Altoids
Altoids are a popular brand of
breath mints that have existed since the turn of the
19th century. Altoids are produced in
Britain by
Callard & Bowser-Suchard at
Bridgend,
Wales, although
Wrigley, the brand's owner, announced in mid 2005 they planned to move Altoids production to an existing plant in
Chattanooga, Tennessee in order to manufacture its products closer to where they are sold. The move is expected to be complete by mid-2006. The history of Altoids actually dates back to the reign of
King George III. The brand was created by a
London-based Smith & Company in the
1780s but eventually became part of the Callard & Bowser company in the
1800s. They are still advertised as "The Original Celebrated Curiously Strong Peppermints".
Altoids come in small
tins that many find handy for a variety of uses, including storage of small paraphernalia. Some report that an Altoids tin can be fashioned to be used as an emergency
camping stove. They have also been used to create
pinhole cameras, house small
amateur radios,
geocaches,
MP3 players,
cases for the Zen Micro[
1], tobacco or marijuana smoking devices, and even
iPod battery packs. Also a great use for Altoids tins is containers for small (and quite complete)
mini survival kits.
The story of Altoids can be found on thin pieces of paper that come inside of certain tins.
|
Some of the tins that Altoids products come in |
|
Altoids mints on an Altoids tin. Note the irregularity in mint shapes. |
Mints: Altoids
mints are
currently available in the following flavors:
peppermint,
wintergreen,
spearmint, and
cinnamon. "Specialty flavors"
ginger mints and
liquorice mints were also created and sell in the same size and shape tins as the originals. Limited edition sets of tins are also available. The first displayed artists from Altoids' then-newly-formed "Curiously Strong Art Collection" and was a set of three. The second (more recent) featured slightly-altered pictures of images from long ago (muscle man, young boy and devil woman, all holding the tins). The third and current limited edition set featured three interesting pop culture choices—two of the minor creatures from the
Frosty the Snowman /
claymation holiday specials (including the 'heat miser' being), as well as the more popular icon
Curious George. The Curious George tins in particular were immensely popular and sold out at many locations. In mid-2005, the company also introduced "Sugar-Free Smalls", tiny square mints sweetened with
sorbitol and
sucralose, in peppermint and cinnamon flavors (60 mints per tin). In mid-2006, they released wintergreen smalls, as well. Each of the "smalls" is imprinted with a capital letter "A".
Sours: In addition to its regular line of mints, starting in the 4th quarter of 2002 the company also started selling hard-candy sours in round tins. Flavors include
tangerine,
citrus,
raspberry,
apple,
mango (
introduced December 2005), and
passion fruit (
no longer available).
Gum: In late 2003, the company introduced a line of sugar-free
chewing gums (20 pieces per tin). The flavors of these include the standard
peppermint and
cinnamon, as well as two newer ones: sour
cherry and
sour apple. In May of 2006, they also introduced
spearmint and
wintergreen gum.
|
An Altoids Citrus Sours tin |
Altoids Strips: In Spring 2003, Altoids started offering breath strips in peppermint and cinnamon flavors (32 strips per tin) in order to compete with the Listerine
PocketPaks Oral Care Strips. Like the other items in their product line, Altoids Strips come in a metal tin, their smallest to-date. In fact, it's so small that it has a safety warning printed on it stating that "this tin may present a choking hazard."
Of the Altoids range, only the original peppermint flavor is sold in Britain - indeed, the brand is virtually unheard of in the
United Kingdom; the other varieties are produced for export only—primarily to the
United States.
As of January, 2006
note: The regular varieties of Altoids (peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, cinnamon, ginger and liquorice) contain gelatin, and as such are unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians. note: from the Altoids website [2], "Keep in mind that ingredients and formulations change, so nutrition information may also change."Mints and Specialty: Serving Size: 3 pieces
Calories: 10
Fat: 0g
Sodium: 0mg
Carbohydrate: 2g
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 0g
Peppermint: Sugar,
oil of peppermint,
gum arabic, gelatin,
corn syrup. In April of 2006, the ingredients were changed to Sugar, gum arabic, artificial flavor ( Which caused the "Curiously Strong Peppermints" to lose some of their strength) , oil of peppermint ( a smaller percentage), gelatin,
glucose syrup.
Spearmint: Sugar, natural flavor, gum arabic, gelatin, corn syrup,
blue 1,
yellow 5.
Cinnamon: Sugar, gum arabic, artificial flavor, gelatin, corn syrup,
red 40 lake,
peppermint oil, natural flavor.
Wintergreen: Sugar, artificial flavor, gum arabic, gelatin, corn syrup, natural flavor.
