Twix has been a staple on grocery store shelves and candy racks for a long time, and it's
possible you don't even really think about it anymore... except to enjoy it. But Twix
candy has a fascinating story behind it.This is the untold truth of Twix.
We're so familiar with it that the name "Twix" has ceased to be weird, but it is a pretty
strange name when you think about it. It's not like Snickers or Almond Joy — those
are real words that make sense. So what's with Twix? It doesn't seem to mean anything,
and it's not really related to what's in the wrapper... or, is it?
The name Twix is likely a combination of two words, like "brunch." No one really seems
sure, but it's likely either a combination of "twin" and "stix" or "twin" and "mix."
"Mix" doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense at first glance, but some of the earliest
marketing campaigns stressed the mix of goodness beneath the chocolate coating, so it's a possibility.
And strangely, it wasn't even called Twix in most European countries. It first hit the
shelves as the even more oddly-named Raider, until it was changed to Twix in 1991.
Some candy bars are the sort of thing that get shared across generations with decades
of history. By comparison, Twix is pretty much a baby.
The candy we call Twix was created in 1967, and it didn't come out of America, but out
of the Mars company in England. Mars, by the way, is the same company that gave us favorites
like Snickers and Starburst.
Twix didn't even make it to American shores for years. In fact, it wasn't until 1979 that
Americans finally got a taste of what would become a national favorite. By the early 80s,
Mars was looking for a way to make Twix even more popular, and that's when peanut butter
Twix first came on the scene. The rest is history, as they say.
"We find Twix...delicious!"
If you can't get enough of Twix, we have good news for you. They're not just brilliant as
a candy bar, but there are some amazing desserts you can make with them, too!
If you've never cut up some Twix, mixed them into brownie mix, and baked up a batch, you're
seriously missing out. It doesn't matter if you like the standard sort of brownies, the
dark chocolate, or even a delicious blondie. Add some chopped Twix and drizzle the top
with caramel and you have a super easy, super delicious dessert that everyone will love.
You can also use them in a no-bake pie. You know the old standby: a crushed vanilla wafer
or graham cracker crust, a Cool Whip or ice cream filling... add in a layer of chopped
Twix next time, and your easy dessert just got more delicious.
Trifle is another dessert that's incredibly versatile.Just take the same layered concept
of the dish and add some chopped Twix, with a drizzle of chocolate syrup on the top.
If you haven't had a Twix in a while, you might be tempted to pick one up after watching
this video. But here's the thing: they might look a little smaller than they used to, and
it might not be your imagination.
In the 1980s, a Twix bar in the UK was 60 grams. In the 2010s, though, that weight dropped
to 50 grams. Cleary, the makers of Twix have been doing a little product shrinking, and
they're not the only candy bar slimming down.
Why are some of these candies being scaled back? There's likely a few reasons for the
change. Selling smaller candy bars increases profits, of course, but there's also the ever-increasing
health concerns that come with our 21st century world. Is it for your own good? You decide.
In 2007, the BBC was reporting on some serious outrage. Mars had just announced they were
going to be adding rennet to their UK ingredient list, and it was going to be showing up in
candy bars like Twix, Milky Way, and Bounty. Rennet — which comes from the stomachs of
calves — definitely isn't vegetarian.
Vegetarians were outraged, so Mars made some changes. They reversed course on some candy
bars, but not all of them. They also only changed course after they'd released hundreds
of thousands of candy bars containing rennet to the public. It got a little confusing.
Fast forward to the present, and the UK grocery chain Sainsbury's now says that Twix are once
again suitable for vegetarians. Even if that's true, there's an important lesson here. If
you're going on vacation and have dietary requirements, don't assume the products you
get abroad are the same as what you get at home.
Sure, we all know that the 1980s and 1990s
were a different time. They were also a time when Twix commercials were, shall we say,
a little uncomfortable.
Look back at them now, and you'll find that some are very stalkerish. Remember the one
with a group of high school boys gathering at their lockers and ogling a classmate? That's
creepy, and even creepier is the title card that says, "Whoever said you can't get everything
in life..."
Yikes! It's no wonder that at the time, women's groups had a big problem with Twix. They condemned
the company for portraying Twix as a product that would help men get any woman they wanted.
You've probably seen those commercials that pit people who like the left Twix against
those who prefer the right Twix. There is, of course, no difference, but if there's one
thing we can all agree on about the human race, it's that we love to take sides. Twix
went a long, long way with that campaign, and not everyone was thrilled with it.
"Try both, and pick a side."
So in 2018, the company released the results of a study in which they asked Twix fans to
fill out a personality questionnaire while examining them with facial recognition software.
They compared the data to whether people said they were fans of the right Twix or the left
one. What did they find? Well, 70 percent of those who chose left Twix were dark-haired,
and 72 percent of right Twix fans aren't blonde. Think those sound kind of like the same thing?
That's the point. Twix used the steady to push a unifying message. No matter which side
you pick in the fictional Twix wars, we're all fans of the same candy.
If you're concerned about the environment, you might want to think twice about picking
up a Twix... for now, at least. In 2014, Mars reportedly made a promise to change their
palm oil supply until the ingredient was always sustainably sourced from producers that didn't
promote deforestation. Greenpeace said they had confirmed the commitment officially by
the end of the year, and promised that by 2015, everything would be on the up-and-up.
Fast forward to 2020, and the palm oil statement on the Mars website had changed a little.
The projected date for Mars to be deforestation-free had been moved to the end of that year, quite
a while after the original promise was made.
Sustainability report card site Rank A Brand was less than impressed with the company's
progress, and gave Twix a D when it came to sustainability. That wasn't just because of
their stance on palm oil, either. The company had also fallen behind when it came to things
like using renewable energy sources, reducing greenhouse gases, and minimizing the environmental
impacts of packaging.
Sounds like it's time for Twix to pick the side… of the Earth.
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