Tic Tac: History, Flavors & Varieties

Snack History Nostalgia Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

The Tic Tac is an iconic candy or breath mint (depending on who you talk to) that has been around for more than a half-century. It was created in 1969 by Ferrero U.S.A, Inc. This was the year that Ferrero opened its doors in NYC. Instead of resting on their already famous product, Nutella, they wanted to make a splash. They introduced this tiny giant to the world – the Tic Tac.

**NOTE** Some people say that Tic Tac’s were introduced in 1968, but Ferraro lists the introduction as 1969, or as they call it – 1969 – The Summer of Love.

Why Is It Called a Tic Tac?

Have you ever wondered why this cute little candy is called a Tic Tac?

Like many products, this was named as a description of something the product does. In this case, it is a reference to the noise either these cute little pellets make in their containers or the noise people hear when they pop open the container. Initially, the name of this product was “Refreshing Mints.” Refreshing Mints came out in 1969 and was quickly renamed and rebranded as Tic Tac’s in 1970.

What Flavors Were Available in 1969?

In the beginning, there were only two flavors. Fresh Mint and Orange. Fresh Mint makes sense as that was 

the original name of this breath. Orange is a little more surprising as a breath mint, but as most people will tell you. Orange Tic Tac’s, are Tic Tac’s. This has been the go-to flavor for young and old alike for years.

What Other Flavors Were Added?

Some after the original launch, other flavors were added. This is partially because Tic Tac’s become incredibly popular very fast. Hence, it only made sense to extend their flavor line. Some additional flavors added throughout the years included the following:

• Cinnamon (which was sometimes called winter warmer)
• Aniseed
• Sour apple
• Peppermint
• Spearmint
• Powermint
• Mandarin
• Berry
• Fresh orange
• Strawberry
• Tangerine
• Pink grapefruit
• Wintergreen
• Mango
• Lime
• Pomegranate
• Cherry
• Passionfruit
• Popcorn
• Grape
• Orange and lime mix

Are They only Available in The Traditional Packaging?

As it has been more than 5 decades since Tic Tac’s have come out, they have been available in many different varieties and containers.

Originally, they came out in the traditional tic tac containers, which contained pellets that were 1 ½ calorie each. Later, they increased the size of each individual tic tac, so now they are 2 calories each.

During various holidays, they have offered holiday gift packs, including Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and St. Patricks Day.

In the 1990’s they started selling double packs. These were containers of Tic Tac’s with two flavors inside.

In 2006, they decided to modernize their flavors. Although they kept traditional Tic Tac’s on the market, they released Tic Tac: Bold Edition. These Tic Tac’s were similar, except the mint or fruit flavors were more intense.

They followed this up in 2008 but introduced Tic Tac Chill. These were larger Tic Tac’s in dual opening packaging. They came in three flavors – Berry Blast, Exotic Cherry, and Paradise Mint.

Sometimes, they also offer limited flavors for promotions in conjunction with other companies and media. As an example, in 2015, they released the flavor banana and mandarin, and it was released to help promote the upcoming Minions movie. In 2007, the Canadian and Brazilian markets sold an orange box of tic Tac’s with white pellets to promote the 2007 film Juno.

What Flavors and Varieties are Available Today?

Today, they have streamlined the flavors to their most popular ones. These flavors include orange, fresh mint, strawberry fields, lime & orange, intense mint, and fruit adventure.

The Grape Tic Tac

Did you know that there was once a grape Tic Tac? This was not one of the original flavors, but it came out within a few years of Tic Tac’s being introduced to the market. Grape sounds like a perfect flavor, especially since Orange is so popular, right? Although it might have tasted great, it had to be pulled for scary reasons.

It turned out that the red dye used in it, amaranth, was a suspected carcinogen. So, of course, Ferrero had to remove this flavor from the market.

They Are Sold Around The World

According to the owner and manufacturer of Tic Tac’s, Ferrero, Tic Tac’s are now available in over 100 countries worldwide. This is pretty impressive considering that there are only 195 total countries.

But They Have No Color in Most Other Places

In America, we expect to see colors when we buy fruit or mint-flavored mints and candies. Strawberry should be pink, watermelon red, orange is orange, peppermint is white, wintergreen is green, and grape should be purple. However, that is unique to the American market for many different products, including the Tic Tac.

