Timbits

Last updated
Timbits
Timbits (2897186453).jpg
An unopened box of Timbits
Type Doughnut, donut hole
Place of origin Canada
Created by Tim Hortons
Food energy
(per serving)
45 to 90 [1]   kcal

Timbits is the name of a bite-sized fried-dough confection sold at the Canadian-based franchise Tim Hortons. [2] Equivalent to the American "donut hole," they were introduced in April 1976. [3]

Contents

Name and variations

Chocolate timbits in box Little Chocolate Balls of Goodness.jpg
Chocolate timbits in box

The word Timbit is a play on the word "tidbit" (a delicate bit or morsel of food). [4] [5] As of 2009, they are available in various flavors that differ from store to store. Flavors include chocolate-glazed, jelly-filled, dutchie, honey dip, sour-cream-glazed, old-fashioned plain, old-fashion-glazed, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, apple cider, orange-tangerine, creamy caramel, cherry cake, birthday cake, honey cruller, pumpkin spice, toasted coconut, and apple fritter. [3] For Tim Hortons's 50th anniversary, "birthday cake" doughnuts and Timbits were sold for a limited time and given out for free on May 17, 2014- the Timbits being available first in the United States. [6]

Other doughnut chains in Canada and the United States sell virtually identical products, often called "doughnut holes". For instance, the American coffee and donut company Dunkin Donuts, sells munchkins. The majority of Canadians generally use the Timbits trademark to designate the product, while French-speaking Canadians prefer to use the generic term "trous de beigne". In the francophone Tim Hortons locations, however, they are still referred to as Timbits. [4]

Timbiebs

In November 2021, Tim Hortons announced a collaboration with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber to release three limited time flavours along with collaborative merchandise. [7] The November 29th release saw chocolate white fudge, sour cream chocolate chip, and birthday cake waffle Timbiebs become available in Canadian and American Tim Hortons. Participating Tim Hortons franchises also sold the Timbiebs branded tote bag, toque, and fanny pack. A French and English television ad also released at the time of the announcement in mid-November.

According to Tim Hortons Chief Marketing Office Hope Bagozzi, the collaboration talks began after Bieber took to Instagram discussing the coffee chain’s lid change in 2019. [8] Bieber said "Doing a Tim Hortons collab has always been a dream of mine" in a statement following the collaboration announcement, and that Timbiebs were his “go-to” Tim Hortons item. [9]

The collaboration garnered media and fan attention, with many expressing their love for the new flavours. Then-CEO of Restaurant Brands International, Tim Hortons’ parent company, José Cil called the collaboration “one of the more successful traffic-driving initiatives in recent memory” which generated “unprecedented social engagement” in RBI’s Q4 2022 results. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "Timbits". timhortons.com. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  2. "Timbit turns 35" . Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 Tim Hortons. "Timbits" . Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  4. 1 2 "Timbits(MD) Tim Hortons". Tim Hortons.
  5. "Definition of tidbit | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com.
  6. "Tim Hortons To Hand Out Birthday Cake Donuts On May 17" . Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  7. The Canadian Press (November 10, 2021). "Tim Hortons teams up with Justin Bieber to launch Timbit flavours called 'Timbiebs'". CBC.
  8. Harris, Aleesha (November 29, 2021). "Justin Bieber's Timbiebs Timbits have launched at Tim Hortons — and the Internet is very into them". The Vancouver Sun.
  9. Belmonte, Lisa (February 16, 2022). "Timbiebs Were So Successful That Tim Hortons Is Planning More With Justin Bieber In 2022". Narcity.
  10. Borzykowski, Bryan (November 18, 2021). "Justin Bieber Might Just Make Tim Hortons Relevant Again". Canadian Business.