Latest news with #Arnott's
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Aussies heartbroken after popular Arnott's biscuit quietly disappears from shelves: 'Discontinued'
A beloved Aussie biscuit has been discontinued – but many shoppers have only just realised it was gone. Biscuit lovers recently noted that they were no longer able to purchase Arnott's Full O' Fruit packets in supermarkets. FEMAIL reached out to the Arnott's team, who confirmed that the sultana-loaded biscuit had been pulled from shelves. Arnott's Treating Business Director, Ranita Cowled confirmed that Full O' Fruit was officially discontinued in 2021. 'For 160 years, Arnott's has proudly baked some of Australia's most iconic biscuits and crackers. While Arnott's Full O' Fruit was retired from production in 2021 we continue to offer a range of delicious fruity options,' said Ranita. The wholesome treat, which contained more than 50 per cent real fruit, was described as 'a lightly baked biscuit bursting with succulent sultanas and a delicate hint of citrus peel'. Ranita suggested that Full O' Fruit fans instead try some of the brand's other 'fruity' offerings. 'These include our iconic Arnott's Raspberry Shortcake, made with a jammy raspberry-flavoured filling, and the Arnott's Spicy Fruit Roll, made with sultanas, currants, raisins and zesty lemon peel – both perfect for those who love a touch of fruit in their biscuit tin.' Similar to a Garibaldi biscuit, the now discontinued Arnott's Full O' Fruit was described as 'a lightly baked biscuit bursting with succulent sultanas and a delicate hint of citrus peel' A recent Australian Reddit thread saw a poster complaining of suddenly not being able to 'find them anywhere'. 'Full O Fruit! Sadly discontinued now,' confirmed one responder. Another comment referred to the defunct treat by its humorous nickname: 'squashed fly bikkies'. Others noted in the comments that Full O' Fruit was essentially a 'Garibaldi biscuit', which consists of currants squashed and sandwiched between two thin baked biscuit oblongs. Garibaldi biscuits are hugely popular in Britain and manufactured by several UK brands, including Crawfords, Morrisons and Tesco. Besides 'squashed fly biscuits', Garibaldi biscuits are also colloquially referred to by other nicknames, including 'fly sandwiches', 'flies' graveyards', 'dead fly biscuits' and 'fly traps'. The confirmation of the discontinuation of Arnott's Full O' Fruit comes following recent mystery surrounding the fate of Arnott's Chocolate Wheatens. Debate recently erupted online amongst Aussie biscuit lovers after some claimed the currently on-shelf Arnott's Milk Chocolate Digestives were a 're-brand' of the discontinued Chocolate Wheatens. But investigations by our lifestyle team proved this theory incorrect. The biscuit mystery was sparked by a recent post shared on the 'Memory Lane - Growing up in Australia' Facebook page, after one member shared a nostalgic tribute post expressing their fondness for the now defunct Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten. The innocent post lit up with comments from biscuit lovers – many of whom responded with surprise about the popular item no longer being available on shelves. But among the responses were also many comments insisting that Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten Biscuits were indeed still available in shops. 'Now they're called Digestives,' asserted one response. This claim that Milk Chocolate Digestives are a re-branded version of Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten makes logical sense given their visual similarities. Both products feature a plain wheat biscuit with hole details, while the back of the biscuit is dipped into milk chocolate featuring a distinctive ripple line pattern. FEMAIL approached an Arnott's spokesperson to seek clarity around whether Arnott's Milk Chocolate Digestives were indeed a re-branded replica of the original Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten Biscuits. Arnott's Chocolate Portfolio Senior Marketing Manager Rebecca Chan set the record straight – confirming that although the biscuits are 'similar', they are not in fact the same. 'While Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten biscuits were discontinued in 2017, we know they still hold a special place in the hearts of many Aussies,' Rebecca said. 'For those craving a similar satisfying crunch with a hint of chocolate, our Arnott's Digestive range available at Independent retailers is a great alternative.'
