Arnott's Group

Arnott's Group

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Food manufacturing
Founded	1865 (1865)
Founder	William Arnott
Headquarters	Sydney , Australia
Area served	Australia, New Zealand, global
Products	Biscuits, snack foods
Owner	KKR
Parent	KKR
Website	www.arnotts.com.au

Arnott's Group stands as a leading Australian manufacturer specializing in biscuits and snack food. Established in 1865 by William Arnott, it holds the position of Australia's largest biscuit maker and operates as a subsidiary of KKR.

History

William Arnott, a Scottish immigrant, began his bakery venture in Morpeth, New South Wales in 1847. By 1865, he relocated to a bakery on Hunter Street, Newcastle, where he provided bread, pies, and biscuits both locally and to vessels docked at the port. The company remained under family leadership until 1975, with family members like Halse Rogers Arnott and Geoffrey H. Arnott serving as Chairmen.

While initially concentrated in New South Wales, Arnott's expanded its operations by establishing factories in Virginia, Queensland, which focused on plain, cream, and savoury biscuits, and in Shepparton, Victoria. In 1949, a merger with Brisbane-based Morrows Pty Ltd resulted in the formation of William Arnotts, Morrow Pty Ltd. The 1960s brought further consolidation through mergers that created the Australian Biscuit Company Pty Ltd, incorporating well-known brands such as Brockhoff Biscuits, Arnott-Motteram, Menz, Guest's Biscuits, and Mills and Ware. This entity was subsequently renamed Arnott's Biscuits Pty Ltd.

In 1997, the company confronted an extortion incident involving Monte Carlo biscuits that led to a significant product recall costing A$22 million. Despite no legal charges being brought forward, Arnott's received praise for its openness during this challenging period.

That same year marked the full acquisition of Arnott's by the North American Campbell Soup Company, which sparked debate over foreign ownership of this iconic Australian brand. Although concerns arose about potential changes to products, manufacturing continued within Australia. In 2002, Arnott's shuttered its Melbourne facility while expanding its production sites in Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane.

Arnott's expanded its portfolio by acquiring Snack Foods Limited in 2002 but divested this segment in 2008 to The Real McCoy Snackfood Co., which later operated as Snack Brands Australia.

In July 2019, Campbell Soup divested Arnott's to private equity firm KKR for US$2.2 billion. Soon after the sale, Arnott's engaged in a public dispute with Woolworths regarding pricing on promotional displays. By August 2020, the company adopted the new name Arnott's Group.

Pursuing further expansion through acquisitions, Arnott's purchased Freedom Foods Group’s cereal and snack business for AUD 20 million in December 2020 and acquired a majority 75% stake in Diver Foods by February 2021; both businesses were integrated under the Good Food Partners division. In May 2021, it added New Zealand cracker brand 180degrees to its portfolio.

June 2023 saw Arnott's return to local production in New Zealand with the opening of a new factory in Avondale, Auckland—marking its first manufacturing presence there after a quarter-century absence. In August 2023, the company unveiled a state-of-the-art 43,000sqm automated distribution centre at its Huntingwood location to support ongoing growth objectives.

Logo

The original emblem of Arnott's displayed a colorful parrot perched on a T-shaped stand while nibbling on a cracker biscuit. According to an ABC radio interview with William Arnott’s great-great-great-grandson, this logo represents the saying "Honesty is the best policy," inspired by the phrase "On his T, is the best pol' (polly) I see."

Products

Arnott's is widely recognized both within Australia and globally for its classic Australian biscuit range. Among its prominent offerings are:

