Most Popular Candy Brands You Need to Stock!
Back again with a new instalment of even more iconic candy brands that everyone should be carrying, especially for this special month of June which is National Candy Month!
These are some of the most popular candy brands around that have earned their popularity with a rich history of delicious and innovative products to keep us on our toes!
Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, make sure that you chew on Part 1 first!
Starburst
This retro candy began as, "Opal Fruits," in the UK in 1960, and later changed to the more exciting, 'Starburst," upon its arrival in America in 1967. Starburst is known for its intense and fruit-filled flavour, originally in strawberry, orange, lemon, and lime. Starburst expanded and would eventually be one of the first brands to highlight tropical fruity flavours in 1988, which included exciting and exotic tropical punch, watermelon, strawberry kiwi, mango melon, pineapple orange, and strawberry banana!
But we would be remiss without mentioning the iconic Starburst All Pink. This Starburst candy is all about strawberry bliss and was originally supposed to be a limited edition candy, but the fans could simply not let this happen, and thus we now have the option to purchase just this delicious flavour.
Starburst has truly become a popular candy brand and a staple for your candy store. They now even have licensed Starburst Lollipops, Starburst Drink Mixes, and the now-iconic Starburst gummy candy!
Invite your customers to delve into the sweet world of Starburst! They're so, "Unexplainably Juicy" that eating just one is nearly an impossible task!
Trolli Candy
Trolli had its sweet conception in Germany in 1981 before establishing an American base in 1986. This acclaimed gummy candy brand has the distinction of being the creator of the very first gummy worms on the market, which gained notoriety for being such a fun and unique gummy candy shape! If these sweet worms have ever slithered into your mouth, you know that famous fruity taste that only Trolli candy gummy worms, or, "Crawlers," delivers!
It's not all worms, though; Trolli candy has ventured into many more shapes and flavours. The creative minds at Trolli have now brought us many sour candy options and whimsical gummy candy shapes like Llamas and Sloths. Plus the inventive Bursting Crawlers exploding with flavour and Crunchy Crawlers with a hard candy shell!
With such a vast collection, your customers will quickly find a new favourite gummy candy with Trolli Candy!
Reese's Chocolate
One of our absolute favourite popular candy brands of all time! Who could resist such a beautiful thing? Peanut butter and chocolate are just a match made in candy heaven!
This deliciously dynamic duo all came to be in H.B. Reese's basement in 1928 when he created the first Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Originally, as a factory employee of M. Hershey, he vowed to use only the finest Hershey's chocolate for his creations, and eventually quit to focus purely on his own PB&C creations. Today, Hershey's owns and still produces Reeses delectable sweets.
Already having gained popularity, Reese's Pieces candy would become a hit when featured in the acclaimed cult classic E.T., an opportunity Hershey's rejected for M&M's for concern children would fear E.T..
Today Reeses products continue to be a beloved worldwide treat! The iconic Peanut Butter Cup is one of our favourites, but others include Reese's Big Cup Stuffed with Potato Chips, Reese's Take Five, and Reese's Snack Cake.
Every morsel of any Reese's product is always exceptionally delicious - even that little bit of chocolate that gets stuck on the wrapper!
FUN FACT: Father to 16 children, (yes- 16!), Reese would often name his candy creations after them. His original chocolate bars were filled with a coconut caramel combo, named the "Lizzie bar", and the same with nuts was named the "Johnny bar"!
Sour Patch Kids
Introduce your customers to some of the sweetest kids around, literally! Sour Patch Kids Candy, formerly, "Mars Men," was created by Frank Galatolie of Jaret International in the 1970s. Later, Cadbury and the Smeera Blyton Licorice Company Of Sweden collaborated to form the Allan Candy Company, located in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1985, these kids made their sweet then sour debut, and we eagerly filled our hands (and mouths)!
These little guys have even gotten stuck in vanilla ice cream for a candy lover's perfect flavour!
Now a staple retro candy coming in a selection of different flavours, your candy store wouldn't be complete without them! While the original Sour Patch Kids is our top pick, others are Sour Cherry Blasters (a best-kept Canadian secret), Sour Patch Kids Crush, and the new Sour Patch Kids Cola!
Honestly, the Sour Patch Kids candy slogan says it all: "Sour. Sweet. Gone."!
FUN FACT: There was once even a Sour Patch Kids game called, "World Gone Sour"!
Snickers Chocolate
"You're not you when you're hungry," and this old-fashioned chocolate bar is a very well-known cure for such times!
In his youth, Frank Mars enjoyed baking with his mother so much, that he continued this heartfelt tradition with his high school sweetheart wife, Ethel. This candy couple embarked on a sweet journey in the candy business as the founders of Mars Inc.
Delightfully oozing with caramel, nougat, and peanuts the Snickers milk chocolate bar was born into sweet existence in 1930. Another passion of Mars' was horses, and so they named this new bar after their favourite racehorse, Snickers.
Over the years, this candy bar has morphed into different sizes, flavours and even ice cream! Some of our most satisfying Snickers products are the Candy Pop Snickers Popcorn, the Snickers Peanut Brownie, and our newest obsession, the Snickers White Chocolate candy bar. Snickers are even served battered and deep-fried at fairs and carnivals - a perfect hangry cure!
