Hobnobs (sometimes stylized as HobNobs) is the

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

of a commercial biscuit. They are made from

rolled oats Rolled oats are a type of lightly processed whole-grain food. Traditionally, they are made from oat groats that have been dehusked and steamed, before being ''rolled'' into flat flakes under heavy rollers and then stabilized by being lightly ...

, are similar to a flapjack-

digestive biscuit A digestive biscuit, sometimes described as a sweet-meal biscuit, is a semi-sweet biscuit that originated in Scotland. The digestive was first developed in 1839 by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion. The term ''digestive'' is derived from th ...

hybrid, and are among the most popular British and Irish biscuits.

McVitie's McVitie's () is a British snack food brand owned by United Biscuits. The name derives from the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price, Ltd., established in 1830 on Rose Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company moved to various sites ...

launched Hobnobs in 1985 and a milk chocolate variant in 1987. The plain variety is manufactured at Tollcross factory in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and the chocolate variety is made at the

Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west towards ...

factory in north-west London. They are primarily sold in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

but are available in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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and several European and Asian countries (e.g. Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong). In

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

they are now marketed as a variety of digestive biscuits, having previously been known as Suncrok. They were also released in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in November 2012, made available in

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

's British modular section in their food aisles. The McVitie's Hobnob is the third-most-popular biscuit in the UK to "dunk" into tea, with its chocolate variant sixth. In 2014 a UK survey declared the Chocolate Hobnob the nation's favourite biscuit.

History

The commercial recipe for Hobnob biscuits was introduced by

in the UK in 1985. A best seller, demand for the plain Hobnobs led to the introduction of a chocolate variant in 1987. The biscuit is currently available in many varieties, including dark chocolate, chocolate orange, and Hobnob bars. Other Hobnobs-branded snacks include a Hobnobs flapjack. Hobnobs contains approx 0.16 g of sodium per biscuit. The name Hobnob comes from the verb 'to hobnob', which means to spend time being friendly with someone who is important or famous.

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's ''Secret World of Biscuits'' programme claims that the name comes from the two words " hob" (suggesting home-cooked on a stove) and "knobbly" referencing the texture.

Manufacture

Plain Hobnobs are made at the Tollcross factory in

. The chocolate variety is made at the

factory in north-west London. The basic ingredients for Hobnobs are oats.

Marketing

The original tagline of the Hobnobs was "one nibble and you're nobbled", and was removed. It has since been brought back, but slightly changed by adding "hob" to the beginning of the last word. The tagline "Chocolate now has Hobnobs underneath" was used for the introduction in the UK of chocolate Hobnobs.

References

External links

Milk Chocolate and Orange Hobnobs
on

Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down ''Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down'' is a website which mainly discusses tea and biscuits, with content including news and reviews of biscuit brands. It is owned and maintained by Stuart Payne and his wife Jenny Payne, who live in Cambridge, Englan ...

"Sheldon" webcomic, 13 February 2006
{{Oats Biscuit brands Food brands of the United Kingdom Products introduced in 1985 United Biscuits brands Oat-based dishes