Tic Tac Strawberry Mix Taste Test – Let’s Do This

In this Ateriet Taste test I put my teeth into some Tic Tacs. Read the Tic Tac Strawberry Mix Taste Test.

So time to test Tic Tac Strawberry Mix. But before I begin the actual eating of the Tic Tacs I’m going to go through a brief history of this candy.

The Tic Tacs was first launched in 1969 by the Italian company Ferrero. Then they were called Refreshing Mints but the name was changed to Tic Tacs in 1970. The name comes from the tic tac sound you will get annoyed by if you have half a container of Tic Tacs in your pocket. The first two flavors was the mint and the orange.

Since then a wide variety of flavors have been introduced. Including the double flavor varieties that came in the 1990’s. Double flavor means that two flavors is packed in one container.

Known Tic Tac Marketing

Tic Tac have used the fun slogan “The 1½ Calorie Breath Mint” since 1980 but in some countries the slogan “Two hours of Tic Tac freshness in less than two calories” instead. Tic Tac have also done some other creative marketing, I featured a set of fun ads here a short while ago.

They have also been used for marketing in some movies. Most notably with the special edition Tic Tacs that was released with the Minion movie in 2015. You can actually still get those here.

The Tic Tac Candy

The Tic Tac candy is a oval shaped hard candy. It is sold in hard small plastic containers. They are often displayed close to the register. As mentioned Tic Tacs comes in many flavors but the most common is the mint variety. The candies are hard but crumbles up in the mouth quite easily.

The ingredients are mostly sugar, aromas and additives. But since one container only holds 18 grams of Tic Tacs it’s highly unlikely that you eat too much.

Tic Tac must also have one of the best sales crews in the world. You can find these candies at most shops but I can’t remember picking one up for a very long time. Or I’m the only one who doesn’t eat Tic Tacs all day and the demand is real.

Enough about Tic Tacs in general, let’s do the Tic Tac Strawberry Mix Taste Test.

Packaging and Design

The packaging is actually quite unusual for a candy. It comes in a small transparent hard plastic container with a flip opening that can be opened and closed.

The design isn’t much, since the container is very small and it only holds 18 grams there is little room for design. One small label that is wrapped around the top. On the front is the logo and flavor and the back is kept for ingredients. Not fun but not bad either.

Value for money

I paid 10 Swedish kronor for my Tic Tac. I think that is slightly over what it usually costs. In dollars that is just above one dollar. Doesn’t sound like much but if you do some math and figure out what you end up paying by the kilo or pound it’s a different story.

If you would buy 1 kg / 2.2 lbs of Tic Tacs you would be paying 555 Swedish kronor or $65. That’s steep for some sugar candies.

Now sugar isn’t that expensive so what you’re really paying for is packaging, marketing and distribution. So I do get it. Still $65 for hard candies is expensive.

Taste

I tried the Tic Tac Strawberry Mix with my two children. I kind of like them. They liked them but when I asked if that is what they would buy if they had to spend their own money they both said they would go for something else.

The strawberry flavor taste totally artificial but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad tasting. Think of a hard sweet candy with McDonald’s strawberry milkshake flavor and you’re kind of close. In Tic Tacs defense they actually contain some real strawberry.

Personally I think they would be better if they were a bit chewy, now they simply crumble up and feel like hard bread crumbs.

Ingredients

Reading the ingredient list for candy is rarely a fun. The Tic Tacs are no different. We start out with sugar and maltodextrin and then we follow up with loads of tasty stuff like arabic gum, carnauba wax, color, pulverized lemon juice and aromas.

That’s often how modern candy is made, nothing upsetting or dangerous about it and you won’t eat too much anyway. But hardly a reason to buy extra.

Final Taste Test Result

Expensive, not super great tasting and kind of pointless. To be honest I mostly wonder who really buys these things. On the other hand it could be nice to have something sweet in the pocket when you need it. The Tic Tacs could also be great as a small treat for kids since the packaging is really small. The flavor is ok but nothing special.

Combined I give Tic Tac Strawberry Mix 2 out of 5. It could easily be a 1 out of 5 but the rare packaging and convenience raises things to a two.

Info

Name: Tic Tac Strawberry Mix
Price: 10 SEK / $ 1.18
Brand: Tic Tac
Bought: Sweden
Weight: 18g / 0.6 oz

Taste Test at Ateriet

Taste Test at Ateriet is what it sounds like. We test food and drinks from all over the world and rate each product. The result is a grade that rates from 1-5 where 1 is bad and 5 is outstanding. This is also the only category at Ateriet where we might write down a product or brand. For any taste suggestions, opinions or if you have a product you want us to try contact us via email. For all Taste Tests check out the full coverage here.