Ginger: Sugar, gum arabic, natural flavor, gelatin, corn syrup.
Liquorice: Sugar, natural flavor, gum arabic, gelatin, corn syrup.
Sours:Serving Size: 3 pieces
Calories: 10
Fat: 0g
Sodium: 0mg
Carbohydrate: 2g
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 0g
Apple: Sugar, corn syrup,
malic acid,
citric acid, artificial flavor,
fumaric acid (for tartness)
carnauba wax, red 40, natural flavor.
Citrus: Sugar, Corn syrup, citric acid, malic acid, natural flavor, carnauba wax.
Mango: Sugar, Corn syrup, malic and citric acids (for tartness), natural and artificial flavor, carnauba wax, soy lecithin (emulsifier), artificial color (yellow 6).
Passion Fruit: Sugar, corn syrup, malic acid and citric acids (for tartness), natural flavor, carnauba wax, artificial color (red 40, blue 1) (
note, for passion fruit only: serving size: 5 pieces (5g), total carb: 5g, sugars 4g))
Raspberry: Sugar, corn syrup, malic and citric acids (for tartness), natural and artificial flavor, carnauba wax, artificial color (red 40, blue 1), soy lecithin (emulsifier).
Tangerine: Sugar, corn syrup, citric acid, malic acid, natural flavor, carnauba wax, red 40, yellow 5.
Gum:Serving Size: 2 piecesCalories: 5Sodium: 0mgFat: 0gCarbohydrate: 2gSugars: 0Sugar Alcohol: 2gProtein: 0
Peppermint: Gum base,
xylitol,
isomalt,
sorbitol,
mannitol, gum arabic, oil of peppermint, natural flavor, artificial color,
aspartame, acesulfame potassium, wheat
maltodextrin, artificial flavor, carnauba wax.
Cinnamon: Xylitol, Gum base, sorbitol, isomalt, mannitol, gum arabic, artificial and natural flavor, artificial color, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, red 40, carnauba wax.
Sour Cherry: Gum Base, maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, citric acid, gum arabic, mannitol, malic acid, tartaric acid, artificial flavor, aspartame, natural flavor, acesulfame potassium, red 40 lake, carnauba wax, blue 1 lake.
Spearmint: (as of May, 2006) Sorbitol, gum base, xylitol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, acacia, mannitol; less than 2% of: natural and artificial flavors, oil of spearmint, aspartame, malitol, acesulfame K, colors (titanium dioxide, yellow 5 lake, blue 1 lake), soy lecithin, carnauba wax, BHT.
Wintergreen: (as of May, 2006) Sorbitol, gum base, xylitol, acacia, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, natural and artificial flavors, mannitol; less than 2% of: magnesium stearate, aspartame, acesulfame K, color (titanium dioxide), soy lecithin, carnauba wax, BHT.
Sugar Free Smalls:Peppermint: Sorbitol, modified corn starch, wheat maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavor, magnesium stearate, gum arabic,
sucralose (sweetener).
Wintergreen: sorbitol, maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavor, maltitolo, megnesium stearate, gum arabic, color added, sucralose (sweetener), soy lecithin (emulsifier).
Cinnamon:Breath Strips:Cinnamon: Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Flavor, Maltodextrin, Corn Starch Modified, Hydroxypropylcellulose, Triacetin, Polysorbate 80, Ethyl Alcohol, Sucralose, Potassium Acesulfame, Red 40.
Peppermint: Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose , Flavor , Maltodextrin , Corn Starch - Modified , Hydroxypropyl Cellulose , Triacetin , Polysorbate 80 , Ethyl Alcohol , Sucralose , Titanium Dioxide , Potassium Acesulfame.
Callard and Bowser-Suchard was sold by
Beatrice Foods to
Terry's of York in
1982 [
3], which was then acquired by
Kraft General Foods International in
1993.
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company ("Wrigley's") of
Chicago agreed to buy the C&B and
Life Savers units from Kraft in November
2004 for
USD$1.48 billion after beating out competitors
Hershey,
Mars,
Nestlé and
Cadbury. The purchase was completed in June,
2005.
Tins of peppermint Altoids are still marked
Ent. Stationer's Hall because of the former requirement under the
Statute of Anne that
copyright be "entered at Stationer's Hall" (i.e. registered with the
Stationer's Company). This requirement ceased in
1912, but the mark remains.
*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.
*
Fisherman's Friend*
List of breath mints*
List of flavors of chewing gum*
Official Altoids website*
Altoids UK distributor*
Flickr Altoids Hacks Group
