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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Candy Teases: Edition Two

Mars has many new products in store for us in the coming months, most in the limited edition realm:

imageName: Wildly Cherry M&Ms
Brand: Mars
Description: Cherry was rated the #1 fruit flavor by consumers in M&Ms brand research.
Release Date: March 2008
Notes: Wow, my “market research” revealed Strawberry to be the favorite red fruit flavor. (Of course I probably drive cherry fans away.)

Name: Twizzlers Pull n Peel Cinnamon Fire Candy
Brand: Hershey’s
Description: You’ll be sizzling and twizzling
Release Date: February 29, 2008
Notes: I’m not sure they’ll get as much sizzle in there as I want (I find Twizzlers a little bland), but I’m certain to give them a whirl. (UPDATE: Here’s the review.)

Name: Batman Reese’s Peanut Butter Bats in Dark Chocolate
Brand: Hershey’s
Description: Bat shaped Reese’s in dark chocolate (probably like the Reese’s Egg for Easter).
Release Date: Summer 2008 (attached to the Batman: The Dark Knight premiere)
Notes: People have been clamoring for the return of the dark chocolate Reese’s, so this seems like a good tie in.

imageName: Indiana Jones Crispy Mint M&Ms
Brand: Mars
Description: Tie in with the new Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull ... they’ll have little skulls printed on them just like the Pirate Pearls
Release Date: May 2008
Notes: These could be interesting ... of course bringing back the original Crispy M&Ms would be more interesting. (UPDATED: Here’s the review.)

Name: Snickers Adventure Bar
Brand: Mars
Description: a hint of chai and coconut in association with Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull
Release Date: May 2008
Notes: According to Brandweek the wrapper won’t say what the adventurous new flavors will be in this bar ... I think that’s too many flavors, but you know I’ll give it a whirl. (UPDATED: Here’s the review.)

(All photos courtesy of the respective companies’ press kits.)

Related Candies

  1. Candy Teases - New Products
  2. Snickers Shrek
  3. M&M Pirate Pearls

POSTED BY Cybele AT 5:12 am     CandyNew Product AnnouncementFeatured NewsFun StuffNews

Saturday, September 15, 2007

This Week in Candy - Chicago Bound

I’m busy packing and repacking today for my trip to Chicago to the All Candy Expo. Stop by all next week for daily coverage of what’s on the show floor, new products, things I spit out, and all the other insider info from the candy business.

The most exciting thing is that there are going to be many candy and food bloggers attending. I’ll try to have roundups of that coverage as the week goes on but you can check out Candy Addict, Chicagoist and Metroblogging Chicago.

In other global candy news, Bloomberg reports that the German chocolate market is saturated. So saturated that Germany is positively busting at the seams with great quality chocolate and will be forced to sell it to other countries. So expect to see more German chocolate in your local store.

The story also quotes that Germans consume an average of 19.8 pounds each. Americans average only 12 pounds. I can see why we look like a tempting target.

In other good news for dieters and diabetics, another report has confirmed that Aspartame (sold as

Splenda

Nutrasweet) is safe for use. Personally, I don’t care for the stuff, it nauseates me and gives me a headache. I don’t think otherwise healthy children should be given artificial sweeteners, because I think natural is best as children learn their eating habits for life. But it’s good to know that if you do eat it (whether on purpose or by accident) that it’s safer than previously thought.

If my week in review isn’t enough for you, check out the Wandering Eater’s week in review ... be sure to scroll down to the awesome photos and descriptions of the Christopher Norman shop.

This week in review:

Monday: Candy Corn Kisses (4 out of 10)

Tuesday: Lake Champlain Organic Dark Bars (8 out of 10 & 9 out of 10)

Wednesday: Frey Supreme White, Lemon & Lime and Lemon & Pepper (6 out of 10)

Thursday: Walkers Nonsuch Toffee Original & Treacle (8 out of 10 & 9 out of 10)

Friday: M&Ms Razzberry - Limited Edition (4 out of 10)

Average for this week: 6.86 with 43% chocolate content.

