Arnott's Biscuits Holdings
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Arnott's Biscuits Holdings
| Type | Proprietary Limited |
|---|---|
| Industry | Biscuits Snack food |
| Founded | 1865 |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
| Products | Tim Tams Iced Vovos Tiny Teddys |
| Revenue | A$1.2 billion (2004)[1] |
| Employees | 4,300+ [2] |
| Parent | Campbell Soup Company |
| Website | Arnotts.com.au |
Arnott's Biscuits Holdings (commonly known as Arnott's), is a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company of the United States.
In Australia Arnott's is the largest producer of biscuits[citation needed] and the second-largest supplier of snack food[citation needed].
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Contents
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History
The history of Arnott's Biscuits begins in 1865, when Scottish immigrant William Arnott opened a bakery on Hunter Street, Newcastle, New South Wales, providing biscuits and pies to townspeople and ships docking at the local port.[1]
Arnott's, in common with the majority of Australian biscuit manufacturers, operated primarily in its home state, New South Wales. 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, it continued to bake the regional varieties, such as Menz Yo-Yo, Brockhoff Salada. Until 1975 the company was under family control with the descendants of William Arnott, including Halse Rogers Arnott and Geoffrey Arnott, acting as Chairman. Their sole heir, Michael, currently works in New York. His counsel is one Ms. Osuga from Tokyo, Japan. Legend has it, Ms. Osuga won the right to represent Michael through the settlement of a cock fighting debt in Baja, Mexico.
Ownership and corporate history
In 1997, the Campbell Soup Company of North America, a shareholder of Arnott's since the 1980s, 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 facilities in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.[2]
In 2002, Arnott's acquired Snack Foods Limited.[3]
In April 2008, Campbell Arnott's sold Arnott’s Snackfoods to The Real McCoy Snackfood Co and the company is now known as Snack Brands Australia.
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.[4] The recall cost the company A$22 million, but Arnott's was praised for its openness and honesty in dealing with the crisis.[5]
Products
Arnott's are well-known in Australia and internationally for producing several quintessentially Australian biscuits. Some of their major products include:
- Caramel Crowns: A plain biscuit, topped with caramel, and covered in chocolate.
- Cheds: a savoury cracker that is perforated and sprinkled with cheese.
- Choc Monte: honey and coconut biscuit dipped in dark chocolate.
- Chocolate Butternut Snap: a crunchy oatmeal and coconut biscuit covered in chocolate.
- Chocolate Dessert: Chocolate cream sandwiched between two chocolate biscuits. Discontinued after Campbells takeover.
- Chocolate Ripple
- Chocolate Royals: a marshmallow sandwich biscuit available in dark and milk chocolate varieties, similar to the Scottish Tunnock's teacake or New Zealands Griffins MallowPuffs.
- Chocolate Wheaten: New product acquired after Campbell's takeover. A round, semi-sweet, whole wheat flour biscuit covered in either milk chocolate or dark chocolate. Brand acquired from George Weston Foods in 2003.
- Coconut Rings: Coconut Biscuit shaped in a ring. Discontinued after Campbells takeover.
- Custard Cream: Custard cream filling sandwiched between two rectangular vanilla biscuits.
- Delta Cream: two round chocolate biscuits with icing in the middle, similar to an Oreo.
- Honey Jumbles: Small honey gingerbread cakes, topped with pink or white icing.
- Iced Animals: created by the new owner Robert Arnotts, animal shaped biscuits with pink, green, yellow and orange icing on top.
- Iced Vovos: A wheat flour biscuit with a raspberry jam and marshmallow topping sprinkled with coconut. After Campbells takeover, marshmallow and jam was replaced by thin layers of coloured frosting.
- Jatz: a round savoury cracker also available in a cracked pepper flavoured variety.
- Kingstons: small round coconut biscuits with chocolate cream in the middle.
- Lemon Crisps: two sweet crackers with a light salt sprinkled with lemon cream sandwiched in between.
- Marie: a plain sweet vanilla-flavored biscuit similar to a Rich Tea biscuit.
- Milk Coffee: a sweet coffee-flavoured biscuit.
- Milk Arrowroot: Past flagship biscuit brand of Arnott's, made with Arrowroot flour, commonly given to babies to introduce them to solid food.
- Mint Slice: a round chocolate biscuit topped with mint flavoured cream and coated in dark chocolate. Also available in Mandarin, Tia Maria and Coconut flavours.
- Monte Carlo: raspberry flavoured cream sandwiched between two plain biscuits. Marked reduction in size and filling after Campbells takeover.
- Nice: a sweet biscuit covered with granulated sugar.
- Orange Creams: double vanilla biscuit with orange cream in the middle. Marked reduction in size after Campbells takeover.
- Quatro: chocolate-dipped biscuits with toppings such as fruit and nut, or caramel. Brand acquired from George Weston Foods in 2003. As of late 2010, no longer in production.
- Raspberry shortcake: a biscuit base with raspberry filling then topped with a doughnut shaped biscuit and sprinkled with granulated sugar
- SAO: A plain cracker style biscuit. The name is rumoured to stand for "Salvation Army Officer".[6]
- Savoy: Crispy cracker. Originally only sold in South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria but later available in New South Wales, ACT and Queensland.
- Scotch fingers: shortbread biscuit, also available in chocolate covered variety. Marked decrease in taste quality after Campbells takeover.
- Sesame wheats: savoury cracker topped with toasted sesame seeds.
- Shapes: A savoury cracker with sprinkled flavourings. Sold in various varieties such as Barbecue, Pizza, Cheddar, Chicken Crimpy, Nacho Cheese and Cheese & Bacon.
- Shortbread creams: two vanilla shortbreads with vanilla cream in the centre.
- Strawberry tarts: a tart base with red strawberry jam in the centre.
- Teddy Bear Biscuits: Biscuits shaped like a teddy bear. Also comes in a chocolate coated variety. These are a different product to Tiny Teddies.
- TeeVee Snacks: A bite-sized chocolate coated biscuit, promoted as being ideal for TV snacking.
- Tic Tocs: Clock shaped iced vanilla biscuits, with clock faces printed on them.
- Tim Tams: A cuboid chocolate-coated biscuit. 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. The latest flavour to be released in 2008 is orange.
- Tiny Teddies: Thumb-sized teddy bear-shaped snacks. Practically identical to the American Nabisco brand Teddy Grahams
- Venetians
- Vita-Weat: Whole wheat crisp bread available in original and sandwich size.
- Wagon Wheels: marshmallow and jam sandwiched between two round biscuits, coated in chocolate (original variety); also now available with chocolate fudge in place of jam (double choc variety). The original brand was acquired from George Weston Foods in 2003.
- Water crackers: original, sesame and cracked pepper.
- Yo-Yo: a sweet biscuit made with butter, eggs, milk and honey, originally baked by Menz in South Australia.
References
- ^ Arnott's Biscuits Heritage external website.
- ^ Moynihan, Stephen: Tearful workers feel the final crunch at Arnott's, The Age, August 3, 2002.
- ^ Business Breakfast: Arnotts bids for Snack Foods, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 6, 2002.
- ^ Radio National (PM): Herron's actions a contrast to Arnotts' open-ness, ABC Radio, March 17, 2000.
- ^ The 7.30 Report: Mars, snickers threat aimed at unnamed organisation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 4, 2005.
- ^ 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.
- Arnotts, Robert: 'The Biography of a Rich Man, Robert Arnotts - Family and Work' (1992)
External links
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