Tim Tam

Tim Tamis a brand ofchocolate biscuitintroduced by the Australian biscuit companyArnott'sin 1964. It consists of twomaltedbiscuits separated by a light hard
chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.
The biscuit was created by Ian Norris. During 1958 he took a world trip looking for inspiration for new products. While traveling inBritain, he found thePenguin biscuitand decided to try to "make a better one".
Tim Tam went on the market on 10 September 1964.They were named by Ross Arnott, who attended the 1958Kentucky Derbyand decided that the name of the winning horse,Tim Tam, was perfect for a planned new line of biscuits.Pepperidge Farm, a sister company of Arnott's, began importing the Tim Tam to the United States in 2008. Tim Tams are still "Made in Australia" and packaging in the US bears the slogan "Australia's FavoriteCookie".
The original Arnott's bakery, opened in 1865, was located inNewcastle, New South Wales.To date, manufacture of Tim Tams and other Arnott's products has remained largely withinAustralia, including bakeries inSydney,Adelaide, andBrisbane. In 2009, Arnott's invested A$37 million in a state-of-the-art production line at its Brisbane facility, expecting to boost productivity and increase jobs.
At the Huntingwood bakery inWestern Sydney, the production line turns out about 3,000 Tim Tams per minute and uses 20 tonnes of the biscuit's cream filling and 27 tons of chocolate coating each work day.Biscuit dough, containing sugar, flour, colours and flavours, is mixed for 20 minutes. Biscuits are then cut to 1mm thick, 11 holes are punched per biscuit and they are baked in gas ovens for 90 minutes. Freezing air cools the biscuits before they are flipped and filled with cream, dunked in chocolate and cooled again.
Since the 2000s Arnott's has released many different varieties of the product, some as limited edition runs. Varieties include double coat, dark chocolate, white chocolate, caramel, dark chocolate mint, honeycomb and choc orange.
In 2004, Arnott's caused a controversy when they released limited edition Tim TamTia MariaandKahluaMint Slice varieties, flavoured with the popular alcoholic liqueurs.TheAustralian Drug Foundationsuggested selling the biscuits insupermarketswas "potentially dangerous" by "normalising" the taste of alcohol for children.An Arnott's spokesperson observed that a customer "would need to consume [their] body weight of biscuits every hour to reach a blood-alcohol content of .05".
In 2011, a cheese flavoured variety of Tim Tam was developed for the Indonesian market, where they are manufactured by Halo Arnotts.
In February 2014, Arnott's launched a limited edition range of three new Tim Tam flavours created by Australian dessert chefAdriano Zumbo: salted caramel, choc brownie and raspberry white choc.Point of saledisplays featured Zumbo pink in contrast to traditional chocolate brown Tim Tam brand colours.Red Velvet was the fourth Zumbo Tim Tam creation, launched in July 2014.Also in July 2014, Arnott's launched peanut butter-flavoured Tim Tams.Arnott's was awarded aCHOICE"Shonky Award" for the offering, which did not contain peanuts (paprika was used as a flavour substitute) and included two fewer biscuits than the original variety Tim Tam packet.
During theValentine's Dayperiod of 2015, Arnott's launched Choc Raspberry and Coconut Cream flavours, again collaborating with Zumbo.In October 2015, Arnott's launched Tim Tam Choc Banana.A limited edition "mocktail" Tim Tam range was launched in February 2016 with piña colada, espresso martini and strawberry champagne variants.Arnott's told media in May 2016 that sales of the Tim Tam mocktail range had not met their expectations.
Arnott's introduced toffee apple and pineapple flavours to the market in June 2016.In October 2016 they added a mango variety to the range,and in February 2017 they launched four new flavours—including chocolate mint, salted caramel and vanilla, coconut and lychee, and black forest—in partnership with Gelato Messina.
In April 2024, Arnott's released a Tim Tam flavour inspired byJatzcrackers. The collaboration was originally the subject of anApril Fools' Dayjoke by the company in 2023.
In the United States, the original, dark chocolate, and caramel varieties are available for sale.
