Tag Archives: candy

Gimbal’s Sour Lovers Chews

Leave a reply

CandyDirect.com is currently running a special on Gimbal’s newest candy creation Sour Lovers Chews, so I decided to give them a try, and boy was I impressed. I am, by nature, a chocolate lover. If given the choice between a chewy or hand candy, and a chocolate bar, I will choose the chocolate bar every single time. But after trying this new sour candy, I can honestly say that I would choose these new Sour Lovers over the majority of chocolate bars.
The package claims, “Intensely Sour and Real Fruit Flavors! Experience the Long-Lasting Mouthwatering Flavor of Sour Lovers. Made with Real Fruit Juice and high in Antioxidant Vitamin C. Absolutely 100% Deliciously Sour!”
For most candies, this description seems too good to be true. The fact is, most candy does not have a “long-lasting mouthwatering flavor,” but that is not so with Sour Lovers. As soon as you bite into this new candy you will have a sour and fruit flavor explosion erupt in your mouth. The external sour sanding and delightfully sour centers are perfectly balanced with the delicious real fruit flavor. You can really tell that this candy was made with real fruit juice and not some chemical flavoring.
Sour Lovers are perfectly sour; not over powering, but not so weak as to be unnoticeable. They come in twelve deliciously sour flavors including Pomegranate, Fuji Apple, Grapefruit, Watermelon, Meyer Lemon, Tangerine, Baja Margarita, Sour Blueberry, Mango, Bing Cherry, Strawberry Daiquiri and Georgia Peach. Each flavor is unique from the others, and equally delicious. I especially love Pomegranate and Sour Blueberry with Baja Margarita and Watermelon coming in right behind as my favorite flavors. Each flavor is fantastically unique and all are sure to please.
This wonderful candy is peanut free, tree nut free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, transfat free, gelatin free and soy free. So they are perfect for all those special people in your life with dietary restrictions. And since they are in the shape of a heart they are sure to put a smile on your loved ones.
I have consumed a lot of candy in my life, candy of all types, shapes, and sizes, and I can say that I am sold on Gimbal’s new Sour Lovers. I will definitely be eating more of these in my near future. They get my seal of approval.

by Matthew Rogers

To celebrate the launch of Sour Lovers Chews, Gimbal’s and Candy Direct are running a special promotion: For a limited time you can get TWO 11oz bags of new SOUR LOVERS CHEWS -or- 14oz bags of CINAMMON LAVABALLS for just $7! Shipping and handling included!


Wedding Candy – Party Favors

Leave a reply

Wedding Candy – Party Favors

Make Your Reception Sweeter with Wedding Candy

There are many ways to add color and style to a wedding. Candy is a popular choice, whether on the buffet table or as party favors for guests to take home. The best part is that there is no limit to what candy can be.

Want to give your wedding a crystal theme? Decorate with rock candy in colors of your choice. Or if you’d like to coordinate with silver accents, there are a number of candies with elegant plain silver wrapping to use both as décor and party favors. No matter how you want to style your wedding reception, there are definitely candy choices to suit it.

With candy, you can even make receptions more personal by making the favors yourself. Gather selections of your choice into a bag and tie a ribbon around it. You can use a personalized ribbon printed with your names and the date of the wedding to give the favor a special touch. You can choose treats that follow the wedding’s theme, or make things sweeter and choose retro candies that you and your spouse love.

Wedding candy buffets have always been a popular addition to any reception. They are also very easy to make, for the reception on a budget. Collect glass or clear plastic jars of different shapes and sizes then fill them with candy bought in bulk to suit your wedding reception theme. Make sure to keep tongs, scoops and bags nearby for guests to gather candy to take home. Varying the colors, the heights of the jars and even the types of candies can make a very eye-catching display. You can even separate this from the rest of the buffet and give it a special table of its own.

Wholesale Candy – Bulk Candy

Leave a reply


Wholesale Candy – Bulk Candy

Sweeten a Shop’s Offerings with Retro Wholesale Candy

Stocking up on popular wholesale candy is always a good move for convenience stores and small businesses. But to give your shop an edge, think about stocking up on interesting items to keep your customers coming back. For candies, retro treats that were discontinued for a time are good selections to look into. While they will definitely please kids, they can also be an unexpected treat for adults as well. Getting these rare candies in wholesale for the shop can keep customers coming back.

