ARNOTT'S BISCUITS HOLDINGS

'Arnott's Biscuits Holdings' (commonly known as 'Arnott's'), is a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company of America.
In Australia Arnott's is the largest producer of biscuits and the second-largest supplier of snack food.

Contents

History

Ownership and corporate history

Arnott's poison scare

Products

References

Further reading

External links

History

The history of Arnott's Biscuits begins in 1865, when Scottish immigrant William Arnott opened a bakery on Hunter Street, Newcastle, providing biscuits and pies to townspeople and ships docking at the local port. ^[1]
The company's logo is a colourful parrot, believed to have been drawn by William Arnott's daughter-in-law, Leslie Arnott. It was registered as a trademark in 1907.^[2]
Arnott's, in common with the majority of Australian biscuit manufacturers, operated primarily in its home State. In the 1960s, Arnott's instigated significant rationalisation of the biscuit business, by acquiring biscuit bakeries in other States, such as Menz in South Australia.
After Arnott's acquired other bakeries, they continued to bake the regional varieties, such as Menz Yo-Yo and Brockhoff Salada.

Ownership and corporate history

Arnott's has been established for so long that it has become an essential part of Australian culture. In 1997, the Campbell Soup Company of North America, a shareholder of Arnott's since the 1960s, acquired Arnott's in full. Thus, in 1997, Arnott's Biscuits Ltd became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Campbell Soup Company. This caused a significant amount of controversy in Australia, based on the desire for such an Australian icon to remain in Australian hands, and a fear that Campbell's would Americanise the products.
Manufacturing of Arnott's biscuits, however, remained in Australia, and as part of a long term expansion plan, Arnott's closed its Melbourne factory in September 2002. At the same time, it expanded its facilties in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.^[3]
In 2002, Arnott's acquired Snack Foods Limited.^[4] As a result of the acquisition, brands such as CC's and Thins came under the Arnott's banner.

Arnott's poison scare

In 1997, Arnott's Biscuits was subject to an extortion bid by a Queensland extortioner who threatened to poison packets of Arnott's Monte Carlo biscuits in South Australia and Victoria. The company conducted a massive recall and publicity campaign, publishing the extortionist's threats and demands in full-page newspaper ads.^[5] The recall cost the company AUD $22 million, but Arnott's was praised for its openness and honesty in dealing with the crisis.^[6]

Products

Arnott's are well-known in Australia and internationally for producing several quintessentially Australian biscuits. Some of their major products include:

★ Tim Tams: A cuboid chocolate-coated biscuit, named after a racehorse. Flavours include milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, double coat of chocolate, caramel centred, chilli, coconut, berry filling (Pink Wish charity edition), Kahlua, Love Potions series: chocolate and raspberry, vanilla and toffee, choc mud) and latte filling.

★ Iced Vovos: A wheat flour biscuit with a raspberry and cream topping.

★ Arnotts Shapes: A savoury cracker style biscuit with sprinkled flavourings. Sold in various varieties such as Barbecue, Pizza, Cheddar, Chicken Crimpy, Nacho cheese and Cheese & Bacon.

★ Teddy Bear Biscuits: Biscuits shaped like a teddy bear. Also comes in a popular chocolate coated variety. Note that these are a different product to Tiny Teddies.

★ Tiny Teddies: Thumb-sized teddy bear-shaped snacks. Practically identical to the American Nabisco brand Teddy Grahams.

★ TeeVee Snacks: A bite-sized chocolate coated biscuit, promoted as being ideal for TV snacking.

★ SAO: A plain cracker style biscuit. The name is rumoured to stand for "Salvation Army Officer".^[7]

★ Monte Carlo biscuits: raspberry flavoured cream filled biscuits

★ Tic Tocs: Clock shaped iced vanilla biscuits, with clock faces printed on them.

★ Chocolate Royals: a marshmallow sandwich biscuit available in dark and milk chocolate varieties, similar to the Scottish Tunnock's teacake.

★ Yo-Yo: a sweet biscuit made with butter, eggs, milk and honey, originally baked by Menz in South Australia

★ Nice: a sweet biscuit with granulated sugar on the outside

★ Lemon creams: two sweet crackers with a light salt sprinkled with lemon cream sandwiched in between

★ Shortbread creams: two vanilla shortbreads with vanilla cream in centre

★ Kingstons: small round coconut biscuits with chocolate cream in the middle

★ Orange creams: 2 vanilla biscuits with orange cream in the middle

★ Strawberry tarts: a tart base with red strawberry jam in the centre

★ Raspberry shortcake: a biscuit base with raspberry filling then topped with a donut shaped biscuit and sprinkled with granulated sugar

★ Milk and Coffee: a classic sweet biscuit

★ Scotch fingers: a golden and buttery biscuit which is intended to be snapped into two pieces

★ Sesame wheats: a deluxe savoury cracker that is golden and topped with toasted sesame seeds

★ Cheds: a savoury cracker that is perforated and sprinkled with cheese

★ Mint slice: a round chocolate biscuit topped with mint flavoured cream and then coated in dark chocolate. Also available in Mandarine slice, Tia Maria slice and Coconut slice.

★ Chocolate Ripple

★ Custard Cream

★ Monte: Monte Carlos dipped in chocolate

★ Quatros: chocolate dipped biscuits with gourmet toppings like fruit and nuts or caramel

★ Venetians

★ Jatzs: a crispy round savoury cracker that also comes with cracked pepper or plain

★ Water crackers: original, sesame and cracked pepper

★ Royals: a biscuit topped with a marshmallow and coated in milk chocolate

References

1. [[3]]
2. Australian Government (IP Australia): Australia's favourite trade mark: the short list. Retrieved 11 October 2006.
3. Moynihan, Stephen: Tearful workers feel the final crunch at Arnott's, ''The Age'', August 3, 2002.
4. Business Breakfast: Arnotts bids for Snack Foods, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 6, 2002.
5. Radio National (PM): Herron's actions a contrast to Arnotts' open-ness, ABC Radio, March 17, 2000.
6. ''The 7.30 Report'': Mars, snickers threat aimed at unnamed organisation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 4, 2005.
7. Salvation Army: Did You Know?

Further reading

★ Boag, Charles: ''The Story of Arnott's Famous Biscuits: A History & A Celebration'' (1993), Lansdowne (Sydney). ISBN 1-86302-284-8.

External links

★ Official website