" limited edition

Since 1980,[7][8] the Tic Tac slogan in the United States has been "The 1½ Calorie Breath Mint." In the UK, France, Ireland, Italy and Australia Tic Tacs are noted as being less than two calories with the slogan "Two hours of Tic Tac freshness in less than two calories." In Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and used once in the United States, the Tic Tac slogan is "It's not just a mint, it's a Tic Tac." In India, the Tic Tac slogan is "Refreshment to be shared."[9]

During the 1990s, "double packs" were introduced, featuring a regular Tic Tac container with two flavours inside. Available combinations included Tangerine and Lime, Orange and Grape, and Berry and Cherry.[10]

In 2006, Tic Tac introduced a "Bold" edition with more intense flavours of Mint and Fruit.[11]

In 2008, Tic Tac introduced Tic Tac Chill, which is slightly larger than ordinary Tic Tacs and comes in a dual-opening packaging, using the traditional living hinge or a sliding opening on the front of the case. These come in three flavours: Exotic Cherry, Berry Blast, and Paradise Mint. Tic Tac Chill mints are also sugar-free, the Exotic Cherry ones instead being sweetened with xylitol.

During May 2010, Australia's Trademark Registrar office rejected Ferrero's application to trademark their Tic Tac container as "not being unique enough to distinguish its products from other manufacturers."[12]

Tic Tac sometimes provides limited editions to promote films and television shows,[13] such as a banana and mandarin flavour for the 2015 movie Minions. Orange Tic Tacs featured prominently in the 2007 film Juno, in an orange box with white colour mints as sold in Canada and Brazil. Film promoters distributed boxes of the mints prior to the film's release. The Simpsons were also a part of a marketing campaign with four different flavors featuring custom The Simpsons labeling.[14] Flavors included were Blueberry, Bubblegum, Buzz Cola, and Donut.

Manufacturing

Thirty-five percent of the world's Tic Tacs are manufactured at the Ferrero factory in Cork, Ireland.[15]

Tic Tacs are also manufactured in Australia,[16] Canada,[17] India[18] and Ecuador.[19]

Nutrition facts
Tic Tacs
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy1,663 kJ (397 kcal)
97.5 g
0.4 g
0.1 g
†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.

For Fresh mint (Europe/US/Canada); Peppermint (Australia)

Nutritional information
  • Per 100 g – Energy 1,663 kilojoules (397 kcal), Protein 0.1 g, Carbohydrate 97.5 g, Fat 0.4 g.
  • Per Tic Tac – Energy 8 kilojoules (1.9 kcal), Protein 0 g, Carbohydrate 0.5 g, Fat 0 g.

Ingredients

Sugar, fructose, maltodextrin, peppermint essential oil, rice starch, gum arabic, filling agent (magnesium salts of fatty acids), glazing agent (carnauba wax).[20][21]

Each pack weighs 15–18 grams (0.53–0.63 oz) and contains about 38 Tic Tacs. New packs in Australia and Canada weigh 24 g and contain 50 Tic Tacs, and the Tic Tac "100 pack" weighs 49 g and contains 100 Tic Tacs. The "Big Pack" weighs 29 g and contains 60 Tic Tacs. The "Bottle Pack" weighs 98g and contains 200 Tic Tacs. In the UK packs are 16.4 grams (0.58 oz) and contain 22 Tic Tacs.

In the United States, the sugar content of Tic Tacs is listed as 0 g despite the mints being approximately 90% sugar (depending on the flavor).[22] This stems from the fact that a serving size is one 0.49 g mint, and the American Food and Drug Administration permits manufacturers to list sugar (or other nutritional components) as 0 g if they contain less than 0.5 g.[20] In at least some jurisdictions, the 0 g now features a footnote that clarifies "less than 0.5 g".[21]

See also

References
  1. "Tic Tac's Web Flavor". Business Week. August 13, 2006. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  2. "Tic Tac History", Official Tic Tac website, archived from the original on 2016-03-04, retrieved 2014-12-30
  3. "Ferrero UK & Ireland - tic tac". www.ferrero.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  4. "Naughty or Nice Tic Tacs are out now for the holiday season!". grubbits.com. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  5. "Bunny Blast Spring Flavor Tic Tac Display". Fixtures Close Up. 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  6. "Tic Tac Valentine's Day Cherry Shake Up Candies: Nutrition & Ingredients". GreenChoice. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  7. Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office. 1992. p. 392.
  8. "Tic Tac® - Brand history". www.tictac.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  9. "Ferrero India". www.ferreroindia.com. 2022-06-07. Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  10. Staff, P. N. (2016-02-12). "History of the world in 52 packs | 24. Tic Tacs". Packaging News. Archived from the original on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  11. "Tic Tac Bold!". www.candyblog.net. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  12. "To be or not to be registered: the shapes of a product or packaging". novagraaf.com. 18 January 2013. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  13. "Tic Tac – Timeline Photos | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
  14. "The Simpsons Tic Tac Flavor". tictacflavors.com. 30 January 2023. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  15. "Cork TD hits out as Tic Tac production continues during lockdown". CorkBeo. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  16. "Ferrero News". Archived from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  17. "Tic Tac® - Refresh the moment and unleash your creativity". www.tictac.com. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  18. "Tic Tac® - Refresh the moment and unleash your creativity". www.tictac.com. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  19. "Tic Tac Ecuador - Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  20. Wolff, Carina (April 18, 2016). "The Sneaky Reason Why Tic Tacs Can Say 'Sugar Free' (When They Really Aren't)". Simplemost. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  21. "21 CFR 101.9 (c)(6)(ii)". Access.gpo.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  22. "Flavors - Tic Tac". tictac.de. Archived from the original on 2016-10-13. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
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