Related Candies

  1. This Week in Candy - Naturally!
  2. This Week in Candy - Too Hot
  3. This Week in Candy - The Vacation
  4. This Week in Candy - A Giant Craving
  5. This Week in Candy - Elvis is in the Cupcake!

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:33 pm     CandyFeatured NewsFun StuffNews

Monday, September 10, 2007

Satisfying Treats for Parents & Kids: All Natural

Many parents have suspected for a long time that candy may contribute to hyperactivity in children. While sugar has been exonerated, it appears that the problem may be with preservatives and artificial colors.

I pulled together a list of candies which parents may want to consider when eliminating those elements from their diet, after all, kids deserve to be, well, kids. This is not a complete list of all natural candies, just a little something for now if you were wondering. I’ll pull something more complete together for Halloween.

Gummis & Fruit Sours
Katjes YogurtKatjes Tropical Gummis & Yogurt Gums
Jelly Belly All Natural Jelly Beans
St. Claire’s Organic Mints & Tarts
Organic Surf Sweets (Gummis, Fruity Bears & Jelly Beans)
Florida’s Naturals Sour Strings

Hard Candies
Pure Fun Hard CandiesCollege Farm (Lollipops & Hard Candies)
Yummy Earth (Lollipops & Hard Candies)
Pure Fun (Cotton Candy & Hard Candies)

Chocolate
Most chocolate is all natural, except for the artificial flavor vanillin which is present in Hershey’s, Nestle, Mars, Palmer’s, World’s Finest and others. Some candy bars, however, contain additional preservatives such as Sodium Benzoate, TBHQ or BHA and Potassium Sorbate. So read labels carefully. Generally, stay away from colorful candy coatings to reduce the likelihood of running ot problematic chemicals.

Thompson All Natural ChocolateNestle Smarties (from the UK)
Sun Drops
Thompson Organics & All Natural Line
Endangered Species Chocolate
Equal ExchangeEqual Exchange (Fair Trade & Organic)
Green & Black’s (Fair Trade & Organic)
Guittard
Dagoba
Terra Nostra (Dairy Free “Milk” Chocolate & other organic goodies)
Theo

Black Ace LicoriceLicorice
Black Ace Licorice
Panda Bars

Gum & Mints
Glee
Anis de Flavigny
vermints-wintermintVerMints
St. Claire’s Organic Mints & Tarts

In most cases, I don’t miss the unnatural elements. Yes, the colors might not be as bright, but the flavors are usually the same or better. Without preservatives you have to get fresh candy. But that’s what you wanted anyway, right?

What’s your favorite all natural candy?

Related Candies

  1. This Week in Candy - Naturally!
  2. Green Halloween Final Thoughts
  3. Green Halloween

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:19 pm     CandyFeatured NewsFun StuffNews

This Week in Candy - Naturally!

imageI’m getting so excited. In a little over a week the All Candy Expo starts, I’ve got my travel plans locked in and my lists of candy companies to visit.

I’ll be posting every day starting next Monday with notes and news.

In the mean time, there are other things to look forward to if you’re in Indiana ... you’re getting a See’s! Okay, it’s just at the Indianapolis Airport, so if you live in Indianapolis, you’ll have to buy a plane ticket, go through security in order to enjoy the deliciousness.

Bunrab has an awesome posting on the new Charles Chocolates cafe & store at their factory in Emeryville, CA.

There’s a lot of talk in the news lately about the new study out of the United Kingdom that links artificial colors and preservatives to hyperactivity. Many parents have noticed this connection and have found that an all natural diet makes a huge difference.

To that end, I’m going to try to list those things more often, or at least post when a product is all natural. In the mean time, it looks like Europe is doing a pretty good job of eliminating artificial colors (Nestle Smarties are the most notable).

In case you didn’t notice, Candy Blog got a little update on the layout over the weekend. I’m still tweaking things a bit (which is why there are two blogrolls at the moment). Hopefully it will end some of the endless scrolling and organize things a little better.

Here’s last week’s candy reviews in review:

Monday: Milk Maid Caramel Candy Corn (3 out of 10)

Tuesday: Caramilk Maple (6 out of 10)

Wednesday: Niederegger Marzipan Orange (8 out of 10)

Thursday: Zip Bomb (4 out of 10)

Friday: Shockers Squeez Lemon & Berry (5 out of 10)

5.2 weekly average ... 40% chocolate content.