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Mystery solved as Aussie shoppers accuse Arnott's of 're-branding' beloved biscuit
Debate has erupted online amongst Aussie biscuit lovers, after some claimed that a currently on-shelf Arnott's product was a 're-brand' of a 'discontinued 'product. But investigations by our lifestyle team have proved this theory incorrect. The biscuit mystery was sparked in response to a recent Facebook post about the classic Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten Biscuits. On the 'Memory Lane - Growing up in Australia' Facebook page, one member shared a nostalgic post expressing their fondness for the beloved biscuit. The post remembered the former 'fave' childhood treat as 'simple but a little bit fancy for us kids cause they had chocolate on them'. The innocent post lit up with comments from biscuit lovers – many of whom responded with surprise about the popular item no longer being available on shelves. 'I'd forgotten about these, didn't realise they were discontinued,' read one reply. But among the responses were also many commenters insisting that Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten Biscuits were indeed still available in shops. 'You can still buy them,' read one reply. Furthermore, other shoppers were adamant that Arnott's had simply re-branded and renamed their Chocolate Wheaten Biscuits as Arnott's Milk Chocolate Digestives. 'Now they're called Digestives,' asserted one response. This claim that Milk Chocolate Digestives are a re-branded version Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten makes logical sense given their visual similarities. Both products feature a plain wheat biscuit with hole details, while the back of the biscuit is dipped into milk chocolate featuring a distinctive ripple line pattern. FEMAIL approached an Arnott's spokesperson to seek clarity around whether Arnott's Milk Chocolate Digestives were indeed a re-branded replica of the original Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten Biscuits. Arnott's Chocolate Portfolio Senior Marketing Manager Rebecca Chan set the record straight – confirming that although the biscuits are 'similar', they are not in fact the same. 'While Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten biscuits were discontinued in 2017, we know they still hold a special place in the hearts of many Aussies,' Rebecca said. 'For those craving a similar satisfying crunch with a hint of chocolate, our Arnott's Digestive range available at Independent retailers is a great alternative.' Indeed, a comparison between the ingredients lists of the two products shows up some key differences. Both biscuits similarly list wheat flour as the product's first and main ingredient. This is followed by a milk chocolate blend, comprised of sugar, milk solids, cocoa butter, cocoa mass and vegetable oil. However, a key difference with the original Chocolate Wheaten is it contains golden syrup. And while Milk Chocolate Digestives lack golden syrup, they instead contain condensed milk and honey. Arnott's spokesperson Rebecca also noted that Arnott's Digestives are available in two varieties: Milk Chocolate and Fruit & Milk Chocolate. 'They're a delicious pick - perfect for pairing with a cuppa,' the marketing manager suggested. However, perhaps adding to the recent confusion is the fact that a Google search for Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten Biscuits turns up a live Woolworths product listing - although its perpetually listed as 'Out of Stock'. Before Arnott's produced Chocolate Wheatens, the biscuit was originally made by another Aussie biscuit company, Weston's. When the Camperdown, Sydney business was put up for sale in 2003, it was acquired by Arnott's, who produced Chocolate Wheatens under their own brand until they were discontinued in 2017. Fans of the original Weston's Chocolate Wheaten biscuits may recall a memorable 90s TV commercial that featured a talking scarecrow. The animated ad saw the scarecrow proclaiming his love for the biscuit because they were 'filled with wheat – just like me'. On the contrary, the origin of digestive biscuits traces back to 1830s Scotland, when two doctors designed the 'semi-sweet biscuit' to be eaten as a digestive aid. UK company McVitie's were the first to commercially manufacture digestives, with their original product launched in 1892.
Time Out
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
How Tim Tams became Australia's favourite biscuit (and why you can't stop at just one)
The USA has Oreos, the Brits swear by Jaffa cakes, Argentina's got alfajores and Scotland loves a good Hobnob, but us Aussies have Tim Tams – arguably the world's best chocolate biscuit and undeniably Australia's favourite. Last year, more than 2.8 million households indulged in the iconic Tim Tam Original. But how did it become such a national treasure? The history of Australia's most famous choccy bikkie goes way back to 1958, when an Arnott's food technologist, Ian Norris, travelled to the UK on a biscuit research mission (dream job, right?). While there, he discovered the 'Penguin' – a treat consisting of two rectangular chocolate biscuits sandwiched with white cream and coated in milk chocolate. Inspired, Norris returned home on a mission to create an Aussie version that was even better, and five years later, the Tim Tam was born. Fun fact: Tim Tams were actually named after a horse that won the Kentucky Derby in 1958. Random, but it's kind of an unintentional nod to the penguin – though we know who'd win the race. While inspired by the Penguin, Norris' recipe consisted of two smaller malted biscuits, a chocolate cream filling and a milk chocolate coating. That winning combo has barely changed over the past 60 years, though Arnott's has blessed us with lots of fun, new flavours along the way. According to Arnott's, the three most popular flavours in the Tim Tam hall of fame are Original, Double Coat and Chewy Caramel. No surprises there! Memorable editions for their team over the last six decades include Choc Banana, Turkish Delight, Dark Choc Banoffee, Red Velvet, Dark Choc Espresso Martini, plus Kensington Pride Mango and Cream. Both the classic and limited-edition flavours are baked at Arnott's bakeries in Huntingwood, NSW and Marleston, SA. The Huntingwood Tim Tam line operates 24/7 and stretches more than a kilometre, meaning it can crank out 60 Tim Tams per second, 3,000 per minute and 4 million in 24 hours. That's enough to feed 15 per cent of the Australian population in just one day! Tim Tams might be our nation's most famous snack, but the Tim Tam Slam – sipping your cuppa through a biscuit straw – is hands down our greatest culinary invention. In fact, one in three Aussies has participated in this ritual. And the best day for a slam dunk? National Tim Tam Day (February 16), of course! Yep, we love the chocolate biscuit so much that we've dedicated an entire day to celebrating its chocolate, cream and glory.
