Product type | Confectionery |
---|---|
Owner | Mars, Incorporated |
Country | United Kingdom |
Introduced | 1967 |
Markets | Worldwide |
Website | twix |
Twix is a caramel shortbread chocolate bar made by Mars, Inc., consisting of a biscuit applied with other confectionery toppings and coatings (most frequently caramel and milk chocolate).[1] Twix are packaged with one (mini and snack sizes), two or four bars (king size) in a wrapper.
The product was first produced in the United Kingdom in 1967,[2] and it was introduced in the United States in 1979.[2] The name is a portmanteau of "twin sticks".[3] Twix was called Raider in mainland Europe for many years before its name was changed in 1991 (2000 in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Turkey) to match the international brand name.[4] The Raider brand was resurrected for retro editions sold in Germany in 2009, in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2015, and Switzerland in late 2023.[5]
Twix bars for the North American market are made in Cleveland, Tennessee, along with M&M's.[6][7] For global markets like Europe and Africa are produced in Veghel, the Netherlands alongside Mars bars and other Mars, Incorporated chocolates.
In 2012, Twix launched the "Pick a Side" campaign. The advertising campaign introduced a rivalry between the two "sides" of the Twix bar. Each Twix bar was given its own distinct packaging, being labelled as either a "Right Twix" or a "Left Twix", although both sides are identical.[8][9]
The following flavours are available in the United States of America.[10]
Like many confectionery items, Twix has been accused of shrinkflation, where, instead of increasing the cost of a bar, Mars, Inc. has decreased the size. A bar in the 1970s was 60g but in the 2020s they are 50g.[11]
In an episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Dealership", a major plotline in the episode focuses on George Costanza's failed attempts to extract a Twix bar from a vending machine. Also, a recurring joke in the episode is that people confuse a Twix bar with a 5th Avenue Bar. However, George insists that "Twix is the only candy bar with the cookie crunch."[12][13]