Wagon Wheels

Wagon Wheels are a popular biscuit in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom which have a marshmallow centre and are covered in a chocolate flavoured coating. They are produced and distributed by Burtons Foods Ltd. The biscuit itself is round to represent the wheel of a wagon (hence the name).

Wagon Wheels were invented by Garry Weston (1927-2002) (son of W. Garfield Weston). Garry Weston worked for his father's business in Australia before taking over his UK family business. The biscuits were first launched during the 1940s at the time of the 1948 Olympia Food Fair. The name was derived from the fact that the Wild West was very popular at time, and in particular the film Wagon Train. They were originally marketed as Weston Wagon Wheels

Interest in Wagon Wheels was at an all time peak when the female UK comedians French and Saunders made a sketch with Dawn French dressed as a schoolgirl delicately placing a Wagon Wheel into her mouth. Wagon Wheels were "re-launched" in 2002.

Two previous slogans for the product have been:

• "A taste for adventure."
• "If there's a bigger bite, it can't be found."

the current slogan being "you've got to grin to get it in"

In Canada, Wagon Wheels are produced by Dare Foods Limited. They come in Original, Caramel, Fudge, and Raspberry flavour.

In Australia, Wagon Wheels are produced by Arnott's Biscuits. George Weston Foods Limited sold the brand to Arnott's in August 2003.

Size

There have been many debates amongst fans of the biscuit about the size. Wagon Wheels have supposedly shrunk in size as time has progressed, Burtons Foods LTD have denied this. It has been suggested that the supposed shrinkage is due to an adult's fond childhood memory of eating a Wagon Wheel held in a much smaller hand.

The original factory which produced the biscuit in Slough during the early 1980s were transferred to an updated and modern factory in Llantarnam in South Wales. The original factory in Slough produced the biscuit with crinkled edges rather than the updated smoother edges. This caused the overall diameter of the biscuit to shrink slighty, but not as much as fans of the biscuit believe.

Also, although the UK Wagon Wheel has barely shrunk, it is still noticeably smaller than the Australian equivalent. The diameter of the Australian version is measured at 88 mm which is 14 mm larger than the UK version. Even though the Australian version is wider in diameter, the UK Wagon Wheel is notably thicker by 4 mm.

As of October 2006, the Canadian Wagon Wheel measured 70mm x 17mm.

Flavours

Confusingly, the flavour of Wagon Wheels currently marketed as "Original" actually features a chocolate flavour biscuit - whereas the biscuits used in the recipe most beloved of UK fans (circa the mid-1970s) was in fact plain. In Australia Wagon Wheels still feature a plain biscuit.

• Original
• Jammie
• Toffee
• Double Choc
• Orange
• Strawberry - this was only for a limited period in the late 1970's

Miscellaneous

Actor Berwick Kaler is famous for throwing them, like frisbies, to the audience at the end of the annual pantomime at the Theatre Royal in York, though he had to stop throwing them after someone was allegedly hit by one and complained.

See also

• List of brands of biscuit
• Weston family

External links

• Burtons Foods
• Official Wagon Wheels Website