Kcal 94 Fat 4.4g Carbs 12.3g (per finger)STOP PRESS! Hold the back pages!! Mars UK have actually launched their first proper innovation since the Mars Delight which we first saw way back in 2004 (no the Galaxy Bubbles doesn't count!!) Last week I finally managed to lay hands on the Twix Fino, which was announced to the trade a while back in June 2010 (See HERE). Described by a Mars spokesperson as a "healthier wafer option", the Fino is aiming to "help expand the appeal of the brand to female professionals looking for a lighter snack" - supposedly taking on the likes of the Kit Kat Senses and the Kinder Bueno. To me this all sounded remarkably similar to the blurb that accompanied the launch of the aforementioned Galaxy product earlier this year. Have Mars forgotten about the male population who eat chocolate!? I'll let you discuss that one!
The Twix Fino comes in a 38.0g double finger packet and will be retailing for £0.52 in smaller independent stores before rolled out nationally in the supermarkets in 2011. Nutritionally the bar is relatively impressive, clocking in with significantly fewer calories than the Kinder Bueno (242 Kcal) and Mars Delight (222 Kcal), whilst being around about par with the likes of the Galaxy Bubbles (169 Kcal) and Kit Kat Senses (165 Kcal). Presentation wise I was also relatively impressed as the wrapper maintained a sense of Twix masculinity despite the target consumer obviously being females. The chocolate fingers themselves also looked pretty appetising with the caramel and wafer layers nicely segregated and balanced in terms of their portioning. Taking the fingers out of their silver foil packet confines, they broke apart with relative ease. The smells emanating from the bars weren't the strongest, though the mild hints of caramel and chocolate had a certain Mars familiarity about them.
On the wrapper the Fino was described 'crisp wafer with caramel, covered in milk chocolate' with the breakdown as follows: wafer (22%), caramel (21%) and chocolate (46%). Starting with the chief constituent, the outer milk chocolate layer was of course the first to be encountered what with it comprising the exterior portion of the bar. Compared to a usual Twix the chocolate wasn't quite as thick in it's portioning, especially at the base where I was expecting the usual thicker underside. Despite the thinness of the chocolate it still did pretty much the same job I expected it to, as the other elements of the bar were also notably lighter. The chocolate was totally as I expected - unspectacular in taste, yet more than adequate at providing a sweet chocolatey flavour hit to every bite. The caramel at the top of the bar also seemed somewhat lighter in portioning, but it again still delivered a familiar set of buttery sweet sugar flavours within it's soft chewy texture. The USP of this Fino bar was of course the substitution of the usual shortbread biscuit base for the folded wafer layers which you can see clearly in my photo above. Taste wise the folded wafer layers reminded me of a sparser version of the wafers used in the Mars Delight, yet without the note of honeycomb forthcoming in the rather plain tasting wheat based flavours. After a few mouthfuls it was more than noticeable that the wafers weren't massively contributing to the taste, but on the plus side they weren't negating the pleasant combination of the caramel and chocolate constituents. The total bar left my hunger feeling relatively settled, though unsurprisingly I didn't feel the same level of satisfaction that I get from a normal Twix.
Overall it was a little tricky scoring this Twix Fino as it came across taste wise as being a bit of Twix 'Lite', but looking at all the PR hype it wasn't if anything other than this was ever being promised. Quite simply the synergy between the wafer and chocolate/caramel layers wasn't as strong as the shortbread biscuit and chocolate/caramel combination of the normal Twix bar. Whilst the wafer layers were positively non-distracting in the grand scheme things, they also failed to add much to the total experience apart from of course the expected contrasting crunchy crisp textures. Taste wise they couldn't hold a candle to the usual biscuit base, though I guess that is what you would have to expect from a bar containing 100 or so less calories. Personally speaking if you offered me the calorie vs. taste trade-off, I would reach for gold foil original Twix bar every time with little or no thought. I don't want to send Mars UK straight back in to their non-innovation shells by bashing this Twix Fino too much, but I personally can't see it hanging around our shelves for too long given how established many of the other alternative offerings are already in this 'lighter choices' sector. You all know how much I value all your opinions so please feel free to share your thoughts about the product proposition, or better yet how you think it actually tastes. After all I'm hardly target market - who knows this could really strike a cord with 'female professionals'.
7.7 out of 10
*** COMPETITION*** If you Retweet this review today in your Twitter feed you automatically enter yourself in a competition to win one of three Twix Fino bars - winners announced this weekend!
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44 comments:
oooooh this has chaught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to see this one yet.
Lol I don't think I fall within the target person profile either but Im still going to give one a try.
Nice one Jim I saw this just yesterday in my co-op shop but put off buying it.
