Altoids

Altoids are a brand of breath mints that have existed since the turn of the 19th century. Altoids are less popular in Britain—their country of origin—than in the regions to which they are exported. Callard & Bowser-Suchard manufacture and produce Altoids at a plant in 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 history of Altoids 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. Their advertising slogan has been "The Original Celebrated Curiously Strong (insert flavour here) Mints" for a number of years, referring to the high concentration of peppermint oil used in the original flavour lozenge. The "Story of Altoids" text is printed on the paper liner inside certain tins.

The Story of Altoids

"The Story of Altoids" is a small story inside every pack of Altoids explaining their creation.

Cquote
Altoids, the Original Celebrated Curiously Strong Mints, were first produced in England at the turn of the 19th century during the reign of King George III. Smith & Co. (est. 1780), the small London firm that developed the original "curiously strong" recipe, later became part of Callard & Bowser, a prestigious English confectioner founded in 1837.

Altoids peppermints are specially formulated peppermint lozenges many times stronger than ordinary mints. Their curious strength comes from the generous use of real peppermint oil, as prescribed in the original recipe developed by Smith & Co. at the turn of the 19th century.

Today, all Altoids varieties including: Peppermint, Wintergreen, Spearmint, Liquorice, Cinnamon, and Ginger are made to the same exacting standards as the original Altoids recipe developed more than 200 years ago.

Ownership

Callard and Bowser-Suchard was sold by Beatrice Foods to Terry's of York in 1982 [http://www.kraft.com/100/timeline/time_1980s.html] , which was then acquired by Kraft General Foods International/Philip Morris Tobacco Company in 1993. 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.

Flavors and varieties

Mints

Altoids mints are currently available in eight flavors: peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, cinnamon, ginger, liquorice, chocolate, and crème de menthe. "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.

ours

Sour hard candies in round tins, introduced in 2002.Flavors include tangerine, citrus (discontinued late 2007), raspberry, apple, mango, and passion fruit.

Gum

The sugar-free chewing gum, introduced in 2003, is made in Italy. Flavors include peppermint, cinnamon, spearmint, wintergreen, cherry, and apple.

Altoids Strips

In 2003, breath strips in peppermint and cinnamon flavours were introduced. As of 2007, they appeared to have been discontinued, as no references appear on the manufacturer's web site.

References

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

* [http://www.altoids.com/index.do Official Altoids website]

ee also

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