Nestl Rowntree today launched a miniaturised, super-strength version of its famous Polo Mint.

The baby mint with the hole in the middle will be sold in a giant Polo-shaped plastic dispenser, complete with a unique pop-lock opening device.

The sugar-free Polo Supermint, made at Nestl's factory in Wigginton Road, weighs only a tenth of the standard Polo, but contains nearly four times as much mint flavour.

A dispenser containing 50 mints is going on sale for 49p.

Its launch comes as Polo, Britain's top- selling mint with annual sales of almost £50 million, celebrates its 50th birthday.

"Polo Supermint is tiny, but perfectly formed with the lettering still visible on each mint," said Nestl spokesman Paul Kirkwood.

The company is spending £1.7 million on TV advertising and it is also planning to give samples to 1.5 million people over a six-week period.

The Supermint is the latest in a series of Polo variants launched by Nestl, including Spearmint, Strong and Sugar Free, which now account for more than a third of Polo sales.

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