Tic Tac (officially styled as "tic tac") is a brand of small, hard mints, consisting of 94.5% sugar, manufactured by the
Italian confectioner Ferrero, and are available in a variety of flavors in over 100 countries.
Tic Tacs were first produced in 1969. They are usually sold in small transparent plastic boxes with a flip-action living hinge lid. Originally, Tic Tacs were dyed specific colors for different flavors, although in many countries the transparent plastic boxes are colored but the actual Tic Tacs are white.
HistoryTic Tacs were first introduced by Ferrero in 1969, under the name "Refreshing Mints". In 1970, the name was changed to
Tic Tacs, after the distinctive sound of the mints rattling in their container. Besides the original "Orange" and Fresh Mint flavors, several new varieties were added, including aniseed, cinnamon (or "Winter Warmer"), an orange and grape mix (in 1976), spearmint, peppermint, Powermint, sour apple, mandarin, tangarine, berry, fresh orange, strawberry, wintergreen, pink grapefruit, orange and lime together (in 1978), cherry, passion fruit (in 2007), pomegranate (in 2010), mango, lime and popcorn (2014). The grape flavor was eliminated in 1976 because of health concerns about the red dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2), a suspected carcinogen. Orange Tic Tacs were sold without the Grape.
Other offerings have included holiday gift packs for Christmas, Easter, St Patricks Day, and Valentine's Day.
Since
1980, the
Tic Tac slogan has been "The 1½ Calorie Breath Mint".
During the 1990s, "double packs" were introduced, featuring a regular Tic Tac container with two flavors inside. Available combinations included Tangerine and Lime, Orange and Grape, and Berry and Cherry.
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".
In
2006, Tic Tac introduced a "Bold" edition with more intense flavors of Mint and Fruit.
Orange Tic Tacs featured prominently in the
2007 film Juno, in an orange box with white color candies as are sold in Canada and Brazil. Film promoters distributed boxes of the candies prior to the film's release.
In 2008, Tic Tac introduced Tic Tac Chill, which are slightly larger than ordinary
Tic Tacs and come in a dual-opening packaging, using the traditional living hinge or a sliding opening on the front of the case. These come in three flavors:
Exotic Cherry,
Berry Blast, and
Paradise Mint.
Tic Tac Chill mints are also sugar free, the Exotic Cherry ones instead being sweetened with xylitol.
Orange, Mint, Spearmint, Mintensity, Peach and Passion, Strawberry Mix, Cherry, Elaichi (cardamom) and Banana are available in India.[citation needed]
Tic Tac sometimes provides limited editions to promote films. In 2015, a special Minions movie edition was produced containing banana or passion fruit flavoured Tic Tacs. There were three different covers with pictures of either Stuart, Kevin or Bob.
Orignal Content : en.wikipedia.org
