Sweet Fruity Review

I wonder why certain fruits are more prevalent than other fruits when it comes to candy.  Stranger still is I often find that local fruits are more common in candy than foreign fruits.  I think this is strange because candies are a great way to export fruity flavours without worrying about spoilage.  So why don't more candy companies use this to their advantage and produce strange and exotic flavours that people can't find in their grocery store?

Click here to read today's newest fruity review.

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Wednesday's Candy Links

I don't normally post recipes, but I couldn't resist Unicorn Poop.

Mental Floss answers the question "If You Can’t Smell, Can You Taste?"

Two reasons I'm posting this link, first of all it could mean that imported treats might become cheaper, secondly it includes the words "duty" and "confectionery" in the headline.

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Wednesday's Candy Links

Learn all about Zoe's Chocolate in Washington.

I don't always like to talk about economy and trade, but here's an interesting look at how Pennsylvania and West Africa are linked through chocolate.

The new Sour Patch Kids game from Capcom looks tasty and fun.

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Candy Store Tips - Candy Import Pricing

For many years now I've been lucky enough to explore candy stores all over the world.  I've seen the worst and I've seen the best.  Now, each week, I'm going to give you a tip that will help you know instantly how good any candy store you walk into might be.  This is also useful if you happen to own a candy store as well, follow these tips and customers will notice.

Many people assume that when I go into a candy store I spend a fortune.  Fact is I'm very picky about what I pay for my treats, and I'll walk away from a treat I'm dying to try if it's unreasonably priced.  When I go into a candy store I pay attention to prices and I would never suggest a store with over inflated pricing.  Having said that I understand that some candy is more expensive than other candy.  Imports are the most notable expensive candy that I'll often invest some money into.  A good candy store will mark their imports well, but to be sure, if you see a really expensive bar and you think it's an import read the package to be sure.  Many candy companies have started to manufacture some treats overseas because their import market was so big.  Pocky is now available as well as some British chocolate bars for a reasonable price in parts of North America.  That being said some classic bars, like Kit Kat, are made differently all over the world, and are worth a premium to taste the difference.

I'd like to thank the beautiful Snyder's Candy for providing photos for this article.

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Shreddies

Since this is my first time living away from Canada for a long period of time I wasn't really sure what I might miss.  Allison and I have this running joke about missing Shreddies (a Canadian cereal).  This was something she missed when she moved to Japan for a few years.  So whenever we talk about missing something, we always reply with Shreddies.  It's even on our list of things we hope people bring us when they visit.  The thing is, when I'm in Canada I don't really eat Shreddies all that much, so I figured it represented a symbol more than any kind of reality.

Well one of our friends pulled through for us, and got us two boxes of Shreddies.  It was great, and very thoughtful   The other day I pored myself a bowl and figured I would enjoy them while I had them, and do you know what happened?  I started to feel better when I ate them, I started to remember all the nice things about Canada.  I'm now deathly afraid of running out of Shreddies.

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Where Are Your Cookies Made?

For that matter, where are your candies made, or your chips, or anything you eat.  Other than produce, how often do you even pay attention to where your food comes from.  The folks at Friends Eat made a startling discovery about Chips Ahoy the "American Summer Cookie".

Click here to find out what they learned.

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If You Live In Sudan, I Have Some Bad Candy News For You

The government of Sudan has decided to block certain items from coming into the country for reasons of austerity.  Now I won't lie and tell you that I completely understand how this works, but if you're in Sudan, I'm sorry.

Click here to read more.

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Roundup Of Nestle Christmas Products

Many people simply assume that candy and treats all over the world are pretty much the same, I have some news for those people, they're wrong.  I've traveled all over the world and I'm often surprised by the new treats I find that are considered common in some places but not in others.  Even more interesting are the treats that I don't find in certain countries that to me seem like common every day things.  Trying to find a Dairy Milk Bar here in Athens is impossible.  A 5th Avenue Bar in Canada is available, but not that common at all.  In Japan and the US you'll be hard pressed to find an Oh Henry Bar ever.  If you want some more examples, check out this list of Nestle treats that are exclusive in certain countries for the holidays.  You can also find out a little back story as to why they're only available there too.