I'm not one of those people that looks out at how many calories in products so I don't really care about that at all.
Its all about the taste for me so I'm disappointed to hear the wafers aren't as good as the biscuit. Thats unfortunate. Thanks for the review.
Rxxx
Your photos look amaze, you nicely whipped up the caramel didn't you :P
I will be giving this a try when I can. I'm a sucker for anything new lol.
No no no! Why would you ever take the biscuit out of a Twix? In my opinion its the best bit. I will still buy one but Im not exactly expecting much put it that way.
Taking the biscuit out of a Twix ..... whatever next lol.
This looks cool I wasn't aware it was actually supposed to be coming out so I was expecting you to say you bought it from some obscure foreign country. I will try buy one today.
Retweeted already ;)
Common sense tells you less calories = less taste.
It's a shame they have chosen to bother wasting their time doing something like this with the Twix. I bet you the average twix eater really doesn't care that much about calories or nutrition.
They should have brought out the coffee version they do in america instead.
Nutritionally the bar is relatively impressive, clocking in with significantly fewer calories than the Kinder Bueno (242 Kcal) and Mars Delight (222 Kcal), whilst being around about par with the likes of the Galaxy Bubbles (169 Kcal) and Kit Kat Senses (165 Kcal)
... I dont want to be mean but who really cares.
The Twix Fino comes in a 38.0g double finger packet and will be retailing for £0.52 in smaller independent stores before rolled out nationally in the supermarkets in 2011
Excuse my naivety but what the hell is an independent store?
Thanks for the review
The wrapper looks cool but the chocolate bar sounds pretty pants.
It looks like their is nothing to the wafer bit but air. Disappointing.
Sound of the bar - tick
Looks of the bar - tick
Taste of the bar - ???
Taste is still TBC for me :) I will let you know what I think when I get to try it.
I like the look of the wrapper loads. It's funky looking.
Where can I buy one of these?
Has anyone else bought one yet?
@Katie I think an independent store means the newsagent chains like Martins and onestop.
I'm desperate to try this someone please tell me.
I'm a big fan of the normal Twix but I can't see myself liking this at all. The best bit about the original bar is the way you can eat the caramel off the top off the biscuit and then eat the biscuit bit last.
Getting rid of the biscuit just seems wrong to me. I guess I will have to try it to see.
Lol nothing gets past you does it Jim. Did they send this to you early to try or did you buy it for yourself?
I will be more than happy to go on twitter to share your review. Just make sure I win one please ;)
"Have Mars forgotten about the male population who eat chocolate!? I'll let you discuss that one!"
It's not just men they have forgotten about. The only people their new products are catering for are people who are calorie concious.
Mars Delight
Galaxy Bubbly
and now this .... all of them are low calorie options. Who cares???
This looks more of miss than a hit doesn't it. What a shame I had higher hopes for it but it sounds well average.
Mars suck. They haven't released anything decent for decades.
I've retweeted your review. Please enter me into your draw
Twitter: @LovingD198
Thank you for the review Jim it's really informative and detailed.
I once tried something very similar that my polish friend bought me. I can't remember exactly the name of it but it came from a poland and it was called a Twix. I too remember thinking the wafers weren't as good as the biscuit. Oh well it will be nice to try again.
I'm actually really looking forward to trying this. I look out for calories quite a bit so I welcome products that are for people who are a bit more concious of that type of thing. The fat levels are still quite high though. It's still not a snack that is that good for you.
I'm really looking forward to trying one of these. Perhaps it is because I'm a 'young female professional' lol what on earth is a 'young female professional'. Do you think they just mean stereotypical diet coke women?
What is it with all these low calorie chocolate bars? Do these companies not understand that people who buy chocolate bars generally don't care about this. If I wanted something to be low calorie I would eat an apple. It's such a stupid way to go about things.
I can't believe the amount of people already canning this product without having even tried it.
Have you not heard of giving something a chance before casting an opinion?
I don't want to break rank here but i'm well excited about trying a fino. I normally find that twixs are too big and heavy going for my tiny apetite.
The people who are saying that Mars don't make products for men obviously haven't see the new bounty trios that you can buy.
I'm not normally a Twix fan for some reason, except for the delightful Twix ornage limited edition they did many years ago. I'd like to try this, although the concept seems remarkably like other market offerings already and it annoys me slightly that all their new products are aimed at women and calories counters.
@katie - independant shops are newsagents, onestops, garages, etc
It seems to me Cadbury is the only one who isnt obsessed with releasing new calorie counted, female orientated bars of chocolate these days lol
I wasn't aware that Twix were launching a new bar. It looks nice enough to try I think. The wrapper looks very modern considering the Twix one has changed for donkeys years.
