First of all, you buy a packet or two of Choco-ade biscuits.
Two packets of Choco-ade biscuits
Then you select one.
One Choco-ade biscuit
(Description: round biscuit with fluted shortcake edges, topped with chocolate)
You nibble away the shortcake edges, so that just the bottom layer of shortcake is left under the topping.
Nibbled Choco-ade biscuit
(Description: base of Choco-ade biscuit, showing shortcake, hints of jam under it, and edges of chocolate topping)
Then you lick off the jammy filling, and eat the circle of chocolate.
Chocolate and jam from the Choco-ade biscuit
(Description: round of chocolate with bits of jam on it)
I can’t show you the eaten biscuit, because, well, it’s eaten.
The last step: you think carefully about whether or not you should eat another one. You need to be careful about this, because eating two at once is really half a Choco-ade too much, as you know from previous experience.
You haven’t been able to go through this process for twenty years! But thanks to Griffin’s and one woman who campaigned for the return of Choco-ades, now you can. Amber Johnson, I am very grateful to you.
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Griffin’s has done a stunning job on the relaunch of Choco-ade biscuits. There were big stories in the major daily newspapers on Monday morning, and a segment on a popular news show on TV3 on Monday evening. The first batch of the biscuits is being auctioned on Trade-Me (NZ’s on-line auction site), with the proceeds going to Amber Johnson’s chosen charity, Plunket. The biscuits weren’t in my local supermarket on Monday, but they were there by Tuesday, and apparently they are available all over the country now, so Griffin’s got the logistics right too. It’s all very well done feel good stuff. Also, the biscuits taste delicious.
But buried in the story in the NZ Herald is a clue about what’s really going on.
Mrs Johnson has been involved in the production, flying up to Auckland to take part in a taste test at Griffin’s Papakura factory.
She was keen to make sure the new biscuit is as close to the original as possible, especially as they are now manufactured by machines, not handmade as they were in the 1980s.
They were dropped because they were too expensive to make, and now they’re back because they can be made by machine. No doubt Amber Johnson’s campaign came along at the right time, and helped to persuade Griffin’s that there was a market for the biscuits. But ultimately, it was about the economics of making them.
And the price? At my supermarket, $5.29 for a pack of 12. Ouch.
thank you so much for sharing some with me on Tuesday, they were so good, will have to buy some this weekend.
Ah, you should witness the ritual of the Iced Vo-Vo (rectangular biscuit, strip of ‘jam’ lengthwise flanked by a strip of pink icing like stuff on either side, sprinked with coconut).
First, carefully nibble away the visible edge of the biscuit, then, again carefully, nibble the ‘icing’ away from the jam strip, which then leaves you with a very narrow strip of biscuit topped with jam. Then the choice, nibble slowly down the strip, or gobble it in one go?
Ah, the memories of childhood, they are way TOO sweet these days,
Gae, in Callala Bay
I found myself getting very angry about this on monday. For two reasons.
1) Seriously, why are we giving this so much media coverage? How awesome for Griffins that they got all this free advertising – bet they wouldn’t never have done it if they hadn’t been able to count on that. Or am I just cynical.
and 2) Where’s my F’ING SNIFTERS?
As someone who never liked that biscuit I didn’t realise it had been discontinued and missed all the hoopla about its reissue. I don’t like orange and chocolate together.
However, I can certainly admire the skill with which Griffins’ marketing department/consultants used social media to achieve this. That kind of coverage is priceless.
If they think they can woo me away from McVities’ Jaffa Cakes, I have news for them.
$4.89 for 12 at Countdown, with sponge base and better chocolate.
Thank you for the vicarious enjoyment ‘cos at that price, I don’t think anyone’s going to do me a shipment any time soon.