After Eight Mint Chocolate Thins, often referred to as simply After Eights, are a brand of
mint chocolate covered
sugarconfectionery. They were created by
Rowntree Company Limited in the UK in 1962 and have been manufactured by
Nestlé since its acquisition of Rowntree in 1988.[1]
The mints were originally manufactured at Rowntree's
York factory, before production transferred to
Castleford,
West Yorkshire, in 1970. For the UK market they are now manufactured in
Halifax following Nestlé's closure of the Castleford factory in 2012, with over one billion After Eights produced every year.[2]
After Eights were originally made from dairy-free
dark chocolate. In 2002, however, Nestlé started adding
butterfat to After Eights made at certain production facilities so as to increase resistance to
chocolate bloom. This practice expanded to all production facilities in 2009. Nestlé has also made special editions of After Eights, including orange After Eights and
milk chocolate After Eights.
Manufacturing
The fondant in the centre of After Eights is made from a stiff paste of common
sugar, water, and a small amount of the
enzymeinvertase. This fondant can readily be coated with dark chocolate. After manufacture, the enzyme gradually splits the common sugar into the much more soluble sugars
glucose and
fructose, resulting in a more liquid consistency.[3] Once manufactured, each completed chocolate is packaged in a sheath and then loaded into a box.
Thin Mints – The original After Eight product, these comprise square dark or (less commonly) milk chocolate, enclosing the mint
fondant. There are also Limited Edition Thin Mints with added flavours such as orange, lemon, strawberry, cherry, blackcurrant, gin & tonic and others.
Marzipan – Sold in
Germany by Nestlé Deutschland AG.
Mint & Blood Orange – This variation on the thin mints was a special edition for Summer 2011. The flavour was reintroduced as Orange Mint in Autumn 2022.
Delights – Round sweets of dark chocolate with a mint fondant filling.
Straws – Long, thin sticks of soft dark chocolate with a mint fondant filling.
Bars – Dark chocolate bar with a creamy mint centre.
Biscuits – The newest addition to the After Eight family, these combine dark chocolate with mint in a
biscuit.
Chocolate Santa Claus – During the Christmas season, Nestlé Germany features a 125g
Santa Claus made out of white or dark mint chocolate.
Easter bunny – During Easter time Nestlé releases an After Eight Dark Chocolate
Easter Bunny. It does not have a mint filling but is made from peppermint flavoured chocolate and comes in the well known After Eight green wrapping.
Bitesize – Plain chocolate with mint fondant filling, similar in appearance to original
Munchies. Originally known as Mintola, then renamed Mint Munchies in 1995,[4] before being brought under the After Eight brand in 2006.[5][6]
Mousse – A chilled dessert consisting of mint mousse with layers of dark chocolate.
Dessert – A chilled smooth mint and chocolate flavoured dessert.
Ice cream dessert - A frozen mint and chocolate flavoured ice-cream dessert in a slicing block, similar to
Viennetta.
Strawberry and Mint – This variation on the thin mints was a special edition for Spring/Summer 2020.[7]
Gin and Tonic – Limited edition Thin Mints with a light flavour akin to that of the classic cocktail.
Discontinued products
Chocolate Truffle Pancakes
Dark Chocolate Fairy Cakes
Ice Cream Van
Lemon Sorbet
Other related products
A silver plated 'After Eight Mint' Royal Coach (mints not supplied) novelty table holder was available from Argos in the UK in the 1980s.[8]
Pfefferminz – A variety of
Ritter Sport which has similar taste to the original After Eight, in the shape of a Ritter Sport.
Royal Mints – A product manufactured by
Halloren very similar to After Eight.
Mint Nights – A product manufactured for
Poundland very similar to After Eight.
After Dinner Mints – an Australian product which was similar to After Eights. The manufacturer, Red Tulip, was bought out in the 1980s by
Cadbury.[9][10]
Notes
^Hyde, Dana (March 1991). "The Nestlé takeover of rowntree: A case study". European Management Journal. 9 (1): 1–17.
doi:
10.1016/0263-2373(91)90044-q.
^"Our brands - Chocolate and Sweets". nestle.co.uk. Archived from
the original on 19 November 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2015. Mint Munchies [were launched] in 1957, this product changed its name from Mintola to Mint Munchies in June 1995
^"After Eights re-invented for a new generation". utalkmarketing.com. 27 September 2007. Archived from
the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015. Mint Munchies [..] are being changed into the After Eight brand. [..] "New After Eight bitesize combines the popular Mint Munchies product with the strength of the After Eight brand."
1 Currently manufactured by
General Mills in the U.S. and Canada. Produced by
Cereal Partners under the Nestlé brand elsewhere. 2 Brand owned by
General Mills; U.S. and Canadian production rights controlled by Nestlé under license. 3 U.S. production rights owned by
The Hershey Company. 4 U.S. rights and production owned by the
Smarties Candy Company with a different product. 5 U.S. rights and specific trade dress owned by Nestlé; rights elsewhere owned by
Associated British Foods. 6 Produced by Cereal Partners, branded as Nestlé. 7 Produced by Cereal Partners and branded as Nestlé in the U.K. and Ireland. Produced by
Post Foods elsewhere. 8 Philippine production rights owned by
Alaska Milk Corporation. 9 Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai production rights owned by
Fraser and Neave. 10 Used only in Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia. 11 Used only in the Philippines. 12 U.S. production rights owned by the
Ferrara Candy Company. 13NA rights and specific trade dress to all packaged coffee and other products under the Starbucks brand owned by Nestlé since 2019. 14 Brand owned by
Mars, sold by Nestlé in Canada. 15 Produced by
Froneri in the U.S. since 2020.