Altoids

Altoids

Altoid and tin
Details
Main ingredient(s)	(4(3(
Variations	406
Approximate calories per serving	10
Other information	Owner: Callard & Bowser Website: www.altoids.com

Altoids are a brand of breath mints. The brand was created by the London-based Smith & Company in the 1780s, and later became part of the Callard & Bowser company in the 19th century. Their advertising slogan is "The Original Celebrated Curiously Strong Mints", referring to the high concentration of peppermint oil used in the original flavour lozenge.

Marketing

Altoids are less widely available in Britain—their country of origin—than in the US to which they are exported. The mints are stocked in relatively few shops, including Tesco, Morrisons, and Waitrose supermarket chains. Marks & Spencer produces a near identical product called "Curiously Strong Mints". Unlike their marketing in the US, Altoids have never been heavily marketed in the UK. Callard & Bowser-Suchard once manufactured Altoids at a plant in Bridgend, Wales, but has since moved Altoids' production to an existing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. This was done to manufacture the products closer to where they are primarily marketed. They were marketed for a brief period in the 1990s under the "Nuttall's" brand when Callard and Bowser was under the ownership of Terry's.

Flavours and varieties

A collection of Altoids tins

Matchboxes used as advertisement to promote new CINNAMON Altoids

Mints

Altoids mints are currently available in four flavours: peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, and cinnamon. "Sugar-Free Smalls", tiny square mints sweetened with sorbitol and sucralose, are also available in peppermint, wintergreen, and cinnamon. In 2007, dark chocolate-dipped mints were introduced in three flavours: peppermint, cinnamon and ginger and in 2008, dark chocolate-dipped mints were introduced in crème de menthe. The chocolate dipped varieties were discontinued in 2010. Also historically made but no longer available were ginger, liquorice, cool honey, and (non-chocolate dipped) creme de menthe varieties. Circa early 2011, Altoids altered the ingredients of their Wintergreen mints, adding blue food colouring. Altoid mints labeled "sugar-free smalls" do not contain gelatin, therefore they are suitable for vegans, vegetarians or those following a halal or kosher diet.

Sours

Sour hard sweets in round tins were introduced in 2002 but have since been discontinued due to low sales. Flavours included raspberry, citrus, apple, tangerine, and mango. Limited edition passion fruit sours were also released around Valentine's Day in 2005 in a larger 2.3 oz tin instead of the standard 1.76 oz sours tins that had been released up til then.

Gum

The sugar-free chewing gum, introduced in 2003, was made in the United States. Flavours include peppermint, cinnamon, spearmint, wintergreen and two sour flavours, cherry and apple. The gum has not been seen in stock in US stores since January 2010 and has been discontinued.

Altoids Strips

In 2003, breath strips in peppermint and cinnamon flavours were introduced. They were discontinued and are no longer available.

Altoids Arctic

In 2014, Altoids Arctic mints were introduced in peppermint and wintergreen flavors. Each tin contains 1.2 oz (34g), or about 50 mints.

Altoids tins

The distinctive tin cases in which Altoids mints are packaged are often reused for other purposes. They have long served as containers for household items like paper clips, coins, sewing materials and other small items.

The tins are sometimes used to house electronic projects. BeagleBone, a single-board computer made by Texas Instruments, is deliberately shaped with rounded corners to fit inside the tin. The CMoy pocket headphone amplifiers also often use Altoid tin as enclosure.

First aid and survival

Altoids tins have also been popular with outdoor enthusiasts for many years as first-aid or mini survival kit containers. A name for these kits is Bug-Out Altoids Tins, or BOATs.

See also

• Fisherman's Friend
• List of breath mints
• Victory V

Further reading

• Grant, Jeremy. "New brands take a toll on Wrigley" Financial Times, London Ed. 26-Oct-2005, pg 27.
• Terdiman, Daniel. "Altoids, the curiously strong tin; The container stylishly stores battery chargers, iPods and more." New York Times 2-Feb-2005.
• "Wrigley to buy Altoids and Life Savers from Kraft." Candy Industry ISSN 0745-1032; Volume 169; Issue 11 1-Nov-2004.
• What's News. The Wall Street Journal, Business and Finance, pg A1. 15-Nov-2004.
• Pare, Mike. "Wrigley to invest $14M to make Altoids in its Chattanooga, Tenn., plant." Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. 23-Aug-2005.

External links

• Official Altoids website
• [1]
• Altoids Chewing Gum Articles
• The Altoids Curiously Strong Awards Video Clip