Monday, November 19, 2007

Brach’s Soda Poppers

There’s rarely anything “new” in hard candy, so I was pleased to see Brach’s has a new assortment of hard candies called Soda Poppers.

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They boast real fruit juice and come in four licensed soda flavors (from Cadbury Schweppes): A&W Root Beer, Doctor Pepper, Orange Crush & 7-Up.

Rather than just being a mix of hard candies in soda flavors, the twist on these is that they’re shaped like little cans and feature a firm goo center. (There’s no carbonation, though.)

  • 7-Up - the uncola! The taste is really reminiscent of the soda. It’s tangy and has a very strong zest attribute with a slight bitterness that goes with it. It’s actually different from most other lemon-lime candies, so it’s not like it’s the same as any other lemon drop out there.
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  • Orange Crush - I haven’t had an orange soft drink in a long time, though grape and orange were one of my favorites as a kid. This has a spot on orange soda flavor. The goo center verges on orange jelly slice to me, but that’s not a bad thing.
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  • Dr. Pepper -  my experience with Dr. Pepper is rather limited. I like the idea of it, but never the taste. It smells slightly like grape and has a little tinge of tartness at first then a black cherry and maybe even some root beer woodsiness. Whatever it is, it’s not something I plan on eating again.
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  • A&W Root Beer - I’m a huge root beer fan and often eat the Brach’s A&W Root Beer barrels (though I’m not really particular). The flavor here is sufficiently intense. The soft center is definitely different and really makes the flavor intense.
  • I’m a hard candy cruncher, so I liked that I could crunch these pretty quickly and get a whole new texture. They were kind of sticky once crunched, but I don’t mind digging piece of hard candy off my teeth as an afternoon diversion.

    Like the assortment that Jelly Belly has called Soda Pop Shoppe, there’s no cola in this mix. Strange, as that’s one of the flavors that’s unique to the carbonated drink arena (besides Dr. Pepper).

    Would I buy these again? Probably not. I prefer the simple root beer barrel, lemon drop or orange slice. If they managed to get a cola flavor in the mix, well, now then we’d have something! As a flavor mix and the fact that they added the chewy jelly filling, well, it certainly changes the ordinary hard candy idea on its head. These are being sold in bulk in Pick a Mix and in small bags (I think 7 ounces).

    Of note: Brach’s was recently sold by French chocolate company Barry Callebaut to Farley’s & Sathers (which itself is made up of a bunch of other candy companies rolled into one: Heide, Trolli, Farley’s, Sathers, Bob’s, Now & Laters and RainBlo gum). These candies were made in Argentina.

    Related Candies

    1. Kenny’s Licorice Pastels & Root Beer Twists
    2. Soda Can Fizzy Candy
    3. Ramune & Cola Bubble Ball
    4. Bottlecaps
    Name: Soda Poppers
      RATING:
    • 10 SUPERB
    • 9 YUMMY
    • 8 TASTY
    • 7 WORTH IT
    • 6 TEMPTING
    • 5 PLEASANT
    • 4 BENIGN
    • 3 UNAPPEALING
    • 2 APPALLING
    • 1 INEDIBLE
    Brand: Brach's
    Place Purchased: samples from All Candy Expo
    Price: unknown
    Size: 7 ounces
    Calories per ounce: unknown
    Categories: Hard Candy, Brach's

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:57 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

    Comments
    1. If there were a cola flavor, it would be RC, not a nationwide favorite.  If they sold the 7up one by itself, I might go for this.  I love Dr Pepper, but I’ve never liked candies or gums that were Dr Pepper flavor.  I don’t like orange soda, except Stewart’s Orange N Cream, which has vanilla, too.  Most root beer candies other than Reed’s are a disappointment, I would go on hunger strike, but I know that would be futile about bringing Reed’s back.

      Comment by Dave on 11/19/07 at 3:10 pm #
    2. Wow!  Those look cool!  I think I’m going to go to Target on my lunch hour and try to find them!

      Comment by Kevin on 11/20/07 at 3:19 am #
    3. rootbeer jelly bellys are actually quite good (i have some in front of me now actually). Although, to be honest, nothing will ever compare to reeds.  I like the sound of the gooey middle.  I would only want the rootbeer one though.  the others are not so appealing.

      Comment by ppalm on 11/20/07 at 5:48 am #
    4. I was excited when I first saw these, but knowing that they don’t have a carbonation taste makes me sad.  I once had a Japanese candy that someone called Coca-Cola candy.  It tasted exactly like a Coke and was wonderful with the carbonation flavor/texture.  Have you ever heard of this?  I have been searching everywhere for this, but have only found them in Japan portion of the World Showcase at Disney World a few years ago.

      Comment by Allison on 11/20/07 at 6:12 am #
    5. Oh those are so cute! I’m also not crazy about Dr. Pepper flavored things but I’m sure the kids wouldn’t mind them.