Choosing which candies to stock up on depends largely on the regular clientele that visit your shop. But it is definitely a wise idea to offer a variety of sweets from different decades. Oh Henry!, Smarties, and Mary Janes are only some of these treats that were popular back in the day. Through manufacturers such as Annabelle and Haribo, these childhood favorites get a revival and are now easy to purchase for shops.

At the same time, it’s possible to get the best of both worlds and find wholesale candy with roots in history that are still popular today. Treats from Just Born are some of them. Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales, introduced in the 1950s, still continue to be popular confections today with their trademark flavors.

The good thing about stocking up on retro favorites is that you get to reintroduce these to the newer generation that come into your shop looking for a treat or two. After all, something unique and not often seen is definitely eye-catching.

Candy – Party Candy

Leave a reply

Candy – Party Candy

Sweetening any Special Occasion with Candy

Whether it’s to celebrate a personal achievement as graduating or getting the family together to celebrate Christmas or Easter, candy treats are never out of season. With so many different kinds of candy to consider, it’s not a surprise that there are some specifically made for special days. Some candies have even gone from ordinary treats to staples for certain holidays.

For family gatherings such as on Thanksgiving or Easter, setting aside a bowl of sweets for visitors to munch on is a great addition to any party. Adding them to décor fit for the celebration is a good idea as well, such as setting candies in a cornucopia for Thanksgiving or fixing up a Christmas-themed bowl with red and green candies to bring out that festive spirit.

Some special occasions like Easter and Halloween come with trademark candy that makes it easier to shop for. Marshmallow Peeps, a soft and fluffy treat from Just Born, is a staple in Easter baskets along with various chocolates shaped like rabbits or eggs. As for Halloween, traditional candy corn and critter-shaped gummies like worms and newts are perfect for answering trick-or-treaters.

Candy can be a simple present to show affection on personal occasions spent between loved ones such as Valentine’s Day or birthdays. Conversation hearts on Valentine’s Day are adorable candies to offer someone you like. On birthdays, giving a bouquet of childhood favorites can be a wonderful, touching present for any good friend.

It’s amazing how much a little candy can do to sweeten a special occasion. With so many kinds and varieties, there is definitely a perfect candy to match any special day.

Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge

Leave a reply

Was this candy invented by the sewer-dwelling Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themselves? Is Shredder somewhere on the loose in a candy factory somewhere in America? Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge is a chewy taffy bar that makes eating a “box of boogers” look safe. I’m a little bit confused about the connection between eating candy and marketing nuclear warfare (there’s a cartoonish, googly-eyed mushroom cloud on the cover resembling the destruction at Hiroshima—and boy, doesn’t that just make you want to chomp down?). But hey, candy is candy, so I ripped open the wrapper of the blue raspberry variety with hopes that this candy would not kill me. It was stretchy and chewy like a taffy should be, but I was a bit ill by the super-sour taste. But if Toxic Waste bars are meant to make you think of highly toxic chemicals in your mouth, they are right on target. This tastes like what I’d imagine sour antifreeze candy to taste like, and it’s the exact color of toilet bowl cleaner. Sour candy fans may get a kick out of this, but it tame enough that you won’t curl up in pain. Try the sour apple and cherry Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge bars for comparison, but don’t blame me if your body develops a serious chemical imbalance.

Made by Candy Dynamics in Indianapolis, Toxic Waste candy not only puts out sour taffy, but also Sour Dip & Lick Lollipops, Sour Candy Spray and Hazardous Hard Candies. What I do love about this candy is that on the wrapper, there’s a little logo that says, “Toxic Waste Candy sponsors a cleaner planet,” urging you not to litter. Now isn’t that just ironic? The crazy picture of Professor Sauernoggin (makes me think of sauerkraut) on the wrapper is also a hit.