• Arno Shortbread: classic shortbread flavour.
• Butternut Snap: crisp oatmeal and coconut biscuit coated in chocolate.
• Caramel Crowns: plain biscuit layered with caramel and chocolate.
• Cheds: savoury crackers infused with cheddar flavour.
• Chocolate Monte: biscuit made with golden syrup, honey, and coconut, covered in dark chocolate.
• Choc Ripple: chocolate-flavoured biscuit often used as a base in layered desserts.
• Chocolate Royals: vanilla biscuit topped with marshmallow and enveloped in dark or milk chocolate.
• Clix: round savoury crackers with a buttery, salty taste and a softer texture than Jatz.
• Cruskits: large rectangular crispbreads offered in Original, Corn, Light, Rice, and Rye variants.
• Custard Cream: vanilla biscuits sandwiching a custard cream filling.
• Delta Cream: two round chocolate biscuits filled with vanilla cream; sweeter than Oreos.
• Farmbake: cookie assortment including Chocolate Chip, Triple Choc, Butter Shortbread, among others.
• Flatbread Dippers: oven-roasted flatbread crisps launched in 2022 featuring Mediterranean-inspired flavours.
• Ginger Nut: firm ginger biscuits with recipe variations across Australian regions.
• Iced Animals: animal-shaped biscuits decorated with vibrant icing.
• Iced VoVo: wheat flour biscuit topped with raspberry jam, fondant icing, and coconut flakes.
• Jatz: lightly salted round savoury crackers also available in cracked pepper flavour.
• Kingstons: small coconut biscuits filled with chocolate cream.
• Mint Slice: round chocolate biscuit topped with mint cream and coated in dark chocolate; also offered in Mandarin, Kahlua, and Coconut flavours.
• Monte Carlo: golden syrup, honey, and coconut biscuits sandwiching raspberry and cream fondant; a bestseller within the Assorted Cream line.
• Nice: sweet biscuits sprinkled with granulated sugar.
• Obsession: chocolate biscuits introduced in 2022 available in Milk Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate, and Mint Chocolate varieties.
• Orange Creams & Orange Slice: vanilla biscuits filled with orange cream; Orange Slice features an embossed design resembling an orange slice.
• SAO: large square plain crackers originally crafted as portable snacks for Salvation Army officers.
• Salada & Savoy: salted crisp crackers; Salada is rectangular with perforations for easy breaking while Savoy was initially sold regionally before broader distribution.
• Scotch Fingers: shortbread biscuits also offered coated in chocolate.
• Shapes: savoury chips available in multiple flavours such as Barbecue, Pizza, Cheddar, Chicken Crimpy, Nacho Cheese, and Cheese & Bacon.
• Sourdough Crisps: crisps made using sourdough starter introduced in 2022; available flavours include Cheddar & Roasted Garlic and Cracked Pepper & Thyme.
• Spicy Fruit Roll: pillow-shaped spicy fruit mix wrapped in plain biscuit dough.
• Strawberry Tarts: tart base filled with strawberry jam.
• Teddy Bear Biscuits & Tiny Teddies: bear-shaped biscuits; Tiny Teddies are smaller snack-sized versions similar to Teddy Grahams.
• TeeVee Snacks: bite-sized chocolate-coated biscuits marketed for television snacking occasions.
• Tic Tocs: round iced vanilla biscuits embossed underneath with clock faces.
• Tim Tams: two-layer oblong chocolate-coated biscuits originally filled with chocolate cream; now available in numerous flavours including limited editions featuring additional fillings or flavoured coatings.
• Tina Wafer: sweet cream sandwiched between two light wafers; offered in chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla variants.
• Venetians: sweet round coconut biscuit containing dried currants with one side dipped in white chocolate icing.
• Vita-Weat: wholewheat crisp bread available plain or multi-grain; brand acquired from Peek Freans in 1982.
• Wagon Wheels: marshmallow and jam sandwiched between two large round biscuits coated in chocolate; double choc variant replaces jam with fudge. Brand acquired from George Weston Foods in 2003.

Following acquisitions, several products have been discontinued or phased out including Adora Cream Wafers, Bush Biscuits (originally by Motteram & Williamson), Coconut Rings, Honey Jumbles (discontinued 2021), Jaffa Cakes, Lattice biscuits, Morning Coffee biscuits, Quatro (acquired from George Weston Foods), Goldfish crackers, Honey Snaps, Maryland Cookies (now fully discontinued), among others.

Arnott's product approach focuses on preserving beloved Australian classics while pursuing innovation through new launches such as Flatbread Dippers and Sourdough Crisps to meet shifting consumer preferences. The company also adapts recipes like Ginger Nut to suit regional tastes across Australia.

Additional resources

• Boag, Charles: The Story of Arnott's Famous Biscuits: A History & A Celebration (1993), Lansdowne (Sydney). .
• Arnotts, Robert: The Biography of a Rich Man, Robert Arnotts - Family and Work (1992)

External links

• Vintage 1951 footage showcasing biscuit production, featuring SAOs, Iced VoVos, and Monte Carlos (2 minutes 24 seconds with sound)