The sweet taste of success as Tim Tams go global

Arnott’s Group is ramping up its global ambitions as it continues to reap the benefits of Tim Tam’s local and international growth.

Arnotts Group chief marketing officer Jenni Dill

The humble Tim Tam is shaping up for international domination as Australia’s favourite chocolate biscuit continues to drive growth for Arnott’s Group.

The 160-year-old company, which is the market leader in biscuits locally, is riding a wave of popularity in international markets such as the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Japan, and it has big ambitions for new overseas markets.

Arnott’s Group chief marketing officer Jenni Dill said Tim Tams were one of a number of products that were resonating strongly in international markets, particularly the UK.

“We have been really pleasantly surprised at just how well Tim Tams have taken off in the UK”, Ms Dill said.

“The performance in market has exceeded our expectation and we look forward to leveraging the momentum to continue to grow in the UK and elsewhere.” She credits the close cultural exchange between the Australia and Britain as a core driver of brand awareness.

She said the iconic Tim Tam Slam, where the biscuits are used a straw for hot beverages, helped build momentum for the products.

Arnott’s also uses social media, PR and local sampling “to make sure that we are really connecting and engaging with local consumers”.

“In terms of marketing, the Tim Tam Slam is always going to be a core part of our marketing, and the ‘what more could you wish for’ model of advertising is always going be a core part. But as we’ve moved into new markets being really clear about Australia’s favourite chocolate biscuit now being available has been really important, ” Ms Dill said.

“Australia and New Zealand will always be our home base, but we do have much bigger growth ambitions for taking some of our most loved, most unique and most iconic products to more consumers in more geographies around the world.

“We’re still in the process of building out our international strategy.

“We’ve got some really good early successes in markets like the US and the UK and Canada and Japan but we’ve got much bigger ambitions over the coming five to ten years.”

Tim Tams’ global growth is underpinned by the enduring popularity of the product locally. Tim Tams have grown their share of the chocolate biscuit market by 5.8 per cent in the past 12 months to capture a 41 per cent value share, according to Circana data.

Much of the brand’s success has been the ability of the business to create hype through earned-media channels across social media and PR-driven news content.

The recent launch of Tim Tam Jatz Sweet & Salty is a great example of this amplification model, with the new product fast becoming one of Arnott’s “most successful”, with 60 per cent of customers new to buying Tim Tams.

“Tim Tam Jatz started out as an April Fool’s Day stunt with a social media post. We handmade a dozen packs and sent them out to customers as a stunt. Then we got a phone call from Coles asking if we could make it into a real product,” Ms Dill said.

“So we turned it into a real product that landed on the shelf in Coles.

“Now it’s gone international and we’ve just launched in the UK as Tim Tam Sweet & Salty.”

New product innovations and the development of new ranges remain a core growth driver for the business as the tastes and preferences of Australians continue to evolve.

Ms Dill points to the changes in nutrition and lifestyle over the past 20 years in terms of the increase in snacking and the emergence of speciality diets focused on gluten-free, protein-rich and high-fibre foods.

Arnott’s launched its Gluten Free range in 2021 and has continued to expand the range to incorporate versions of its most iconic products including Jatz, Shapes, Tiny Teddy, Scotch Finger and Tim Tam, with “no taste trade-off”.

“The gluten-free biscuit market is growing at about 40 per cent, and we’re driving about 80 per cent of that growth with our Arnott’s gluten-free range,” said Ms Dill.

“I don’t think I knew a single person who was gluten free when I was a kid. Now it feels like there’s three in 10 that are gluten free, either by choice or by medical diagnosis. We’ve invested in a dedicated bakery and we’ve invested in launching those products and they’ve been truly successful. We’re definitely competing effectively in that space and really changing the way consumers engage with our Arnott’s brand as a result.”

Arnott’s has also recently launched its SnackRight range which caters to the growing market for protein-rich snacks.

The SnackRight range, which is already a $10m brand with a 50 per cent share of the “better-for-you” biscuit segment, according to Circana data.

The range is not only driving growth for the Arnott’s Group, it’s also delivering incremental growth with almost 50 per cent of SnackRight shoppers not purchasing biscuits in the previous 12 months.

Ms Dill said while the Arnott’s portfolio had its standout brands for growth, there were also established brands that continued to perform, like Scotch Fingers.

“We’ve had Scotch Fingers since 1906 and we’ve actually doubled the growth rate every year for the last four years in a row,” she said.

“Some of our brands like Tim Tams and Shapes are really big brands in their own right and do receive their own dedicated support as well.

“But there are some other products that sit within the Arnott’s portfolio that we make sure we get the right support on shelf and on display in stores, but also the right supports, whether it’s in social or our media plan, so that we can talk about them.

“There are some really powerful enduring icons in our sweet biscuit portfolio, which is the biggest part of the legacy.

“We’ve got Milk Arrowroot, Monte Carlo and Kingston, that all sit in our Sweet Portfolio.

“And even if you haven’t had one of them recently, you still have really, really fond memories of those biscuits.

“Our job is to make sure that we keep reminding people of just how good they are.”