Background

To answer the nation’s most important questions, {insert bullshit here}, I used various Coles API’s to retrieve the inventory status for various Arnott's biscuits for each Coles in Australia. This data isn’t necessarily representative of the stock available in each store, but what is available to be ordered through Coles Online.

For each store, I have classified each item as “In Stock”, “Out of Stock” or “Not Stocked”. If it is either of the former 2, I have opted that that store sells it.

If you’d like to hire me (or contact me for other reasons), please email me here. Please feel free to follow me on the Fediverse: @alexhelvetica@toot.cat. And if you're curious, here's the git.

Arnott's Gingernut

As Gingernut biscuits lovers have unfortunately discovered when travelling interstate, Arnott's has multiple gingernut recipes.

When various biscuit manufacturers across Australia were swallowed up into Arnott's in the 1960's, Arnott's decided to standardise to their own recipe, the NSW one. As everyone outside of NSW (and ACT) rightfully realised at the time, that variety is kinda shit to what they’re used to.

Arnott's had to cave, in these days, companies didn’t just make a product worse and get away with it. In fact, the word “Enshittification” hadn’t even been invented yet.

These days, all 4 Gingernut biscuits are made in their factory in Virginia Queensland.

Which Gingernut is sold where?

Strange Oddities?

Victoria

Caroline Springs apparently sells the Victorian, and the South Australian SKUs. I assume this is bad data, but maybe Coles DC got sent a pallet of SA stuff by mistake?

Only 1 of 2 Mildura's stores sell Gingernuts, and the Eighth Street store sells the SA SKU. Traitor, but I guess it makes sense.

New South Wales

Scomo's store (Engadine) and Nano Raptor's store (Bathurst) apparently sell the Victorian and Cockroaches* varieties. I guess probably bad data, but who knows.

* I asked XSS what they're called. I don't get it, but sure.

Northern NSW sells the Queensland SKUs. Kempsey and Port Macquarie are right in the middle of both clusters and sell both. That seems fairly plausable.

Similarly, Broken Hill sells both the NSW and SA biscuits.

Mystery State

Coles #7511 apparently sells the Victorian and NSW SKU. I don't exactly know what stores = [1234, 7511, 7512, 7513, 7514, 7515, 7517] are, but we could query them, and they returned "In Stock" or "Out of Stock" for some items.

I think they are test stores, or virtual stores that exist for hacky Coles Online reasons. I know "0482CE1234" is the locationId for the Bob Maguire Foundation (482 is "Coles Online Hub" in Richmond), so 1234 could be a "store" for an order sent to an external party?

Savoy and Jatz?!?!

Savoys were originally made by Brockhoff Biscuit Company, back in the 1930s. When Arnott's ate up Brockhoff in the 1960’s, they decided to keep Savoy as it was dominate in Victoria and Tasmania. Arnott's kept selling their Jatz in the other states.

Savoy and Jatz are different biscuits. Savoy contains Golden Syrup, and Jatz contains Citric Acid. The ratios of the other ingredients will naturally also vary.

Arnott's in 2019 incorrectly stated on Twitter that Jatz contains Milk Powder, and Savoy does not contain malt. Neither of these are the case; both offerings are Vegan, and both contain malt. I think the latter was said because, "It has has Golden Syrup, so it has slightly less sugar because we added a different form of sugar" doesn't sound as nice.

Where are Savoy / Jatz sold?

Interesting Findings?

Both stores in Albury (NSW) as well as Deniliquin (NSW) stock savoys over Jatz. Proving that a particular someone has always been a Savoy girl.

There are no stores that sell both Savoy and Jatz*. This is true of the Original, Cracked Pepper and Gluten Free Original varieties.

* The single serve "snack packs" with cheese or/meat are only available with Jatz. Those are sold in all states.

*Insert Kath & Kim Quote*

Kath:

Cracker wise, what have I got? I've got your 'Jatz', your 'Ritz', your 'Clix'...

Sharon:

What about your 'Savoys', Mrs D?

Kath:

Oh, no, that'll just confuse people, Sharon.