Australian chocolate biscuit brand Tim Tam has made its UK retail debut.
Three flavour options – Original, Dark, and Chewy Caramel – have already been rolled out at Waitrose and Ocado, priced at £2.50 per pack (200g).
The original version comprises a sandwich of two crunchy malted biscuits filled with chocolate cream filling and covered in a thin layer of textured milk chocolate. The dark version switches milk for dark chocolate, while the caramel version includes a chewy caramel filling alongside the chocolate cream.
Further listings at retailers are expected to be confirmed soon.
Made by Australia’s largest biscuit manufacturer Arnott’s, Tim Tams celebrated 60 years of production in February this year. Arnott’s had originally sent its director of food technology Ian Norris out on a world trip in 1958 to search for new product ideas, and he returned with inspirations from British classic Penguin biscuits.
Tim Tam marketing manager Rebecca Chan described it as “Australia’s favourite chocolaty biscuit”, citing Circana Australia Scan Data for the 52 weeks to 15 October 2023.
“We know how loved this delicious biscuit is around the world and is now directly available in the UK for consumers to enjoy as a special treat or when catching up with family and friends,” Chan added.
UK consumers have also been introduced to the ‘Tim Tam Slam’, a popular practice among antipodean counterparts of drinking a hot beverage through the biscuit. The four-step process includes preparing a hot drink such as tea or coffee, biting off diagonal corners of the Tim Tam, using this as a straw to suck up some liquid, and then quickly slamming the slightly soaked biscuit into your mouth.
Several other varieties of Tim Tams have been released over the years by Arnott’s, including the limited-edition Tia Maria and Kahlua Mint Slice versions in 2004. The Original, Dark, and Chewy Caramel varieties have been sold in the US since 2018, where Dark Mint was also added to the range.
London-based doughnut specialist Crosstown previously came out with Tim Tam and Lamnut doughnuts to help mark Anzac Day, which combined various elements made with the biscuits as well as the classic Australian cake, Lamington.
Sydney-headquartered Arnott’s Group currently operates 16 sites with a 4,074-strong workforce manufacturing over a thousand different products including biscuits, crackers, snacks, pasta sauces, cereals, soups, and beverages.
American global investment firm KKR purchased Arnott’s from Campbell Soup Company for US$2.2bn (£1.73bn) in 2019. Last June, it opened a new factory in Avondale, New Zealand after a 25-year manufacturing absence in the country, and two months later opened a 43,000 sqm automated distribution centre at its Huntingwood site in Sydney.
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