Cookie jar stars: Australia’s favourite sweet biscuits named

In their first-ever biscuits and cookies rating, financial comparison site Canstar recently surveyed about 1,800 Australian consumers on the sweet biscuits and cookies they had bought and eaten in the past three months. The respondents rated brands on taste, texture, range variety, packaging design, value for money and overall satisfaction.

Only brands that received at least 30 responses were featured in the final report, and included Tim Tam, Monte Carlo, Mint Slice, Oreo, Arnott’s Classic Assorted, Arnott’s Assorted Creams, Tiny Teddy, Arnott’s Scotch Finger, Woolworths Scotch Finger, Iced VoVo and belVita.

Arnott’s Tim Tam crunched its rivals, with five-star reviews for taste, texture, variety and overall satisfaction. It was the only biscuit to receive a five-star review for overall satisfaction, while most other brands settled on four or three stars. Tim Tam received four stars for packaging  and value for money.

Tim Tam is said to be the world’s most popular biscuit per capita and the chocolate treat of choice for Aussies since the 1960s. It was created based on the British McVitie’s Penguin biscuit, and there’s still a lot of controversy today about which chocolate-coated biscuit is best. (Coles began selling McVitie’s Penguin biscuits in July 2020, so you can decide for yourself!)

But getting back to the Canstar biscuits and cookies rating, Tim Tam was followed by Monte Carlo in second place and Mint Slice in third, meaning Arnott’s scooped the coveted top three spots. In fact, Arnott’s-owned biscuits took out eight of the 11 spots, with Woolworths’ Scotch Finger and Mondelez’ Oreo and belVita achieving the other three places.

Arnott’s is Australia’s largest producer of biscuits and the second-largest supplier of snack food. The company originated when Scottish immigrant William Arnott opened a bakery in Morpeth, New South Wales, in 1847. It was controversially bought out in 1997 by American company Campbell Soup, which later sold Arnott’s to American private equity firm Kohlberg in 2019.

Here is the full list, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s 2021 review:

1. Tim Tam
2. Monte Carlo
3. Mint Slice
4. Oreo
5. Arnott’s Classic Assorted
6. Arnott’s Assorted Creams
7. Tiny Teddy
8. Arnott’s Scotch Finger
9. Woolworths Scotch Finger
10. Iced VoVo
11. belVita

Canstar’s survey also found that 39 per cent of Aussies buy sweet biscuits on their regular grocery shop, suggesting we like to keep our cupboards stocked with the good stuff at all times!

In other biscuit news, Arnott’s has teamed up with Krispy Kreme to release five new doughnut-inspired TeeVee Snacks flavours: Original Glazed, Caramel Delight, Choc Iced, Kookies & Kream and Strawberry Sprinkle. The mini-doughnut-shaped biscuit collaboration hit shelves on Wednesday, and fans are already raving about it on social media.

News.com.au reports that Krishma Sood, Arnott’s brand manager, said, “TeeVee Snacks are a classic, well-loved Australian biscuit and we’re thrilled to partner with Krispy Kreme to add a new twist to this iconic treat. With a range inspired by some of Australia’s most popular doughnuts, this new generation of ‘dough-suits’ is the collaboration TeeVee Snacks fans have been waiting for.”