Click here to check out the list.

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Cadbury Is Coming Back to Israel

Apparently in 2002 Cadbury attempted to enter the market in Israel but failed.  I guess with Kraft at the helm and a strong performance on bringing in some gum products they've decided that they might try it again in 2012. I'm glad they're trying to expand, it's one of the good points that I feel the Cadbury/Kraft merger can really build on.  Hopefully Cadbury will continue distributing a high quality product to all kinds of new places, like the USA... or Greece maybe?

Click here to read more about Israel.

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The Future of Global Treats Looks Good

BBC has a great article all about some of the small technological feats and ideas that have helped shape a new global food industry.  By example, you can now order chocolates from India have them shipped to the US and not have to worry about them being melted when they arrive.  This is in part to advances in packaging technology and also in the way we ship things around the world.  It's a pretty amazing thing, take advantage and try to order a treat from someplace exotic.

Click here to read more.

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What In The World Is "Krembo"?

I just read an article talking about how "Krembo" wasn't the same as it used to be and now it's available in all different varieties as well as qualities.  That got me thinking... What the heck is "Krembo".  I did a little searching and learned that it is some kind of marshmallow treat covered in chocolate.  And people tell me that I'm going to run out of candies to discover.

Click here to read more about Krembo.

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Candy Fusion

I'm sure you've heard the expression "fusion" before in regular cooking, it's when two styles of cooking mix together in order to create a super dish. Well "candy fusion" is pretty much the same thing, however it seems to happen less often. That's why whenever I read about an industrious candy maker fusing two types of treats together I get excited. In the case from the article below it's classic chocolate making and Indian spices fused together. It sounds wonderful.

Click here to read the article.

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Politics and Candy

In the past I never really gave much thought into the amount of politics that goes into candy. When I say politics I mean the amount that candy companies have to deal with government policies and taxes in order to stay in business. The few times I've had to send candy over borders and the many times I've received candy over borders has shown me what can really happen to people just trying to do business.

Click here to learn about a problem shipping candy to Mexico.

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Nestle Investing In Africa

When I first started reading this story I thought that it was all about expanding factories and manufacturing in Africa and I thought it was one of those "cheap labor" type situations. Then I read further and it appears that they're also expanding distribution in Africa as well. That's great, because it shows that companies are learning that other places can consume as well as create.

Click here to read more.

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Cadbury In Israel

My two favorite bits of candy news that I read are either about small candy shops being successful or new treats crossing borders into new lands. Both put a huge smile on my face.

Click here to read about Cadbury venturing into Israel.

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You Might Start Seeing Fannie May In More Places

The news that Fannie May is going to start allowing franchises may at first appear to be nothing that important for non-business candy types. However this news means that anybody who has a good place for a shop and a few bucks in their pocket can sell Fannie May chocolates. That means that you might start seeing stores pop up in states (and maybe countries) that they've never been seen before.

Click here to read more.

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Callebauts Chocolate is Expanding

One of the little secrets here in Canada is Callebaut's chocolate. The problem is before now it's really only been available in a local market. That's fine if you live there, but annoying if you don't. Apparently they plan to expand, unfortunetly they also have to change the recipe in order to allow for this expansion. I'm both worried and excited.

Click here to read more about the expansion.

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The Candy Market Is A Changing

It seems I've been reading more and more articles about small candy companies being bought up by larger candy companies. Expansion into the international market is becoming a big topic for candy companies. It's great to see that the candies from all over the world are starting to become available, however I fear that many of these candies will start to lose quality as well as start to focus on pleasing the global market instead of introducing their treats as is.

Click here to read about a candy company purchase.

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Don't get me wrong, I love the folks at Hershey's. They're good to me and I often enjoy many of their products. I just don't understand the logic behind their latest (possible) plan. They're doing well financially, so they're going to change things.

Click here to read how they plan to do this.

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Chinese Milk Should Be OK

The FDA has lifted or at the very least lightened its ban on milk products coming from China. The ban started in 2008 because of a tainted food scare. Soon we'll have all kinds of cool Chinese treats to eat once again, and that makes me happy.

Click here to read more.

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