Monday, July 12, 2010

Necco Sweethearts Twilight Fire & Ice

Marketing tie ins with blockbuster movie franchises are nothing new. The Necco Sweethearts and Twilight co-marketing continues. I saw these at the Ralph’s grocery over the weekend and remembered that the movie is in theaters and that I actually had a couple of boxes.

Sweethearts Ice & Fire

I’ve never actually read the Twilight books or seen any of the movies. This is just about the candy.

Sweethearts IceSweethearts Ice come in a theater box, a plastic bag inside holds 4 ounces. The outside features an image of Edward Cullen, mysterious and attractive centenarian who happens to be a vampire.

Inside are two flavors of Sweethearts in the new softer texture and more intensely flavored formula. The Raspberry Freezeout and Lime Frostbite feature a dusting of sparkles courtesy of a newly approved edible mica.

The front of the box says Intense Wave of Cold! ... just what you want in a relationship that might last for all eternity.

Sweethearts Ice

The shape of the sweets is nicely done. They come in only two colors, but they’re pretty easy to tell apart. The printing is subpar though. I worked hard to find some good representatives for photographing. The sayings were things like “I “heart” EC”, “Live 4 Ever” “Bite Me” and “Dazzle”. There were a fair number of blank ones, which I’m told is because Edward Cullen can’t read Bella Swan’s mind.

They smell, well, feminine and juvenile. It’s like fruity bodywash or scented trash bags.

The Raspberry Freezeout flavor is light blue. The sparkly quality was evident to me except in extremely bright and direct lighting conditions (like outside in the sun). The flavor is sweet and floral, like a raspberry flavor is supposed to be. There’s no hint of tartness, instead after a moment the overly sweet flavor fades and a throat cooling menthol comes over it. It’s a little medicinal, but also a bit unexpected as it doesn’t really complement the berry.

The Lime FrostBite is slightly more successful, probably because of my indoctrination to the flavor combo via the Mojito. The lime is a light zesty note, again with no tart juicy vibe. Then the menthol emerges and it’s well, okay. It’s a little like toothpaste.

The texture is softer and smoother than the classic Sweethearts, so in a way that’s nice. But the flavor choices here simply aren’t for me.

Sweethearts IceThe second package is Sweethearts Fire which says it has an Intense Surge of Heat. The box features an image of the shirtless Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, a shapeshifter with a tattoo. (Who was jailbait when the image was shot ... okay, maybe photos of shirtless teen boys can’t be jailbait.)

Inside is a plastic bag with two flavors of pink Sweethearts: Steamy Chocolate and Hotter Than Apple Pie.

Sweethearts Fire

These candies also come in two colors, though both are pink. One is bright pink and the other is dusty pink. They smell sweet and lightly cinnamony.

The pieces area also difficult to read, about half were not imprinted well enough. But the ones that I could read said things that were themed for the wolf boy and his unrequited love for Bella like “Wolf Man”, “Jacob”, “Save Me” and “Howl”.

Steamy Chocolate were rather rare in my package, about 25% of the candies. The flavor is light and slightly creamy, the cocoa notes come across as flat and cardboard, but maybe a little woodsy. The cinnamon is more earthy than spicy.

Hotter Than Apple Pie tastes like a holiday candle, like cinnamon with a little apple juice flavor thrown in to mellow it out. It’s a little spicier and more intense than the chocolate one. The pink coloring means that I got a bitter aftertaste after eating too many (about five).

While I liked the Fire version better than the Ice, I wouldn’t say that I liked them all that much at all. Perhaps the fact that the flavor was rather mainstream pleased me, just like most people really don’t want to love an immortal undead guy.

These candies suffer as novelty items instead of solid products that tie into a theme. The hearts and mottoes are a great idea, but the flavors are just ghastly for the most part. But maybe that’s the target market.

The good news is that Necco didn’t make a Bella Swan version, which as far as I can tell would be sugary sweet and flavorless.

Sweethearts have gelatin in them, so are not suitable for vegetarians and are not Kosher/Halal.