News.com.au
22-04-2025
- General
- News.com.au
You've been eating Scotch Fingers wrong
Whether you're a dunker, nibbler or 'eat it whole' kinda person, Arnott's Scotch Fingers are a staple in every Aussie's pantry. But did you know there's a proper way to eat them? Arnott's have just announced how you're supposed to enjoy the classic bikkie, and it's the hack that solves all your crumb nightmares. How to actually eat Scotch Fingers We all know how buttery and delicate Scotch Fingers are, and we also know that it almost always leads to a layer of biscuit crumbs on your lap. But according to Arnott's, the right way to eat them is by snapping them in half! In fact, they've even released a step-by-step guide: It seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, after conducting research, Arnott's revealed that only 43% choose to break their Scotch Finger in half. The research also revealed that almost 1 in 3 Aussies prefer to eat their Scotch Finger straight out of the packet and over a quarter enjoy dunking their Scotch Finger in a hot beverage. How do you eat yours? The best way to use Scotch Fingers We love Scotch Fingers as a basic biscuit to use in baking. They're great as a cheesecake base, like in this marbled passionfruit curd cheesecake. They also work really well crushed in truffles or chocolate balls, like these ones. This chocolate maple slice is one of our favourites from the archives. It uses whole Scotch Fingers as the base, with a chewy condensed milk middle and gooey chocolate topping. But of course, you can just enjoy them straight from the packet with a cup of tea – not forgetting to snap them the right way, of course.
The Guardian
23-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Signs of the times: the stories behind Australia's biggest and best-loved billboards
One of Sydney's most renowned signs – and the largest billboard in the country – has received a makeover to mark its 50th anniversary. At 41 metres wide and 13 metres high, the Coca-Cola sign at Kings Cross presides over one of Sydney's busiest thoroughfares, William Street, and has widely been regarded as the gateway to the inner city enclave since it was the epicentre of Sydney's bohemia in the 1970s. The world's most popular carbonated beverage (the estimated worth of the brand is more than US $33.17bn) is still going strong after more than 140 years. But other distinctly Australian household brands – and their enduring advertising symbols – date back even further. Here is the story behind some of Australia's best-known advertising signs. William Arnott, a Scottish immigrant, opened his first Australian bakery in Morpeth, New South Wales, almost four decades before Coca-Cola was invented. His subsequent bakery in Newcastle morphed into a national biscuit manufacturing company that would stay under the control of the Arnott family for more than a century – and a further 22 years as a wholly Australian owned company – before major US shareholder the Campbell Soup Company executed a takeover in 1997. The same year, Arnott's closed its main factory in North Strathfield, just north of the railway bridge which had been unofficially known as 'the Arnott's bridge' since the company erected its first prominent Sydney signage there in the 1930s. The location was an advertiser's dream. Travelling up Parramatta Road, the enticing aroma of freshly baked biscuits wafted into motorists' nostrils just as they approached the sign. The bridge now sits on the state heritage register. Nostalgic Melburnians hold a special place in their heart for Abbotsford's Little Audrey, the skipping girl thought to be Australia's first animated neon sign in Australia. Born in 1936, Little Audrey's life was cut short at the age of 32 by the demolition company Whelan the Wrecker, founded by Jim Whelan, who was known as 'the most destructive man in Melbourne' due to his company demolishing many of the city's original grand buildings in the late 19th century. Skipping Girl's lights had been switched off when the company that made the vinegar, Nycander & Co, was taken over in the mid 1960s. When Whelan pulled the factory down in the late 60s, Little Audrey disappeared. Within a few years a replica had been created. Her reincarnation was installed on the roof of a nearby electroplating factory by the business's owner, Jack Benjamin, who had led the call for her reinstatement. By the turn of the century, Little Audrey had been placed on the national trust and Victorian heritage registers. The artist who designed Little Audrey in the 1930s, Jim Minogue, would go on to create another iconic Melbourne sign almost three decades later. The Nylex Clock, perched atop malting storage silos in Cremorne since 1961, also now has heritage status. Presiding high over the Yarra River and the Monash Freeway, the clock informed Melburnians of the time and temperature for 48 years. Then Nylex went into receivership. