Junk Fud and You - Candy Brands and Stores I Don't Mess With

 I answer the question, is there any candy brands or candy stores that I just won't deal with?

A New Popcorn Name Might Pop Up

 When it comes to names of popcorn brands, I love a good pun. Not every brand manages to come up with a great pun, I’m looking at your Orville Redenbacher, but there are so many great names for popcorn brands that I figured it was well worth sharing my favourites. A good name can easily influence me to buy a particular popcorn, although my go to is Orville Redenbacher (it’s a bit of a contradiction I know). However, if a really clever name comes up I’ll at the very least give it a try.

Probably the most popular brand of popcorn with a fairly clever name is Pop Secret. The brand is so popular that I feel like the pun in the name is lost on most people. It’s even possible that you didn’t even think about it until reading this very article, but Pop Secret is a really clever name. I wonder if the early marketing for Pop Secret involved some kind of secret butter recipe, or maybe a top secret type of corn was being used. Either way it’s a solid pun for a popcorn brand.

I came across this Pop Star brand of popcorn, and I must say it’s also a pretty solid pun. It’s a little off track because I feel like pop stars are more about music, and people don’t really associate music and popcorn consumption. Maybe that the angle the Pop Star popcorn people thought they could exploit. Maybe people are eating popcorn at concerts, and I’m just not aware of it.

Mr Popgun is a slightly clever name for popcorn, but I’ll be honest, I think the package might be considered a little politically incorrect. I will also be honest and say that I did buy some of this popcorn because I found the package to be so politically incorrect, and the popcorn was really good. I assume the “popgun” is in reference to the toy guns that often shoot a small cork attached to a string out the muzzle. 

This Mr Bop popcorn is a bit of a conundrum. I feel like they’re trying to make some kind of pun, but I don’t really know what that pun is supposed to be. Maybe in some parts of the world the onomatopoeia for the sound popcorn makes is “bop” and not “pop”. Although that would mean you’re eating bopcorn and not popcorn. The marketing behind this brand is a little confusing, but I feel like there’s at least an attempt to make it fun.

While writing this article I was trying to come up with some good pun names that have not been used yet for popcorn. I decided to ask Allison and she instantly came up with one that was so good that I just gave up trying to come up with my own. She suggested that you use a military theme and just call it Colonel Kernel. I have to be honest, that might be better than Pop Secret, and it’s much better than all of the rest. So if any popcorn brand wants to use Colonel Kernel as a popcorn brand name, be my guest, I just ask that you send me some, I like the extra butter variety.

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The Most Reviewed Brands

 It should be noted that while I've reviewed these brands the most, that doesn't mean that they're the best. Although each of these brands make some pretty good treats.

It's a New Episode Of Junk Fud and You - Candy Brands You Might Not Know

I had a really hard time making this list. It's not that I didn't know about these brands, I was just worried I would insult other candy experts by pointing out brands they already knew about and assumed that they didn't. I hope you're not insulted if you know every brand on this list, or if I missed one that you think should be on here.

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Hidden Treasures Of Europe

Many European candy companies sell their treats all over the world. Some have become so popular overseas that people don't even know that they're European (that's a future article coming next week). While it seems like you can get just about everything in North America, there are a few European hidden treasures that are difficult or even impossible to find in the US or Canada. You might be able to hunt them down online, or at a few import candy stores, but for the most part these candies are completely unknown to those of us in North America.

Well I'm here to help you out. Below is a list of European candy that's not very common in American or Canadian stores, but well worth your time to search out. You might have to fly to Europe to find them, but frankly I think it's totally worth it.

Manner "Original Neapolitaner"
Made By: Manner
Originated In: Austria

I've heard a story that Arnold Schwarzenegger insists on having Manner bars on set when he shoots a movie. If you're in Austria you can pretty much find this bar everywhere. It's so dominant that you're thrown off a little after leaving Austria to find that you don't see them everywhere else in the world. The good news is that this is a seriously good wafer bar, in fact it's one of my favourites and well worth a flight to bite into one.

Click here to read our review.

Fazer "Blue"
Made By: Fazer
Originated In: Finland

I lived in Europe for four years, and for three of those years I was obsessed with every single Fazer product. The reason I was only obsessed about them for three of the four years is that I had not heard of them during my first year, so I could only enjoy these amazing chocolate treats for three quarters of my time there. Trust me, it's still a sore spot. I would easily put Fazer against any other chocolate company in the world, I would even say that it would likely beat out many of them.

Click here to read our review.

Lacta
Made By: Kraft (but it wasn't always Kraft)
Originated In: Greece I Think

As I mentioned before, I lived in Europe for four years, the country I lived in was Greece, and I never really gave it much thought when it came to chocolate. This all changed very quickly, and I soon realized that Greece is the home of some of the best chocolate bars in the world today. The Lacta bar is probably one of the most popular, but there are so many others that are its equal in this warm country.

Click here to read  our review.

Fry's Turkish Delight
Made By: Cadbury
Originated In: UK

I can't possibly write an article about European candy without talking about at least one British treat. It's kind of complicated to talk about British treats because they used to all be independently owned, but now Cadbury/Kraft seems to have most of them under their wing. The good news is that many of these treats have retained their original taste and quality even though they're being made by a giant corporation. I have a feeling they do this because the people of England would riot if you dare change any of their treats. I chose the Fry's Turkish Delight as an example because it's a little strange, but still very British.

Click here to read our review.

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