I always see little point in launching a chocolate bar that is supposed to appeal to a person looking for a lower calorie alternative.
I've always thought if someone was that bothered by eating healthy they would be eating chocolate bars in the first place. I'm going to give this a try but I wish they had made something a bit better.
I was going to e-mail you about this Jim because I saw these on sale yesterday.
I'm astonished to see that these are supposed to cost 52p. My local shop had these priced at 75p the cheeky buggers. I knew they were rip off merchants but that is ridiculous.
This one doesn't appeal to me much, although I'll git it a try. If it's aimed at females I'm surprised that the packaging isn't a little more feminine.
Where can I buy this?
I'm afraid to say this all sounds pretty disappointing but I will reserve judgement until I have tried it for my very own self.
I've always thought of the Twix being more of a boys brand, I don't see the sense in taking it down this route. Releasing the peanut butter or coffee ones would have made much more sense if they wanted to extend Twix in the UK.
Both the wrapper and the bar cross section looks amazing but I'm not surprised to hear the taste is a bit of a let down. I'll still pick one up to give it a try but pretty sure I'll be sticking to the original from then on.
It's a shame Mars only seem to come up with new ideas that are "lighter" these days, I guess they maybe feel the pressure to look like they're doing something to help the obesity rise etc. I'd really like to see them push the boat out and at the very least bring us some of the limited edition Mars stuff you see across the pond, never mind come up with an actual original idea or bar filling. What I wouldn't give for the Twix PB to be available here.
FINO = FAIL
I think the wrapper looks wicked but your review isn't filling me with confidence. Lol Kieran you might want to ask your shopkeeper to do his pricing again.
Wow, I'd be really interested to give these a shot. Unfortunately; I don't think we're going to get the equivalent in the US.
I'm curious, with the goal of making these "healthier" did they happen to remove the hydrogenated oil as well?
Mars obviously haven't got you on their books have they Jimbo. If they had you would be telling us that this was the best thing ever.
It's a bit annoying to hear it isn't anything special but at least you've told the truth.
Cheers for your review.
I can't be the only one 'sad' enough to calorie count. There are way more people out there that do than you lot are all suggesting. I can see perfect sense in making a 'Twix Lite' as Jim has coined. I like Twix bars but I don't eat them often because they are one of the highest chocolates bars for calories. I look forward to giving this a try now.
p.s. Rodzilla let me say this again put away that disgusting picture. No one wants to be confronted with that on this sort of site.
PART 1
David
I think it is due for a September release so you should start seeing it any minute now.
Rachel
Don't let my review put you off please. Give it a try for yourself and tell me what you think. Haha I think I'm going to be writing that a few times in the next few minutes.
Kim
Thanks for the nice words about the photos. I do try my best to make the products look their best.
Steven
I think the normal Twix is great because of the way all the elements work together. The biscuit is very much missed in my opinion.
Ricky
Thanks for RT. Nope this is UK bound and on the market now by the sounds of what some people are saying.
Golden
I can't think of a counter argument for your lower calories = less taste. Well actually maltesers taste brilliant but they are relatively low in calories. I also doubt the average Twix consumer could care less about calories.
Katie
Oi that took me ages to compile all the Kcal information for all them :P
Alan has kindly given you a good steer regarding the independents.
Alex
The wafer is pretty airey I will give you that. There are a lot of positive comments about the wrapper.
Emma
Please do let me know what you think of it. The wrapper is proving very popular.
Darren
It's being released in the independent stores right now. Supermarkets in 2011.
Nick
It's always good to try new things so I wouldn't totally dismiss it before you try it. If you like the biscuit bit the most though it might be in a bit of trouble haha.
Estelle
I got a bit of a sneaky preview thanks to one of their PR companies. Lucky boy eh!?
No fixing od the twitter competition I'm afraid :D
Francesca
Indeed that was probably wrong of me to just say they have missed out on catering for blokes. I'm sure the majority of women probably aren't all that fussed about calories in their chocolate bars. They probably just don't want to think about that sort of thing when it comes to their luxury foods.
Duncan
They aren't the most adventurous for us here in the UK I agree. The Snickers More Nuts (10%+ peanuts) wasn't revolutionary either was it. It's such a shame we get such a rough end of the deal here in the UK. They do some awesome stuff with Snickers and M&M's in the US.
PART 2
Anon
Thanks for the RT. In the draw you go.
Gary
I aim to please so thanks for the nice words.
I think this bar has been out in some of the other European countries for a while now under the same name.
Lucy
Indeed the fat levels are higher than some of the nougat based products on the market. It's good seeing that there are some people interested in the proposition.
