The Stories I Don't Understand

 One of the interesting things about how candy is marketed involves stories. Candy is a little different than many food items in that one of the big selling points to candy is often the story that goes with it. That story could centre around a popular slogan like "bet you can't eat just one", "take a break" or "sometimes you feel like a nut". Sometimes that story can be based on mascots, for example the M&M's guys, the Sour Patch Kids or the Tootsie Rolls Owl. While many of these brands may not have started with the mascots or slogans we now know, in many ways these marketing ideas have become part of the treat itself now. There is one thing about marketing like this that can become problematic, and that's international shoppers.

It's very possible or I would even say likely that there are several people who have read the slogans or list of candy mascots I've just listed above and have no idea what I'm talking about. While these slogans and characters are well known where I grew up, in the time I grew up, there are many people who fall outside of that circle. One of the things about having a website where you taste test candies from all over the world is that you're often given treats that have slogans or mascots that just don't make any sense, that have cultural touchpoints that fall out of my circle.

I'm sure if you grew up with these slogans or mascots you would have the cultural and historical context to make sense of them, but for someone who's outside of your bubble, it's confusing. Don't get me wrong, I now know that many of my candy and snack mascots and slogans are weird, but at one point I didn't. If this is a little confusing to you, let me suggest an example, or actually two Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar. 

When I wrote those two names, there were a group of mostly British people who don't really understand where this is going. That is because these two characters are British mascots for the sweet treats sold at Marks and Spencer stores in the UK. There are a few Marks and Spencer stores outside of the UK too that sell these character themed snacks, but let's assume that people who buy them outside of the UK either don't know who they are or maybe lived in the UK for a while and have grown to love them.

While they're not offensive mascots by any means, objectively they're a little weird. From what I can tell Percy Pig came from some gummy pigs that Marks and Spencer have been selling for many years now. Why they're pigs and not other farm animals doesn't make any sense to me. Colin the Caterpillar makes even less sense to me as I can't really figure out where his origins come from. My only guess, since most of the products featuring him are baked, is that he was once features in a cake form. I'm not really sure why you'd want to eat a giant caterpillar cake in the first place, but who am I to judge.

Objectively these two characters really shouldn't be as popular as they are in England. I imagine that most British kids and many adults of a certain age would know exactly what you where talking about if you said Percy Pig or Colin the Caterpillar. The strange thing is that unlike characters from television shows or books, these characters seem to be based on sweet treats. As an outsider I can't for the life of me figure out how their origin story (either fictional or real) might have come up.

Every time I walk into a Marks and Spencer food section I'm slightly baffled by all of the different candy and treat choices featuring these characters. Why did they become so popular, how good are those gummies (review coming soon) or that cake. It's really a confusing thing that while I accept on the surface, it confuses me when I think about it.

The thing is, I realize that I too have characters and slogans embedded in my cultural history that British kids just don't understand. I can't see them because they're just part of who I am. One of the great things about the candy world is that even if you don't understand what's going on, you can still try and enjoy it. If you enjoy it enough you can do the research and maybe become a fan. I can tell you that becoming a fan of another cultures treats or snacks can be hugely rewarding.