High School Musical Back Pack Snacks

Leave a reply

Haven’t we had enough of High School Musical already? From Broadway to an every-other-day showing on the Disney Channel, to promotional products out the wazoo, I’m starting to wonder if these smiley-faced kids ever do anything but sing and dance their teenage years away. That said, the brilliant marketers at Flix Candy are getting in on The Great Mouse’s (a.k.a. Mickey’s) grand plan by selling High School Musical candies. Disney Back Pack Snacks are tiny carryall bags for candy (picture a Barbie-sized pack, maybe a little larger). The High School Musical backpack is bright and fun, promising that you’ll have a novelty toy to use as a change purse after the candy is long gone. Yes friends, the gang’s all here and ready to have a good time. Inside the bag’s zipper are some tinier clear plastic bags of “candy sports balls,” which are similar to Sweetarts, but basketball-shaped. The pastel colored sports balls are chalky in texture, a bit tart, a bit sugary. I wasn’t addicted by any means, but they didn’t taste bad. What interests me most about this candy is that the candy itself isn’t related to High School Musical at all—just the packaging. Remarkably, they can throw a “name” on it and get so many kids hyped up about something they’d normally turn up their nose at—a plastic pack of generic “sports ball” candies. But if there’s any chance that Zac Efron or Ashley Tisdale eats them—well, by golly, I’d better have some too!

Verdict: If you’re in need of satisfying your sweet tooth and no more, stick with regular Sweetarts and save the planet. But if you know a little High School Musical fan who’d be thrilled to pieces to tote this mini backpack on his or her keychain, you’ve got an idea for an affordable yet thoughtful gift. That’s if the kids don’t already have everything with the High School Musical name attached to it.

Fascini Sour Snagx

Leave a reply

Snag some for yourself, because Fascini Sour Snagx are scrumptious! With four flavors packed into one bite-size, sour snack, this candy has it all. You’ll love these if you like Sour Patch Kids. Inside each rainbow-colored strip is strawberry, apple, tutti frutti, blue raspberry goodness that’s sour, but not in an eye-watering way. The candy has a slight waxy taste to it, though that won’t keep you from pounding ‘em down. Don’t worry—these candies are low in fat and a single serving package has about 200 calories. But their gummy substance does well to fill you up, so you might even throw a bag of these in your pocket or purse to tide you over before dinner. The packaging is a little dull—lots of primary colors, and it reminds me of the old Fruit Stripe Gum commercials that once aired on Saturday morning TV. But the mini fruit-gum characters on the wrapper look like they’re having a good time, so why not join in the fun?

You may not know it, but Fascini is almost 100 years old as a company. Unfortunately, this Netherlands-based family business hasn’t always made candies. Remarkably, they got their start in 1911 making products such as fly catchers and rat poisoning! Their first edible product was licorice, meant to sooth winter colds and sore throats, and soon peppermint candies were added to the line. Sour, sugar-coated gummy candies were next on the market, and the company sold them under its previous brand name, “Candy Castle.” The switch to Fascini took place in 2006, a combination of the founders names (Fassini) and the word fascination. This sends a clear message to consumers that these candies should enthrall and excite. And these candies did just that—I was perplexed and fascinated that a candy I’ve never heard of before and one I’ve never seen on supermarket shelves could taste so good, like an undiscovered gem.

Hannah Montana Disco Ball Lollipop Cover

Leave a reply

Miley Cyrus—how did you do it? From the DNA of Billy Ray to little-girldom fame, the world has its eyes (and its pocketbooks) turned to you. Hannah Montana Disco Ball Lollipops are brought to us by the masterminds at Flix Candy. These suckers are nothing special at all. But, hey, you get a plastic disco ball to hang on your backpack or keychain when it’s all done, so you can feel just like Hannah Montana giving a concert with all the glitz and glamour of being a superstar. The disco ball does have an official Hannah Montana logo sticker, which makes it worth more than a quarter to most girls ages 6 to 14. If you’re looking for something a little bit different, try Hannah Montana Concert Candy (chewable microphones), Glamour Guitar Lollipops, or Picture Ring Pops. Millions of viewers and concert-goers can’t be wrong—this little girl’s got star quality and the ability to sell anything she puts her name and likeness to.