      Comment by Heather on 11/20/07 at 6:56 am #
    6. I was right along with you until you mentioned the gooey centre which reminds me of those cough drops..that and the fact I wouldn’t eat half these flavours.

      Comment by Leigh on 11/20/07 at 8:51 am #
    7. they do sound kinda icky, but the packaging is fabulous!

      Comment by David on 11/25/07 at 7:22 am #
    8. Where did you find these?  I’ve been for them looking everywhere and haven’t been able to find them!

      Comment by Kevin on 11/26/07 at 6:49 am #
    9. my fav. is the dr. pepper.
      the 7up tastes like a lemon candy to me.
      the crush orange soda tastes like an orange candy not pop at all.
      the rootbeer has a little too much bite in it but i like it.

      Comment by haley on 1/28/08 at 3:58 pm #
    10. oh wait.
      i also think they would taste better without a chewy center.

      Comment by haley on 1/28/08 at 4:10 pm #
    11. im eating them right now, yumm!!  i got mine at walgreens, go get em

      Comment by mr candyeater on 1/31/08 at 8:24 am #
    12. we totally love them! but my son is having a reaction to them…has anyone else experienced hives? he’s not allergic to anything listed under ingredients or allergen info. i’m at a loss, that’s what got me to this cool site…

      Comment by ma on 2/07/08 at 5:46 pm #
    13. I love these candies, but I can’t seem to find them anywhere apart from Walgreens. I rarely ever go there so I purchased 5 bags of them since I knew some family members would want to mooch some too.
      So if anyones having trouble finding these I would strongly suggest checking out Walgreens for a bag!

      I personally enjoy every flavor of them. The Root Beer and Dr Pepper are the best though. It makes me sad a little bit because it does seem like every bag I get is loaded with Orange Crush ones and not enough Root Beer! Great candy though all in all.

      Comment by hippaul on 2/13/08 at 4:53 pm #
    14. These are so good! I just found them today, already I am addicted!!!!!

      Comment by candygirl on 7/24/08 at 2:08 pm #
    15. i think that this candy is very very good i have these in my bookbag when i go to school.i want to know if you could send me some through ups if you could that would be so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Comment by miracle weinbender on 10/27/08 at 10:46 am #
    16. I just bought these the other night at the supermarket and I have to say that despite my initial excitement, I was rather disappointed in the overall taste and experience of eating these candies.

      Comment by frippyg on 1/27/09 at 5:39 am #
    17. Albertson’s was closing a sote in Mesa Az, and I bought a handful of these to try them. the sale was 1/2 prive clearance. I only took a handful, and not there aere no more. :(. I need to find a distributor in Mesa AZ area. I want a 20 Lb box of these.

      Comment by Krankrat on 2/11/09 at 4:18 pm #
    18. i tried these for the first time today, and i am in love with the dr. pepper flavored ones! they are absolutely amazing!

      Comment by Lissy on 2/27/09 at 8:54 am #
    19. These are amazing i went thruogh 2 packs in 1 day

      Comment by Bailey on 4/26/09 at 6:58 am #
    20. where can i buy them

      Comment by jason on 5/02/09 at 10:12 am #
    21. I found these at the 99Cents Store. Love them, esp. the Dr. Pepper flavor. The orange and root beer have a kind of odd aftertaste, but I’d have them again.

      Comment by Tom on 8/21/09 at 4:42 pm #
    22. where can i buy brachs soda poppers have gone to several stores and noone seems to know what i am talking about, what stores in southern calif carry them?

      Comment by gloria on 1/07/10 at 8:15 am #
    23. Cybele's avatar

      Gloria - I’ve seen them at Dollar Tree and Walgreen’s in SoCal.

      Comment by Cybele on 1/07/10 at 9:35 am #
    24. A friend gave me some of this soda pop candy and I loved it but can’t fine it in any store. Can you give me a local store in the Douglasville, GA were I can purchase some please. Thank you Nadine again i loved the candy this is it for drink lovers like me.

      Comment by Nadine McGowan on 1/31/10 at 8:35 am #
    25. they stop making this candy, ONLY GODS knows why? At least my Supermarket told me this, cant find on Brach’s web-page. What a shame, I still have co-workers asking me about this candy. Most likely its was not making billions of dollars as fast as Brach wanted it to. How could it snuff out so soon?

      Comment by chaos on 9/16/11 at 8:48 am #
    26. I REALLY WANT THESE. Anyone no if they still have some somewhere i can buy them?????

      Comment by Tori on 10/16/11 at 7:57 am #
    27. I love Soda Poppers!!!!!! I am trying to stop smoking and this candy is a very big help. I am almost out of them and nothing else will do. Please, if anyone knows where to get Soda Poppers let me know. They taste just like the soda.

      Comment by Lynne on 10/28/11 at 3:26 am #
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