Related Candies

  1. This Week in Candy - Too Hot
  2. This Week in Candy - The Vacation
  3. This Week in Candy - A Giant Craving
  4. This Week in Candy - Elvis is in the Cupcake!
  5. This Week in Candy - The FDA Stuff Continues (as does my obsession with nougat)

POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:04 am     CandyFun StuffNews

Sunday, September 2, 2007

This Week in Candy - Too Hot

It’s simply too hot in Los Angeles right now, and it’s a depressing situation for me here at the home offices of Candy Blog. When I say hot, I mean that it’s actually 90 degrees inside my home right now at 9 PM on Sunday. When I say hot, I mean the prospect of turning on the lights and trying to take photos of chocolate is maddeningly impossible. (We have a single window air conditioner in the house in the bedroom, it’s usually not a problem, but this heat is unrelenting.)

imageThe saddest part of this whole confluence of heat is that I planned a wonderful party for Saturday night to feature some 75 pounds of various Koppers candies (mostly Milkies) in a great Candy Buffet. As if the heat wasn’t bad enough, on Friday afternoon a transformer blew on the power pole in my neighbors yard silencing all the fans in my house. What was 99 degrees with fanning was up to 99 during the blazing stillness of the day on Saturday.

No party. Had to cancel. It just wouldn’t be fair to bring my friends in to bake and swelter in my house even if they were going to end up being sent away with sticky piles of melted chocolate.

The power has returned after 18 hours ... but the worst part is I have no idea if the chocolate has survived. I’ve had it all sealed up inside a large cooler with some ice packs (well, cool packs) and am hoping that the ambient heat hasn’t penetrated the insulation too much. I’m afraid to open anything. (I actually considered taking it to my office ... except that we got a memo on Thursday saying the building would be closed on Saturday because they were replacing the air conditioning unit on the roof and the power would be out. See, it’s a conspiracy.)

Hopefully the heat will break and I’ll be able to set up my candy buffet and show you all the fancy photos and help you with ideas for your next party. I’ve taken this opportunity to escape my sweltering house to explore lots more variations on the candy buffet and candy favors.

But on to other good news in candy!

The Passionate Cook hosted this edition of Sugar High Friday with the theme of Going Local! Browse through the roundup of posts from bloggers around the world on their favorite local sweeties. Most of it is baked but there’s a nice selection of puddings, mousses and of course candies.

I’ve been remiss on posting about international KitKats lately, but don’t worry, Megchan is picking up the slack with Banana, Lemon, Raspberry and Orange and possibly one of the best assortments of HiCHEW, the Citrus Mix!

Business Week actually did an article about how successful brand spinoffs and limited edition marketing has been in Japan (and perhaps what we can learn from that). The article is interesting, but so are the comments that follow.

If that’s not enough candy for you, how about bidding on this lot at eBay of hundreds of pounds of candy, including full cases of M&Ms, Lollipops, Fudge, Reese’s, Tootsie Rolls, Milk Duds, TicTacs ... well, the list goes on and on. The current bidding is a lowball $181.50 but there’s a reserve on it (and a buy-it-now price of $2,150). Free shipping.

British researchers have spent a lot of time and money trying to figure out chocoholism. Why can’t they just let us be!

In a rather different OpEd piece on the FDA and Chocolate dojigger, the Salt Lake Tribune thinks that people should have paid more attention to the other foods listed in the Citizen’s Petition put forth by the Grocery Manufacturers Association. (Ya think?) However, I did a quick search on SLTrib.com and found they’d never covered it either ... so how did they think people were going to find out ... from Candy Blog?

This week’s candy reviews in review:

Monday: Katjes Tropical Gummis & Yogurt Gums (5 out of 10)

Tuesday: Ritter Schokowurfel (8 out of 10)

Wednesday: VerMints (7 out of 10)

Thursday: Candy Source: Chocolates a la Carte (8 out of 10)

Friday: Head to Head: M&Ms vs Koppers Milkies (8 out of 10 & 9 out of 10)

8.33 weekly average ... 50% chocolate content!

