Arnott's Australia seemingly secretly rebrands beloved Aussie biscuit
By Jo Abi|
If you've seen Arnott's-branded Chocolate Digestives and wondered if they've been there all along and you just hadn't noticed, you're not alone.
At first I thought they were my beloved Chocolate Wheaten which I had loved as a child, but upon further inspection, all was not as it seemed.
It was a Reddit thread that reminded me of the existence of the Chocolate Wheaten biscuit. They used to be one of my favourite biscuits when I was a child.
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The thread discussed Chocolate Digestives, which I understood to be the UK's version of the Chocolate Wheaten. And Chocolate Digestives look exactly like a Chocolate Wheaten!
The thread, posted on the Ask UK forum, was called: "How would you eat a chocolate digestive?"
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Some eat theirs chocolate-side-up, while others prefer the chocolate side facing down.
Then there are those geniuses who sandwich two of them together to get both effects.
Even then, they debate whether the sandwich should have the two chocolate sides together on the outside.
Then there were the straight dunkers who ate the biccies one by one, dipped in a hot cup of tea.
I sought to discover the origins of the "Digestive" biscuit and found that not only did they come well before my beloved Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten, but they have a rich and interesting history.
The Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten was originally made by Weston's, which is how I remember them from childhood, before being taken over by Arnott's in 2003.
And remember the TV ad with the scarecrow?
Digestive biscuits originated in Scotland and are described as a "sweet-meal biscuit" and a "semi-sweet biscuit". And they were called Digestives because they were meant to do just that.
In 1989, two Scottish doctors developed the biscuits to "aid digestion," which to me translates as "they keep you regular".
They gained popularity in the UK as "Digestives", and somewhere along the line someone decided to slap some chocolate on them, perhaps to make them more palatable.
And that is how the "Chocolate Digestive" was invented, which I have now discovered is a beloved biscuit in the UK. And now, they have arrived in Australia.
In my mind, the closest biscuits to the original "Digestive" are the Arnott's Shredded Wheat, and the closest to a "Chocolate Digestive" is the Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten, which I was obsessed with as a child.
They were my favourite biscuits to eat, and then they simply disappeared.
When I did a Google search for them, up popped the Arnott's Chocolate Digestives but a quick search on both Coles and Woolworths websites, and there were no Arnott's Chocolate Digestives to be found. Not one packet.
Woolworths still had them listed, but when I clicked through, they were "unavailable".
I tried ordering them from my local IGA, but despite being listed, they were not delivered because they were not in stock.
The only similar biscuits I could find were by a brand called McVitie's Chocolate Digestives, which I had never heard of before but which many people have via their UK connections.
McVitie's is a British company and also the makers of biscuits. I have only read about it in books or heard about it in movies, including Jaffa Cakes and Hobnobs. For some reason they are all I see in the biscuit aisles at supermarkets lately, taking pride of place in the middle shelf.
I think Chocolate Digestives are entering their biggest era. And I did try the McVitie's and they are delicious, although more crumbly than I remember the Chocolate Wheaten being.
From the photos I saw online, the Arnott's Chocolate Digestives look exactly like my beloved, long-lost Chocolate Wheatens, so I asked Arnott's about their demise.
Arnott's Chocolate Portfolio Senior Marketing Manager, Rebecca Chan, told 9honey: "While Arnott's Chocolate Wheaten biscuits were discontinued in 2017, we know they still hold a special place in the hearts of many Aussies.
"For those craving a similar satisfying crunch with a hint of chocolate, our Arnott's Digestives range available at Independent retailers is a great alternative.
"Available in both Milk Chocolate and Fruit & Milk Chocolate, they're a delicious pick – perfect for pairing with a cuppa."
Arnott's was kind enough to send me a couple of packets of their Chocolate Digestives as my efforts to find them had failed.
I tried the Milk Chocolate variety, and they look exactly like a Chocolate Wheaten, but my colleague and I agree they are more crumbly than their predecessor.
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The Fruit & Milk was unfortunately not my cup of tea. They have a spice in them that I loathe, which my other colleague and I agreed was clove and Arnott's later confirmed.
For anyone who has accidentally chewed on a clove that somebody forgot to take out of a batch of biscuits or a casserole, then you know my pain.
I did spot that Coles and Woolworths had their own versions of Digestives and Chocolate Digestives in stock.
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But I really couldn't go past the fun and sparkly McVitie's display.
A surprise benefit of these delicious biscuits being called "Digestives" is that I've had two packets in my pantry for a week, and my young adult and teenage children haven't touched them because in their minds, the word clearly sounds too healthy.
So I can look forward to enjoying one or two of them each day at my leisure, instead of finding someone had eaten the entire pack.
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