In the United States, in 2017, an additional flavour, dark chocolate-mint, was produced for the American market;it was exclusively sold there until 2022 when they brought out the tim-tam deluxe range.In the United States, the dark chocolate-mint cookie,Thin Mintsare the most popularGirl Scout Cookies,with 50 million boxes sold in 2013.KeeblerFudge Mint Delights(formerlyKeeblerGrasshoppers) andNabiscoMystic MintsandOreoFudge Covered Mint Cookiesare also dark chocolate-mint cookies. The International Dairy Foods Association lists mint chocolate chip as the fourth most popular flavor in the United States, after vanilla, chocolate, andcookies and cream.In the United States, February 19 is National Chocolate Mint Day, observed by the US National Confectioners Association.
In 1994, Arnott's cast a pre-fameCate Blanchettin a television commercial as a woman who asks for "a packet of Tim Tams that never runs out" from a wish-grantinggenie.Arnott's has sporadically continued to use the genie concept in subsequent ad campaigns; in a 2001 commercial the genie was played by hip-hop artistN'fa,while a 2021 campaign cast actor and formerThe Bachelor AustraliastarTim Robardsas the "Tim Tam Genie".A female genie has also appeared in some campaigns.
In October 2006, Arnott's partnered with theNational Breast Cancer Foundationto launch a limited-edition pink Tim Tam to coincide with that year'spink ribboncampaign.
Responding to a fan's Facebook post wishing that Tim Tams grew on trees, in 2012 Arnott's "planted" a Tim Tam orchard inMartin Placeon 2 May 2012.The campaign generated more than 475,000 views on Tim Tam's YouTube channel and the brand experienced a 23% baseline sales uplift over the campaign period.
In late 2015, media reported that Coles was attempting to resist price rises to Tim Tam and other Arnott's products.When Coles refused the cost increase, Arnott's refused to supply the chain for two weeks.
In 2016, to advertise Tim Tam mocktail flavours, Arnott's recruitedSophie Monkto feature in television advertisements as the face of the range.
In 2022, Tim Tams were featured in the first episode of the second season of the cooking competition showSnackmasters.
In order to promote the biscuit, Arnott's has proclaimed 16 February to be National Tim Tam Day.The day has involved a number of publicity stunts; for example, in 2019 the town ofTamworth, New South Waleswas temporarily renamed "Tim Tamworth".
For National Tim Tam Day 2022, Arnott's released through an online store a limited-edition range of Tim Tam merchandise including a perfume, slippers and a mug.The store returned in November 2022 with the release of a Tim Tam-inspired body lotion, diffuser and candle.
For National Tim Tam Day 2024, Arnott's distributed samples of the biscuit renamed to "Tay Tam" inMelbourne, in honour of the singer-songwriterTaylor Swift, who was playing a concert at theMelbourne Cricket GroundforThe Eras Tour.
The Tim Tam Slam (also known as the Tim Tam Shotgun, Tim Tam Bomb, Tim Tam Explosion, Tim Tam Bong and Tim Tam Suck)is the practice of drinking a hotbeveragethrough a Tim Tam.Opposite ends of the Tim Tam are bitten off, one end is submerged in the beverage, and the beverage is sucked through the biscuit as though the Tim Tam itself were a straw.The crisp interior biscuit is eventually softened and the outer chocolate coating begins to melt, at which point the biscuit is eaten.
The Arnott's company used the nameTim Tam Suckin a 2002 advertising campaign.
In February 2019, Arnott's released a "Slams"-branded version of the Tim Tam biscuit.
Apart from Penguins, products similar to Tim Tams have includedWoolworths'home brandproduct "Choccy Slams", theColesbrand "Chocolate Surrenders",Aldi's "Just Divine" line of biscuits under their Belmont Biscuits brand, and various similar "home-brand" products marketed by British supermarkets.
New Zealand'sGriffin's Foodsmanufactures a counterpart to Tim Tams called "Chit Chats".Jumbosupermarkets in theNetherlandssold a counterpart under the name "Dip&Nip Cookies".In 2021Trader Joe'sin the United States released their own take on the biscuit, branding them "Aussie-style Chocolate Crème Sandwich Cookies".
In 2003, Arnott's suedDick Smith Foodsover their "Temptin" brand of chocolate biscuits, which Arnott's alleged had diluted their trademark as a similar biscuit to Tim Tams, in similarly designed packaging.The case was settled out of court. Dick Smith Foods also previously released a Tim Tam clone under the name "TTs".