Tic Tac

**Tic Tac** (stylized as "**tic tac**") is a brand of small, hard mint manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero. They were first produced in 1968 and are now available in a variety of flavours in over 100 countries.

Tic Tac are usually sold in small transparent plastic boxes with a flip-action living hinge lid. Originally, Tic Tac were dyed specific colours for different flavours, although in many countries the transparent plastic boxes are now coloured and the actual Tic Tacs are white.

Tic Tac has featured advertising that emphasizes the low calorie count of the mints. Most flavours of the mint have approximately 1.9 calories per mint. There is also some controversy over the fact that in the United States, Tic Tac list the sugar content as 0g despite the mints being approximately 90% sugar (depending on the flavor). This stems from the fact that a serving size is one 0.49g mint, and the FDA permits manufacturers to list sugar (or other nutritional components) as 0g if they contain less than 0.5g. In at least some jurisdictions, the 0g now features a footnote that clarifies "less than 0.5g".

## History

Tic Tac were first introduced by Ferrero in 1968, 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 lime mix (in 1976), spearmint, peppermint, Powermint, sour apple, mandarin, tangerine, 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 flavour 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." 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."

During the 1990s, "double packs" were introduced, featuring a regular Tic Tac container with two flavours inside. Available combinations included Tangerine and Lime, Orange and Grape, and Berry and Cherry.

In 2006, Tic Tac introduced a "Bold" edition with more intense flavours of Mint and Fruit.

In 2008, Tic Tac introduced *Tic Tac Chill,* which is slightly larger than ordinary Tic Tacs and comes in a dual-opening packaging, using the traditional living hinge or a sliding opening on the front of the case. These come in three flavours: Exotic Cherry, Berry Blast, and Paradise Mint. Tic Tac Chill mints are also sugar-free, the Exotic Cherry ones instead being sweetened with xylitol.

May 2010 Australia Trademark Registrar's office rejected Ferrero application to trademark their Tic Tac container as not being unique enough to distinguish its products from other manufacturers.

Orange, Mint, Spearmint, Mintensity, Peach and Passion, Strawberry Mix, Cherry, Elaichi (cardamom) and Banana are available in India.

Tic Tac sometimes provides limited editions to promote films, such as a banana and mandarin flavor for the 2015 movie *Minions*. Orange Tic Tacs featured prominently in the 2007 film *Juno*, in an orange box with white colour candies as are sold in Canada and Brazil. Film promoters distributed boxes of the candies prior to the film's release.