Chiko celebrates 70th birthday
/Over the years Australia’s humble Chiko Roll has become a snack food icon and is about as Aussie as AFL, kangaroos and a game of beach cricket. And this year it turns 70!
The Chiko Roll was developed by Frank McEncroe, a boilermaker from Bendigo, Victoria and made its first official appearance at the Wagga Wagga Agriculture Show in 1951. At the height of its popularity in the 1970s, 40 million Chiko Rolls were being sold Australia-wide each year and more than one million were exported to Japan. Chiko Rolls have been made in Bathurst since the late 1980s and in 1995 the Chiko brand was acquired by Simplot Australia.
Simplot says the typical Chiko consumer is aged over 30 and while customers associate Chiko with good times and their childhood, they love the unique flavour and taste and they buy because it’s ‘Aussie’, fun and nostalgic. Simplot Executive Chef David White points out Chiko Roll is also the perfect “on-the-go, no mess, one-handed eat – it’s satisfying, filling and easy to eat.”
Stay tuned for details of special celebratory events to be held throughout Chiko’s 70th year.