Toobs
Close up of a bowl of toobs
Alternative namesTasty Toobs
TypePotato chip
CourseSnack
Place of originAustralia
Created byAlbert Cranum
Invented1954
Serving temperatureRoom temperature
Main ingredientsWheat, tomato, potato
VariationsChicken, oriental, oats and Mexican flavour

Toobs (later known as "Tasty Toobs") are a brand of Australian snack food, first created in 1954 by Albert Cranum, and owned and sold by the British Australian company The Smith's Snackfood Company, trading as "Smith’s". The potato-based flavoured snack took their name from the characteristic shape of the crisps.

Peaking in popularity during the 1970s, Toobs were considered a novelty crisp and could be found in supermarkets and selected convenience stores. They were available in a number of flavours including Chicken, Oriental, Oats and Mexican Party, but more recently were only available in the original tomato flavour.[1]

Availability has been inconsistent. Toobs were unavailable from 2001 to 2007, and again from 2015 to 2021.

Production cease 2001 and return

Production ceased in 2001, but resumed in 2007 with the new name "Tasty Toobs". The Herald Sun attributed a resurgence in popularity of the rings and the Samboy potato chips to the global economic recession.[2]

The product gained some media attention when its Wikipedia page was vandalized in 2014.[3]

The Smith's Snackfood Company ceased production of Toobs in 2015 due to poor consumer demand.[4][5]

On 27 October 2015, as bags of Tasty Toobs became scarce, Melbourne radio duo Lucy and Kel announced on air they would give away their last bags of Tasty Toobs to a listener.[6]

2015 campaign to bring back Toobs

After the announcement of the discontinuation of Toobs in 2015, there was a public outcry.[7] Cricketer Shane Warne attempted to start a campaign on Twitter to bring back Toobs using hashtags #BringBackToobs and #savetoobs.[8][9] However, the company was adamant, noting that despite the sentiment, actual sales were the issue: Smith's Consumer Information Centre stated that "Consumer demand for the tangy, tomatoey treat has declined and it is no longer possible to justify on-going production."[10]

2021 return

In May 2021, Smith's announced they might be considering bringing Toobs back into production.[11] After six years of absence, Smiths confirmed that Tasty Toobs are officially back, with 35g and 150g bags appearing on shelves across Australia from 27 July 2021.[12]

Initial sales were brisk, with some stores running out of stock and people offering very expensively priced packs on eBay. In August 2021, Smiths announced that the return of Toobs would only be a limited edition, available for six months.[13] This initial run was all manufactured overseas. In December 2021 it was reported that Tasty Toobs would make a permanent return across Australian stores, and that production would be split across two locations. The Australian-made version, available only in New South Wales and Queensland, is said to have a "firmer bite" and became available from 20 December 2021.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Tasty Toobs product page". smiths.com.au.
  2. ↑ Williams, Felicity (2 March 2010). "Retro snacks like Tasty Toobs and Samboy chips are back in fashion". Herald Sun (Melbourne).
  3. ↑ "Some comedians sabotaged the Toobs Wikipedia page last night". SBS. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Choahan, Neelima (10 October 2015). "Beloved Aussie snack Tasty Toobs gone down the tube". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  5. ↑ McMahon, Kate (10 October 2015). "Smiths axes Tasty Toobs chips because of low consumer demand". Herald Sun (Melbourne). Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Brekky Best Bits 27 October". 89.9 LightFM. 27 October 2015. "Tasty Toobs Tuesday" SoundCloud file. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Tasty Toobs, we should have paid you more attention while we could". news.com.au. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Donohoe, Rose (12 October 2015). "Shane Warne's campaign to save Aussie snack". NewDaily. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Thomsen, Simon (13 October 2015). "Shane Warne's just gone into bat for the canned Smiths snack Tasty Toobs". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Smith's discretely announce discontinuation of Tasty Toobs". Nine News. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Scanlan, Rebekah (2021-02-18). "Smiths backflip on axed chip as popular substitute emerges". NewsComAu. Nationwide News Pty Limited. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "Tasty Toobs are officially back after six years of fan campaigning". kitchen.nine.com.au. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  13. ↑ Micallef, Katrina (9 August 2021). "Woolworths introduces new rule as Tasty Toobs fly off shelves". au.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  14. ↑ Khalil, Shireen (20 December 2021). "Fans to discover 'slight' change to Tasty Toobs". news.com.au. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
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