In countries around the world, Tic Tac’s are all white, regardless of the flavor of each pellet. The container has different colors helping to quickly identify the flavor, not the actual mints.

India Has Cool Flavors Not Available Everywhere Else

India has its own division of Ferrero; potentially due to this, they have different Tic Tac flavors than those available in America.

Just like in America, they have orange, mint, and strawberry fields. However, they also have flavors called apple treat, intensity, mango, cherry cola, and elaichimint. It seems that some other locations worldwide also have Cherry Cola available to them.

This makes sense; it would make the best marketing sense to create specific flavors based on the popularity in the country or region they are sold in. For instance, in Spain, they have mint and orange, as we do. They can also buy a strawberry mix or cherry passion.

The Pink Grapefruit Flavor Has Meaning

Pink Grapefruit was a popular, limited-time-only flavor. This flavor can usually be found every year from August through October. It was created by Ferrero to spread awareness of breast cancer. The flavor made sense as these Tic Tac’s are a soft pink, which is the same shade of pink all companies and organizations use for breast cancer awareness promotions and products.

The Sugar Content

Tic Tac’s are made up of 94.5% sugar content but are also listed as sugar-free mints. That does seem a little bit unfair or wrong. Still, there is a specific reason they can list themselves as a sugar-free option when they are actually mostly sugar.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stringent rules on all types of food labeling. To label something sugar-free, the food or drink in question must report the amount of sugar in any item that is 0.5 grams per serving or greater.

If you looked at the nutrition facts label on a container of Tic Tac’s, you would see that it lists sugars as 0g. It says 0g (zero grams) and has a little triangle next to that listing. If you go to the bottom of the nutritional chart, you will see that the triangle indicates it is less than 0.5 grams. This is important as the FDA only requires a company to report the sugar content on items 0.5 grams or greater.

A serving size of Tic Tac’s is one. One Tic Tac is 0.49 grams, falling just below the federal regulations on when sugar needs to be reported to the public.

So, Tic Tac’s are actually basically all sugar. Still, because they are so small, it is entirely legal to call them sugar-free!

Logo

Ingredients

• Sugar
• Maltodextrins
• Fructose
• Thickener (Gum Arabic)
• Rice Starch
• Anticaking Agent (Magnesium Salts Of Fatty Acids)
• Flavourings
• Mint Essential Oil
• Glazing Agent (Carnauba Wax)

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 mint (0.5g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat	0
Calories	0
Total Fat	0g	0%
Sodium	0mg	0%
Total Carbohydrates	0g	0%
Protein	0g

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Pictures

Ferrero USA – Other Products

If you are a fan of Tic Tac’s, you might wonder what other great products and treats Ferrero, USA makes! We got you covered! Here are some great things about this company.

• Nutella: Of course, they are also responsible for Nutella. Nutella is a delicious hazelnut spread. It is available as the spread alone or as Nutella and Go – which is portable-sized snacks of Nutella and cracker sticks to dip in this hazelnut treat. Nutella is their original product, the one which they are most know for.
• Ferrero Rocher: This is the original hazelnut treat. It is roasted hazelnuts dipped in chocolate and surrounded by crispy wafers and hazelnut pieces. This treat comes in original, gift box collections with various dips and oversized pieces.
• Kinder: Kinder is the brand that combines a toy and a treat. You can get Kinder job, Kinder Bueno, or Kinder seasonal. Of course, in America, the toy is not inside of the chocolate. This is due to FDA and government regulations.
• Classic Candy Bars: Ferrero also bought the rights to various traditional candy bars from Nestle. These candies include Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, 100 Grand, Crunch, and Raisinets.
• Fannie May: Ferrero also now owns the Fannie May line of chocolates. Fannie May is a brand of fine chocolate assortments and various chocolate snacks. Under chocolate assortments, you would find a variety of assorted chocolate boxes and specific flavors like mint meltaways, vanilla buttercreams, and pecan clusters. You would also find candy bars and bagged chocolate snack mixes. Fanny May also makes seasonal packages like celebrations gift bags and chocolate and nut towers.

Commercials

FAQ