Related Candies

  1. This Week in Candy - The Vacation
  2. This Week in Candy - Candy is Energy!
  3. This Week in Candy - A Giant Craving
  4. This Week in Candy - Elvis is in the Cupcake!
  5. This Week in Candy - The FDA Stuff Continues (as does my obsession with nougat)

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:35 pm     CandyFDAFun StuffNews

Friday, August 24, 2007

This Week in Candy - The Vacation

Butterfly on LavenderOn my vacation to the central coast of California I stopped in a lot of candy stores. If there was a candy store nearby, you can be sure I went in. There was something sad about most of them. I don’t know if it was that tourism is down in that part of the state or what, but the shops were just not that appealing to me. (You know I love candy stores.)

Part of it was the merchandising. The stores just didn’t feel fresh, the inventory wasn’t “fluffed” to look inviting and tasty. I also noticed a few new “taffy” stores. These are stores that pretty much only sell taffy and often for $6 to $9 a pound. What a great business that is!

Seriously, taffy is one of the cheapest candies you can buy wholesale. At about $2 a pound, that’s a 400% margin. (Of course if you’re running a small chain you can get even better deals.) There’s very little maintenance involved ... you just get some big containers like barrels or whatever and mound the stuff up. Give people a basket or a bucket and tell them to go to town. Taffy is fluffed with air, so it looks like a lot of candy and of course taffy has a strong association with vacations.

I didn’t buy any. I’ll have to post about taffy someday, I guess, I’m a candy blogger.

I did pick up a couple of pieces of fudge (well, one was fudge and the other was penuche). I ate it, so no review or photos. Hey, I was on vacation!

In other candy news, more Mexican candies have an alert out on them about high lead content. This time it’s the brands Miguelito and Barrilito. California inspectors have stepped up their testing of Mexican candies because they are so frequently found to fail the standards, so here’s to hoping that these get pulled from shelves soon. (Original notice from the California Department of Health - PDF.)

imageIn items that have not been recalled but contains bug parts, here’s a curiosity called Edible Ant Farm Candy. Yes, it’s a slab of transparent hard candy that looks like real ants in their native ant farm habitat. Such a strange experience. I’m fine with eating chicken eggs, but I don’t like to pretend they’re still in the nest or anything. (Image swiped from CandyWarehouse)

Brits will be happy to hear that Cadbury is bringing back the Wispa. The bar was discontinued in 2003 and like our good old American Mars bar, when they brought out the replacement, the Dairy Milk Bubbly ... well, it wasn’t the same. I guess it’s a great sign that we should never give up hope. (Check out the current poll ... vote for what you’d bring back from extinction.)

This week’s reviews in review:

Monday: Chunky (6 out of 10)

Tuesday: 3 Musketeers Mini Mix (7 out of 10)

Thursday: UK Smarties (no artificial colors) (6 out of 10)

Friday: Jones Soda Grape Carbonated Candy (6 out of 10)

Weekly average: 6.25 ... 75% chocolate content.

Related Candies

  1. This Week in Candy - Candy is Energy!
  2. This Week in Candy - A Giant Craving
  3. This Week in Candy - Elvis is in the Cupcake!
  4. This Week in Candy - The FDA Stuff Continues (as does my obsession with nougat)
  5. What I Ate on my Summer Vacation

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:04 pm     CandyFun StuffNews

Thursday, August 23, 2007

100 Calorie Packs - How Lazy Are We?

100 Calorie PacksI’ve noted over on Junk Food Blog the growing, and stupid, market for 100 Calorie Packs of food. While it make some sense when it comes to thinks like crackers, chips or cookies that usually come in large packages that make portion control difficult, it’s just plain ludicrous to reinvent the wheel when it comes to candy.

I was at the Ralph’s in Los Osos, California on vacation earlier this week when I spotted this display in the middle of the candy aisle. It’s advertising Mars’ new 100 Calorie Packs for 3 Musketeers, Twix and Milk Chocolate M&Ms.

For $2.50 (on sale, mind you) you get seven (7) servings and about 5 ounces of candy (depending on which one you pick).

