Toobs facts for kids
Close up of a bowl of toobs
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| Alternative names | Tasty Toobs |
|---|---|
| Type | Potato chip |
| Course | Snack |
| Place of origin | Australia |
| Created by | Albert Cranum |
| Invented | 1954 |
| Serving temperature | Room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Wheat, tomato, potato |
| Variations | Chicken, oriental, oats and Mexican flavour |
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.
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.
The product gained some media attention when its Wikipedia page was vandalized in 2014.
The Smith's Snackfood Company ceased production of Toobs in 2015 due to poor consumer demand.
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.
Campaign to Bring Back Toobs
After the announcement of the discontinuation of Toobs in 2015, there was public outcry. Cricketer Shane Warne attempted to start a campaign on Twitter to bring back Toobs using hashtags #BringBackToobs and #savetoobs. 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."
In 2021, Smiths announced they might be considering bringing Toobs back into production.
