Toobs
 Close up of a bowl of toobs | |
| Type | Potato chip |
|---|---|
| Course | Snack |
| Place of origin | Australia |
| Creator | Albert Cranum |
| Invented | 1954 |
| Serving temperature | Room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Wheat, tomato, potato |
 Cookbook: Toobs  Media: Toobs | |
Toobs (later known as "Tasty Toobs") were 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. 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]
Production ceased in 2001, but resumed in 2007 with the new name "Tasty Toobs", and the Herald Sun attributed a resurgence in popularity of the flavoursome rings and 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]
Campaign to Bring Back Toobs
After the announcement of the discontinuation of Toobs in 2015, there was public outcry.[7] Sports celebrity 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]
References
- ↑ "Tasty Toobs product page". smiths.com.au.
- ↑ Williams, Felicity (2 March 2010). "Retro snacks like Tasty Toobs and Samboy chips are back in fashion". Herald Sun (Melbourne).
- ↑ "Some comedians sabotaged the Toobs Wikipedia page last night". SBS. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ↑ Choahan, Neelima (10 October 2015). "Beloved Aussie snack Tasty Toobs gone down the tube". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ↑ McMahon, Kate (10 October 2015). "Smiths axes Tasty Toobs chips because of low consumer demand". Herald Sun (Melbourne). Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ↑ "Brekky Best Bits 27 October". 89.9 Light FM. 27 October 2015. "Tasty Toobs Tuesday" SoundCloud file. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ↑ "Tasty Toobs, we should have paid you more attention while we could". news.com.au. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ↑ Donohoe, Rose (12 October 2015). "Shane Warne's campaign to save Aussie snack". NewDaily. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Smith's discretely announce discontinuation of Tasty Toobs". Nine News. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.