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Today, the silos are scrawled in graffiti and the clock on top cuts a grim, unlit silhouette on the dusk city skyline. It was briefly lit up in 2015 when a group calling themselves the Nylex Clock Collective broke into the silos and flicked the clock's switch back on. They failed to take into account that, in the height of summer, it was daylight saving time. The future of the silos, built in the 1880s, and the Nylex Clock, remain uncertain. One of the Gold Coast's ubiquitous high rises now stands on Fern Street where the oh-so-60s neon lit pink poodle once pranced. The motel it advertised disappeared more than 20 years ago but the poodle, with a bit of a makeover, lives on, led further down the street and these days under the protection of the Gold Coast local heritage register. The Pink Poodle Motel was a popular honeymoon destination in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, and its neon sign came to represent all the kitsch glamour and glitz the Gold Coast had to offer. The Dingo sign on the heritage-listed flour mill in North Fremantle has long outlived the product it was advertising. The distinctive stylised red dingo appeared some two decades after the mill's construction in 1922, and contrary to popular myth, it was not originally painted by Alan Bond. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Local graphic artist Les Nash painted the original for £40 sterling in 1940, only to have it painted over shortly afterwards – it had already become too recognisable a landmark for second world war enemies. Bond's first wife, Eileen 'Big Red' Bond insists her ex-husband was indeed responsible for the logo's restoration in the 1950s, when he worked as an apprentice with Perth's Parnell Signs. 'Of course it's true, we all knew he did it,' she told the West Australian in 2022. 'Alan always did a lot of moonlighting and he was always up on scaffolding trying to paint anything he could get his hands on to get some money. I really don't know why people would deny it, there is nothing to doubt.' Long before silo art became a thing in Victoria, Melbourne commuters had come to love the Is Don, Is good logo painted on the towering structures in Laurens Street, North Melbourne. Anyone over the age of 30 will associate the giant message with the 1990s ads featuring Scottish-born actor Tommy Gibson Dysart – of Homicide, Cop Shop and Skippy the Bush Kangaroo fame – posing as an Italian godfather figure. According to Melbourne foodie Jan O'Connell, author of Australian Food Timeline, the company, founded in a post-second world war Melbourne coming to terms with continental cuisine, took its name from the last three letters of the suburb Essendon, where one of its butchers shops was located – and not, as many Melburnians believe, in honour of Australia's greatest batsman, Donald 'The Don' Bradman. The current silo design, with the figure of a happy butcher added to the giant salami sticks painted in 2001, was updated in 2014. The old Bond's factory in Camperdown is now the Sydney Nursing School but, like the famous singlet brand, the company's mascot lives on. The now heritage-listed symbol began life in 1940 as a newspaper advertising cartoon, representing Australian manliness while flogging underwear and entertaining readers of the Sun, the Argus and the Times until the 1960s. Chesty's creators Syd Miller and Ted Moloney, working for the J Walter Thompson advertising agency, used the face of Depression-era NSW premier Jack Lang as the inspiration for the heroic character who took on superhero abilities while wearing his athletic singlet. The thrill of new technology arriving in Australia in the early 1900s is epitomised by this art deco structure, which remained Sydney's tallest tower until the 1960s. Amalgamated Wireless Australia (AWA) became Australia's first manufacturer of commercial radios in the 1920s. In 1939, AWA opened its new headquarters in York Street, crowning a building inspired by Paris's Eiffel Tower with an imposing 46m transmission beacon which still stands today. When television was introduced to Australia, the company marked its foray into this new technology by adding neon lighting. The neon is long gone and the tower itself was demolished in the 1990s before being rebuilt and placed on the New South Wales State heritage register.