A
I think you have hit the nail on the head. The diet coke advert women are probably your stereotypical female professionals.
Colin
Indeed you are right. People should try stuff before casting strong opinions. I think we are all guilty of having preconceived ideas about stuff. I know I always do.
Rosa
Bounty Trios? Is that three Bounty bars in one. Now that is excessive (I like Bountys!!).
Alan
I never tried a Twix orange I'm afraid. The product propositions are all getting pretty samey aren't they.
Cheers for clarifiying the independents stuff. Let me know what you think about this when you try it.
Joel
Wel now you are I guess :D
I don't think they should ever change the normal Twix wrapper. I think it has always looked pretty good.
Paul
Ahh come on! Everyone likes a chocolatey snack every now and again. Even the strictest dieters need something to cater for their chocolate cravings. The market exists, no one is disputing that.
Kieran
Wow that is a hell of a profit margin that shop is making. I think that is very cheeky to be doing that.
Phil
That is exactly what I thought when I saw the packaging. You compare it to how feminine they made the Galaxy Bubbles and its even more surprising to see.
Anon
In the places suggested by Alan.
Selina
Good idea holding back your thoughts until you tried it. I agree it would have been a delight to have seen either the PB or the Java instead. Oh well maybe in another 6 years time when they decide to release their next new product :D
Ria
Indeed see what I said above - it would have been cool to see the PB flavour in the UK.
I can see the arguement that Mars want to be percieved as being socially responsible by launching new products like this, but I still don't see why they don't innovate more standard offerings alongside them. The endless amount of 'lower calorie' options is wearing a little thin.
Mysterio
Well they are at least getting a thumbs up for their packaging attempts. Thats a good sign.
Roddy
You have the Mars Fling in America don't you? That pretty much does the same job just sans the caramel.
Despite my moaning about the amount of low calorie bars we are being fed it would be interesting to try the Mars Fling at some point. I've seen many positive reviews about it.
Probably best you change or hide the avatar chap. I think alicia might have a point about the appropriateness for a family site. Sorry.
Nigel
God don't you start :D No one, I repeat NO ONE has me in their back pocket to get positive reviews. Haha I know you are probably joking, but I'm pretty self concious about stuff like that. I tell things as I see them.
Alicia
Of course you aren't the only person to do so. I think consumer awareness about nutritional information is getting better and better (which I think is a good thing).
It's just my own personal opinion that I would ever sacrifice the taste of my chocolate for something that is lower calorie ... chocolate is a treat food, so it should be consumed like that.
Thanks for all the comments today people. Seemingly a lot of you have percieved my review as being a little downbeat. I hope you all still give it a try for yourselves still. I would love to hear your own opinions on it. More new products coming this week ... exciting times eh!?
JIM
This review is unfair. There are lots of people who want low calorie chocolates and I bet demand for them increasing all the time. It's only sensible that manufactures make what people want them to.
I could get you loads of statistics that say healthy eating is on the up.
Why the hell would you take the biscuit out of a twix? They might aswell just take the chocolate and caramel out whilst they are at it.
Does anyone know of a sure fire place to buy these yet? I had a look in my local SPAR yesterday but had no luck.
Apologies Alicia, Jim, and other! Alicia I didn't read your initial comment from the previous post. I usually only look at what Jim mentions.
Didn't mean to be vein, I was trying to show that us candy enthusiasts aren't always what people assume. (I'm a cyclist, those were bib shorts)
Sorry to rant and derail. My new avatar is a delicious bowl of pasta!
I tried this today, and although the wafer was quite bland, the caramel made up for it. It was quite tasty for a 'lower calorie' option, and I guess I'd buy it again if I was in the mood for something 'lighter' than the average chocolate bar.
You've totally forgotten about Galaxy Counters which were a completely new product. They have released new products, just not ones you have liked.
@Gareth - Galaxy conters arent new, merely repackaged & relaunched at a different demographic lol they
were around along time until the 1980's or even 90's and were aimed at kids, much like a galaxy version of Cadburys chocolate buttons, and they had numbers on. Now theyve aimed them at females, and taken the numbers off lol
I hate it when they try to target snack food by gender. It puts me off ever buying it.
I think trying to make a chocolate bar for those on a diet is pretty pointless really. The 'lighter' version enevitably won't taste as good, nor will it fill you up, or stop your chocolate craving. For all the satisfaction the Twix Fino gives, you might as well not bother having anything at all and save on calories that way.
The wafer in this was pretty poor, and I felt cheated that the bar was so hollow. I was expecting the wafer to be filled with caramel, but it was just an empty space, that made biting into it a very hollow experience.
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