Full disclosure: I’m not against escapist entertainment, I’m sure if someone dug through my reading and viewing habits there’d be some goofy items as well. And I give folks full permission to make fun of those.

Related Candies

  1. Go Max Go Twilight Candy Bar
  2. Necco Conversation Hearts (Sweethearts) 2010
  3. The Twilight Saga: New Moon Heart’s Desire Sky Bar
  4. Snickers Nougabot Bar & Transformer M&Ms
  5. Twilight Sweethearts: Forbidden Fruits
  6. Endangered Species Chocolate


Name: Sweethearts Twilight Ice
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Necco
Place Purchased: sample from Sweets & Snacks Expo
Price: $1.25
Size: 4.0 ounces
Calories per ounce: 113
Categories: Candy, Necco, Compressed Dextrose, 3-Unappealing, United States


Name: Sweethearts Twilight Fire
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Necco
Place Purchased: sample from Sweets & Snacks Expo
Price: $1.25
Size: 4.0 ounces
Calories per ounce: 113
Categories: Candy, Necco, Compressed Dextrose, 5-Pleasant, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:59 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyNeccoCinnamonCompressed Dextrose3-Unappealing5-PleasantUnited States

Comments
  1. I may find these as easy to pass as I did their sources. I wonder if candy companies hurry these tie-ins out or if their demographic prefers these tastes and flavors.

    I like hearing about the updates through your Twitter feed, too. Saves me all that checking!

    Comment by Russ on 7/12/10 at 2:03 pm #
  2. This made me laugh SO HARD. 

    I think that a)this whole franchise is ridiculous and b) Sweethearts are disgusting anyway, so this is like a perfect storm of Fail. 

    “The good news is that Necco didn’t make a Bella Swan version, which as far as I can tell would be sugary sweet and flavorless.”

    LOL! Oh I do love you.

    Comment by Elise on 7/12/10 at 6:46 pm #
  3. Such nice looking boxes (and good-looking actors for that demographic segment) paired with such poor quality pieces and terrible printing - what a shame… If they think young people have low quality expectations they have another thing coming… especially when everybody is more aware of what they are getting for their money, these days… Thx for sharing grin  PS: How are the movies?

    Comment by TriciaGab on 7/13/10 at 8:31 am #
  4. I really hate how terrible Sweetarts look. I haven’t purchased a single bag in years that hasn’t been full of crappy looking candy. : (

    Comment by Emily on 7/13/10 at 2:06 pm #
  5. Oh MY. Well, since Sweethearts are in my top 5 candies, naturally I was thrilled when my friends bought me a box of FIRE and a box of ICE for my birthday. BUT…these just didn’t have that Sweetheart charm I love so much. They didn’t dissolve the same way.

    Well, I preferred the ICE to the FIRE actually, which is too bad because I’m a die heard Team J.

    Comment by krisaacs on 7/13/10 at 10:53 pm #
  6. “Hotter Than Apple Pie tastes like a holiday candle”

    ...do you happen to eat candles or be able to transfer smells to tastes?

    Comment by james on 7/14/10 at 12:31 am #
  7. My now-husband bought me some of the Twilight Sweetheart candies that were made for the first movie…no “fire” and “ice” variations…but they were still memorably horrific. Now I’m thrilled I don’t need to go out and try the new ones…not that I was overly tempted. 

    This post just cracked me up. smile

    Comment by Kate on 7/15/10 at 10:45 pm #
  8. A far cry frm the Twilight Forbidden Hearts frm last year. Less flavorful and harder to chew.

    Comment by Peg1 on 2/12/11 at 1:19 pm #
  9. The blank ones symbolize Edward
    Not being able to read Bellas mind! Dumb right!?

    Comment by Taylor on 5/02/11 at 9:23 pm #
  10. When it comes to valentine candy like Necco or Brachs, regardless of theme, I’m ALWAYS Team Necco. Always.

    Comment by SteveCarras on 12/11/14 at 7:40 pm #
  11. Actually, just kidding, Brach’s are wonderful too. Love to see more Necco and Twilight, even if the movies haven’t been done..anymore

    Comment by SJCarras on 2/23/17 at 8:26 pm #
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