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When you get a meal at Olive Garden, it typically comes with a side salad, the chain’s famous breadsticks, and of course, Andes mints. Andes mints are an iconic candy that you can find at many stores, and they come in a variety of flavors. Crème de Menthe is the flavor most people are familiar with, which the Andes Mints website describes as “velvety chocolate with a mint center for the perfect balance of indulgence and coolness.” Other flavors include Mint Parfait, Peppermint Crunch, and Cherries Jubilee. However, the Andes mints available at Olive Garden are not the same as any of these store-bought mints.
While ABC27 reports that the same recipe is used for Olive Garden and regular Andes mints, the design is quite different. You might not have known, but Olive Garden mints come in a custom wrapper with the company’s branding, and the candy has a green top and brown bottom, as you can see in this image from the company’s official X account. Meanwhile, the Crème de Menthe mints available on Amazon have Andes mints branded packaging and two brown layers enclosing a green layer. Olive Garden’s mints look a bit more similar to the Mint Parfait candies, which enclose a layer of brown with a layer of green, leading some to speculate that Olive Garden’s mints are this flavor. However, they still aren’t exactly the same, as Mint Parfait mints available in stores have three layers, and Olive Garden’s have only two.
Why does Olive Garden give out mints?
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It may seem counterintuitive for Olive Garden to spend money getting name-brand candies with custom wrapping when it isn’t an item that customers pay for. However, the freebies the restaurant gives out, like its mints and breadsticks, have become just as iconic to the restaurant as its actual pasta dishes. As an Olive Garden spokesperson told ABC27, “Much like our tradition of unlimited breadsticks and never-ending first course, the end-of-meal mint is a way for Olive Garden to share its hospitality and Italian generosity with guests.” The promise of extra food and candy with the price of their meal makes customers feel more positively towards the Olive Garden brand.
In this way, the mints act as a loss leader, or a product that does not make the company money but draws in guests who will spend more on other products. While people are likely not going to Olive Garden just for free mints, it does create a better impression for the chain, which makes customers more likely to come back and buy another one of Olive Garden’s best dishes.
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