Tic Tac
Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox brand Tic Tac (stylized in lowercase) 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 flavors in over 100 countries.
Tic Tacs are typically 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 while the Tic Tacs themselves are white.
Tic Tac has featured advertising that emphasizes the low calorie count of the mints. Most flavors have approximately 1.9 calories per mint.
History
Template:Multiple image Tic Tac were first introduced by Ferrero in 1969, under the name "Refreshing Mints".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1970, the name was changed to Tic Tac, after the distinctive clicking sound made by the pack being opened and closed.<ref name="tictac">Template:Citation</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>), 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Easter,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> St Patricks Day,Template:Citation needed and Valentine's Day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Since 1980,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Tic Tac slogan in the United States has been "The 1½ Calorie Breath Mint." In the United Kingdom, France, Republic of 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2006, Tic Tac introduced a "Bold" edition with more intense flavours of Mint and Fruit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Tic Tac sometimes provides limited editions to promote films and television shows,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.Template:Citation needed The Simpsons were also a part of a marketing campaign with four different flavors featuring custom The Simpsons labeling;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Blueberry, Bubblegum, Buzz Cola, and Donut. Tic Tac introduced a limited edition Coca-Cola flavour in 2020,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Sprite in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Manufacturing
Thirty-five percent of the world's Tic Tacs are manufactured at the Ferrero factory in Cork, Ireland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Tic Tacs are also manufactured in Australia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Canada,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> India<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Ecuador.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Nutrition facts
Template:Infobox nutritional value For Fresh mint (Europe/US/Canada); Peppermint (Australia)
Nutritional information
- Per 100 g – Energy Template:Convert, Protein 0.1 g, Carbohydrate 97.5 g, Fat 0.4 g.
- Per Tic Tac – Energy Template:Convert, 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).<ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>
Each pack weighs Template:Convert 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 Template:Convert 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).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="auto1"/> In at least some jurisdictions, the 0 g now features a footnote that clarifies "less than 0.5 g".<ref name="auto"/>