Dictionary Definition
Extensive Definition
Tic Tac (officially styled as "tic tac") 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 produced in 1969 and have been a
popular product throughout their history. They are usually sold in
small transparent plastic boxes with a flip-action living hinge
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 Tacs have maintained the success
of the brand in a rapidly changing consumer environment.
History
During the 1990s, "double packs" were introduced, featuring a regular Tic Tac container with two flavors inside. Available combinations were Tangerine & Lime, Orange & Grape, Berry & Cherry, and many more.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." This has changed since the size
of each individual piece was increased and the caloric value
increased to 1.9 calories.
It currently occupies the #1 position in the
U.S. breath
mint category.
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". The most recent
advertising campaign features the slogan "refreshing little
lifts".
In Canada and New Zealand, the Tic Tac slogan is
'it's not just a mint, it's a 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.
Orange Tic Tacs are featured in the 2007 film
Juno.
Film promoters distributed boxes of the mints prior to the film's
release.
Flavors
Tic Tacs come in several different flavors. Here
are some examples:
- Passion Fruit (Summer edition, 2007, France; Netherlands; Australia and New Zealand)
- Mango (Summer edition, 2007, Australia and Netherlands)
- Tropical Acerola (Summer edition, 2007, France; Australia and Netherlands)
- Pink Grapefruit (Summer edition, 2007, France and Australia)
- 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)
- Disgusting Twist (limited edition)
- Tropical Twist (passion fruit)
- Extra Mint Cherry (Brazil)
- Honeycomb
- Extra Strong
- Hexa (Brazil)
- Carnaval (Brazil)
- Bold! (strong flavors, fruit and mint varieties)
- Lemon Mint (Australia, Argentina, Belgium and Brazil)
- Eucalyptus (Winter edition, 2007, Slovakia)
- Maracuja (Passion Fruit) Belgium 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 36 Tic
Tacs. New packs in Australia weigh 24g and contain 50 Tic Tacs, and
the Tic Tac "Big Box" weighs 49g and contains 100 Tic Tacs. The
"Big Pack" weights 29 grams (1 ounce) and contains 59 pieces.
Each Tic Tac weighs just under 0.5g. Since US
federal regulations state that if a single serving contains less
than 0.5g of sugars it is allowable to express the amount of sugar
in a serving as zero, and since a single serving of Tic Tacs is a
single Tic Tac, Tic Tacs are labeled in the US as containing zero
sugar.
See also
References
External links
tictac in German: Tic Tac
tictac in Italian: Tic Tac
tictac in Dutch: Tic tac
tictac in Portuguese: Tic Tac
tictac in Chinese: 的嗒糖