While the box is nice and dare I say, elegant, for something like Twix Bars and M&Ms, it’s an awful lot of packaging and space.

Fun SizesBut turning around and looking at the shelf below are some crazy candies that have been around and marketed for “lunch dessert” for at least 20 years. They include eight (8) “fun size” bars, which are junior versions of the full sized candy bars, usually around 3/4 of an ounce and 80-100 calories. This Ralph’s had them on sale for $1.25 a package ($1.79 regularly) but I see them often for 88 cents a pack at the drug store.

So while some folks sit around and lament that it’s too hard to control their own portions and the extra packaging and expense is worth it in the fight against obesity, Mars is introducing a solution to a problem that doesn’t even exist in the candy world. Sure the “fun size bars” aren’t all exactly 100 calories, the Twix I looked at were actually 80 calories each, but isn’t the point that people want a treat and not too much temptation?

Yes, there might be math involved if you get the minis in order to create a 100 calorie portion, but hey, math burns calories too!

Related Candies

  1. NYTimes on UK Candy in the US
  2. What does that Mars code mean?
  3. Dark M&Ms Offer Reward

POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:07 am     CandyReviewFun StuffNews

Saturday, August 18, 2007

This Week in Candy - Candy is Energy!

Haribo BearThe FDA and the new chocolate labeling standards may be years away, but there is a bigger threat to candy right now. Actually, there are several threads. First, energy prices have gone through the roof and industrious people are looking for alternatives, especially biofuels. But biofuels use some of the very same crops that we actually eat. So enter the huge competition going on right now for corn products (corn syrup). Add to that that the United States has a little thing called The Farm Bill and subsidies that make sugar strangely expensive in this country.

Look for the competition for corn to heat up amongst meat producers, food producers and energy makers. You’ll feel the pinch at the checkout stand in higher prices. You may also notice that some of our American candy will be made in other countries.

This isn’t just limited to to the United States. Haribo recently gave notice that their prices will be going up as a direct result of the fight over food and energy. Sure, candy is a low priority use, but it’s not going to end there. Gummi bears are the canary in the coal mine of food.

AllsortsChow took on the topic of Licorice, that other black gold.

The story mentions the resurgence of interest in the traditional candy and goes on to mention that Economy Candy has added 10-12 new varieties in just that past two months. Looks like I’ll need to make another trip. (Here are my licorice reviews.)

In other stories around the blogs:

  • Candy Addict has a list of the Top 10 Candy Jingles ... I’m afraid it skews rather young and neglects a few that I grew up on (or maybe they just don’t think they’re that great). If there’s one thing they confirm, it’s that they just don’t write jingles like they used to.
  •  

  • Chocolate Bytes has a massive list of chocolate themed merchandise ... chocolate coasters, chocolate charms and chocolate cell phone strap charms (something I’ve just never quite understood).
  •  

  • And finally, Evil Mad Scientist brings news that Bawls Mints have been discontinued and quietly replaced with what they call the lesser Bawls Buzz. I’m not particularly upset as I didn’t care for the overpriced and non-minted mints, but I respect other people’s candy choices and right to be upset.
  • This week’s candy review recap:

    Monday: Amano Single Origin Bars (8 out of 10)

    Tuesday: Bit-O-Honey (6 out of 10)

    Wednesday: Craves Chocolate Sticks (8 out of 10)

    Thursday: Goodbye Tart n Tiny (9 out of 10)

    Friday: Crown Jewel Orange Chocolate Truffles (5 out of 10)

    Weekly average: 7.20 (60% chocolate content)

    Related Candies

    1. This Week in Candy - A Giant Craving
    2. This Week in Candy - Elvis is in the Cupcake!
    3. Webstore Review: Economy Candy
    4. Soda Can Fizzy Candy
    5. Dutch Licorice

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:30 pm     CandyFun StuffNews

    Page 5 of 30 pages ‹ First  < 3 4 5 6 7 >  Last ›

    Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.

     

     

     

     

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    COUNTDOWN.

    Candy Season Ends

    -2548 days

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    Choose one or more:

    •   Halloween
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