Once I pried open the shiny, disco ball cover, the lollipop inside was nothing to write home about. Its strawberry flavor was a bit dull, and the candy itself was only slightly bigger than a Dum Dum. The inner wrapper was plain white—no glitz at all. All in all, you’re paying for the image with this candy, and image is pretty much all you get. I would never buy this candy myself, but I know about a million and a half little girls who would. So hats off to Flix Candy and Hannah’s savvy agents for bringing the goods to the goody-goody consumer. Based in Niles, Illinois, Flix Candy is big into licensed candies, with Care Bears, WALL-E and Disney Princess candies all in the repertoire. They also market candy to boys, like their Box of Boogers, Gummy Bugs and superhero licensed brands.

Skittles Crazy Cores

Leave a reply

When you want to taste a rainbow of flavor with a crazy, tasty kick, turn to fruit-flavored Skittles Crazy Cores. These bite-size candies look like traditional Skittles candies, until you bite them open. What sets these apart is the second flavor in its core, much like Everlasting Gobstoppers.

Each Skittles candy has one flavor outside, and another flavor inside, for five total flavor combinations: Mango Peach, Cherry Lemonade, Melon Berry, Strawberry Watermelon, and Blue Raspberry with Lemon. Each candy has a hard sugar shell, not at all detracting from the soft and chewy texture inside. I especially liked the Mango Peach and Blue Raspberry with Lemon flavor combos, but there’s wasn’t a bad grouping in the bag. In fact, if you eat a handful and don’t pay attention to the flavors, they all mix well in my opinion!

Available in bright orange 2-ounce pouches (great for singles) or 7.2-ounce bags (suitable for sharing at the movies), Skittles Crazy Cores look appetizing from the moment you lay eyes on the packaging. Each dual-colored candy gracing the cover appears to float in a dream world of color, like a party supply store on caffeine. Skittles are classic fruit candies produced by the Mars Candy Company. They were introduced to candy lovers in 1973, and have enjoyed over three decades of success in Europe, though they first came to the States in 1982. With the popular advertising slogan “taste the rainbow,” Skittles have successfully won over candy addicts from children to adults, all over the world. If you like Crazy Cores, you ought to also check out Chocolate, Wild Berry, Tropical and Sour Skittles for a delicious aside from the classic fruit-bowl flavors (Lemon, Lime, Grape, Orange and Strawberry).

Stride Sweet Cinnamon

Leave a reply

Billed the “ridiculously long-lasting gum,” Stride Gum has only been on the market since 2006. In that time, the brand has established itself on product shelves as a name in the gum business, which says a lot in the somewhat crowded market. In flavors like Spearmint, Winterblue and Sweet Peppermint, Stride knew it was time to branch out. Its Sweet Cinnamon and Forever Fruit flavors were added to the roster to round out the collection. And, not being a diehard fan of a lot of cinnamon gums for their burn-the-mouth qualities, I decided to give this new Sweet Cinnamon a try.

Overall, I’m impressed with this gum. First, the packaging is awesome. In what feels like a cardboard billfold, the box opens up to reveal 14 rectangles of gum, individually wrapped and lined up like little soldiers ready for battle. Old-style stick packaging (like Wrigley’s and Extra) is definitely a way of the past. From this package, it’s easy to grab a piece, but the gum won’t easily fall out in your purse or pocket because of the sleek, walletlike design. Also, the box flap tucks under a tab to keep it in place—but again, it’s not hard at all to get the gum out of the box. You actually look quite James Bond as you whip out the box, shake it open and slyly slip out a piece for your friend or colleague. And your friends will definitely ask you for a piece. The Sweet Cinnamon smell emanates from the box, just as it does around your mouth when you chew it. Though the flavor is long lasting, it doesn’t punch you in the gut with its spiciness. It’s a more subtle, sugary-tasting chew. But the best part of all is that it’s sugarfree. At less than 5 calories per piece, chewing Stride gum is a great way to keep your mouth busy instead of snacking at the vending machine. I’d not only buy this gum in the future, but I’d also consider it “the” gum of the future.

Tags: , , , ,