Airport Tim Tams 2024: How much of a rort are they?
Will you pay over the odds for choc biscuit goodness?
Every time I fly internationally, I check how much airport shops are charging for Tim Tams.
Obviously, you wouldn't expect a bargain. International travellers are a captive audience and rents are sky-high (ahem).
Pre-pandemic, retailers would shamelessly charge as much as $7 for a single packet.
But since international travel resumed, the profit margin hasn't been quite so extreme.
When I checked a couple of years ago, a standard packet was actually the same price as in a supermarket.
On passing through Sydney Airport this week, that's still the case.
A single regular packet of Tim Tams costs $5 - which is the same as the regular price at Coles or Woolworths.
Yes, I know - Tim Tams go on special regularly at both supermarkets, and that's the time to buy them if you really want to save.
But grabbing a standard pack airside isn't actually a major mark-up.
What you do want to avoid is the special "gift packaged" variants, which are what get promoted more heavily in airport stores now.
Let's compare the pricing per 100 grams when you buy Tim Tams in those more elaborately packaged formats.
| Tim Tam type | Price | Weight (g) | Price/100g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular packet | $5.00 | 200 | $2.50 |
| Souvenir 2-pack | $15.00 | 400 | $3.75 |
| Souvenir 4-pack | $30.00 | 800 | $3.75 |
| 28-piece pouch | $25.00 | 504 | $4.96 |
Opting for the 28 individually wrapped Tim Tams in a bag means you pay almost twice as much per biscuit than in the regular version.
The fact so much space gets dedicated to these suggests that many travellers are happy to pay extra for a "gift" version.
And with Finder research showing 33% of Australians are planning an overseas trip in the next 12 months, there's a big potential audience.
If you're happy with paying extra for some fancy , fine. But if you want every dollar to count, stock up on these gift Tim Tam packets when they're on sale.
And yes, there are some in my checked luggage.
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