Now & Later Retro Candy
Give your customers delicious nostalgic candy, "Now and Later" with this retro candy that was a hit from its 1962 start!
Now & Later candy was originally made by Harry and Joseph Klein, a father and son team who formed The Phoenix Candy Company, a small Brooklyn, NY candy shop that initially produced mouthwatering salt water taffy. After a journey of changed ownership over the years, now this classic is manufactured by the iconic Ferrara Candy Company.
Wrapped in paper, the name was to suggest that you could eat some now, and save some for later! Promising a long-lasting burst of fruit flavour in your mouth now, so long, in fact, that it would last until later.
This retro candy was a quick fave and has transformed into a multitude of intensely, mouthwatering new flavours! Some of our favourites include, the Now & Later Splits, the Now & Later Extreme Sour candy, and the unparalleled Now & Later Morphs which change into extraordinary fruit flavours!
Hubba Bubba Bubblegum
We've been chomping on this sweet stuff for a long, long time! Hubba Bubba Bubblegum made its entrance into the candy world in 1979 by the Wrigley Jr. Company. This pink stuff is known for always being powerfully juicy and holds in each wad of gum the promise of big, magical bubbles!
The Wrigley Jr. Company first manufactured soap, but they weren't exactly successful, so they switched gears to chewing gum, and thank goodness they did. To their surprise, this endeavour was so successful that it compelled Wrigley to open two new huge factories for bubble gum production.
After the boom from the original Spearmint gum, then Juicy Fruit, they decided to create Hubba Bubba gum with a much less sticky texture - perfect for peeling off your face after those juicy bubbles!
From unsuspecting sidewalks and classroom desks, this gum has certainly been around! Nothing beats the original Hubba Bubba Bubblegum nostalgic candy, but we love the Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape which is miles of fun, and the zap of Hubba Bubba Sour Blue Raspberry. Most of all, we just love the gigantic bouncy bubbles made possible by all Hubba Bubba bubble gum!
FUN FACT: The term "Hubba Bubba" is a term from military personnel that is often used to express approval. Fitting, as we know this bubble gum has worldwide approval!
Sweetarts Sour Candy
Offer your customers the sweetest gift ever with this famous original Wonka Candy!
Sweetarts Candy came on to the candy scene in 1962. Modelled after the already popular Pixy Stix, they came in the same flavours, cherry, lemon, grape, lime, and orange. Under the careful direction of Menlo F. Smith, he created a broadened sweet and tangy taste of the time's hottest selling candies, like the Pixy Stix and Lik-M-Aid products.
Formerly of the Wonka Candy brand, introduced by the quintessential Charlie and the Chocolate Factory novel of children's author Roald Dahl, Sweetarts candy has made an indelible mark on our tastebuds, and our hearts! This retro candy will not be forgotten as it is now manufactured by candy king, the Ferrara Candy Company.
While we've all undoubtedly enjoyed these original tablet-like candies, Sweetarts has now morphed into so many more yummy variations! Some unique takes include the Giant Chewy Sweetarts, Sweetarts Soft and Chewy Ropes, Sweetarts Chewy Sours, and Sweetarts Candy Canes - good Christmas gifts!
Give your customers "the Wonka effect" with the scrumpdiddlyyumtuious taste of Sweetarts Candy!
Red Vines Licorice
Rope your customers in for a yummy taste of this famous American Licorice!
As far as people were concerned, the only real licorice candy was black licorice, and it wasn't until 1958 that red licorice sales really began to take off. From the mind of Martin Kretchmer of Chicago, this genius man gave us red licorice candy as we know it today! Red Vines licorice was originally introduced as Raspberry Vines, and eventually outsold its black licorice counterpart, urging The American Licorice Company to change their product name to Red Vines!
For the creation of red licorice candy, we must say that Red Vines is one of the most popular candy brands! We love their innovative flavours like the Red Vines Candy Corn Licorice and the Red Vines Original Red Licorice Twists, and their option for Sugar-Free Red Vines Strawberry Twists. You might have heard it through the grapevine that now it's time to get with the Red Vines!
Jolly Rancher Candy
This long-lasting and full-flavour candy is what you need to have your customers feeling jolly indeed with this old-fashioned candy! The Jolly Rancher Candy got its sweet start in 1949 by Bill and Dorthy Harmsen. They decided to name the candy Jolly Rancher to imply that they were a hospitable Western Company.
Believe it or not, this hard candy was envisioned by the couple to be an ice cream product or chocolate! However, as time went on they needed something that would be more profitable during the long and cold winter months. From this need, they experimented with and perfected what is now one of the most recognizable and delicious hard candy brands ever.
This colourful candy gem is a timeless classic and has since inspired loads of new products like Jolly Rancher Bites Awesome Twosome, sour candy flavours, drink mixes, and even scented candles! Our must-have favourites include the Jolly Rancher Gummies Misfits line and the retro candy hit, the Jolly Rancher Cinnamon Fire Hard Candy!
FUN FACT: Since 2014, the Jolly Rancher branded candy has been exclusively manufactured right in our backyard in the Granby, Quebec Hershey's plant!
Keep on this sweet candy ride!
Keep them on the neverending deliciousness of the candy wheel with these popular candy brands.
Stay tuned for more of the most iconic candy brands we love as we continue this sweet journey for National Candy Month...