Whatever Happened To Cinnamon Tic Tacs?

Tic Tacs, the tiny ubiquitous mints, have been lining grocery store checkout aisles and Americans' pockets for more than 50 years. According to the Tic Tac website, they were called "Refreshing Mints" until 1970 when Ferrero, Tic Tac's parent company, favored a snappier name. 

Currently, Tic Tacs come in six flavors: Freshmint, Orange, Fruit Adventure, Wintergreen, Coca-Cola, and Big Berry Adventure, though limited-edition flavors sometimes roll out too. As Convenience Store Products reported, the Freshmint and Orange flavors have been Tic Tac's backbone, but one flavor had consumers in an uproar over its cancellation. 

Cinnamon Tic Tacs were quietly discontinued in 2009 — which even lead to a Change.org petition — before being brought back in 2013 with a new name: Cinnamon Spice. At the time, Convenience Store Products sought answers from Todd Midura, category marketing director for Tic Tac, Ferrero USA. "The Cinnamon flavor was always solid, but not a growth flavor ... so we delisted it," Midura said. Fans then flooded social media in dismay, leading to the flavor's rebirth. "We have 1.3 million Facebook fans and it seemed 1 million of them chimed in with their displeasure about discontinuing the Cinnamon flavor," Midura told the outlet.

But then, in response to a fan asking about the Cinnamon flavor, the official Tic Tac account broke more difficult news in a Facebook post in 2015: "We're sorry to tell you that Cinnamon Spice flavored Tic Tac® mints were recently discontinued, though you might be able to find them at retailers who have existing stock." Though, since the comment is now six years old, there may not be many of those still in stock, and those that are could be expired. Later on in the thread, Tic Tac elaborated on the company's decision to pull the flavor, citing a need to "help keep our product line interesting and give consumers innovative flavors." 

However, although we can't find official Tic Tac confirmation of their re-reemergence, Cinnamon flavors have recently been sighted as a seasonal holiday offering, as one Reddit post points out. Cinnamon Tic Tacs also popped up for sale on Amazon, My American Market, and Candy Warehouse, and superfans even splurged on 12 packs on eBay for a cool $44 each. So all hope might not be lost for lovers of these cult-favorite tiny red mints.