Chocolate Turtles

There is nothing better than the classic combination of chocolate, caramel, and nuts. This combination is used in a variety of candies and chocolate bars.


Peanuts tend to be the choice nut for candies but in 1916 George Demet created the classic Turtle by adding pecans instead of peanuts in the city of Chicago. Just pecans dipped in chocolate was popular in the 1900's but Demet was the first to trademark this candy combination. It wasn't until 1918 that Turtles got their "turtle" name. A salesman went into the dipping room and pointed out to the dippers that the candy looked just like a turtle.

Today, Turtles are owned by Yildiz Holding and to keep up with demand they use 7,000 tons of chocolate and 13,000 tons of nuts! Not only do they come in their classic form, but they also come with cashews, sea salt caramel, dark almond, and hazelnut varieties!

-SugarPop's Candy

Awesome Candies you will probably never eat again!

Sometimes the best things get discontinued for no reason. Have you ever tried any of these now discontinued or hard to find candies?

1.) Garbage Can-dy
These Garbage Can-dies were quirky and delicious! The package was shaped like little garbage cans and filled with Pez like candies shaped like things you would find in the trashcan; fish bones, shoes, dog toys, and a discarded soda bottle. Garbage Can-dy may be discontinued but we have something just as quirky for you: Sour Flush! Candy powder for dipping comes in a toilet shaped container with a plunger shaped sucker!

2.) BarNone
In 1986 Hershey tried to produce a gourmet chocolate bar before there were any gourmet chocolate bars! They tried combining aspects of all their best selling chocolate bars into one; peanuts, carmel, wafers and of course an over load of chocolate. In 1997 it was discontinued although some hope it will some day make a comeback.

3.) Chicken Dinner Bar 

Fortunately this candy didn't taste anything like chicken and was only a reference to Herbert Hoover's presidential campaign- "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." This candy was a chocolate covered nut roll that remained on shelves for almost 40 years before its original manufacturer was taken over by another. 

4.) Gator Gum 

This gum was introduced in the 1980's and was popular for only a short time and still has a whole legion of fans behind it. Gator gum was tart, to the point that some consumer's complained about it hurting their mouths. Unfortunately its shelf life was short lived, along with other drink companies trying to make gum flavors.  

5.) Tart n' Tiny 

In 1980 Tart n' Tiny by Wonka was hugely popular and their best selling candy. But by 1990 they became discontinued all together. With some luck you can still find a box or two floating around on the internet for sale, but if you happen to get your hands on a box we don't suggest eating the candy. 

Gummy candy!

Here at SugarPop's we don't mess around with our gummy candy! We have more then just your average gummy bears and worms, we have sharks, whales, army men, teeth, brains, chicken feet and much more! Gummy candy has a short and sweet history but it is one of the most popular candies today! 

The first gummy candy was invented by Hans Riegel when he invented the gummy bear during the 1920's. He owned the German candy company Haribo and went on the manufacture the first American gummy candy in 1982. In 1981, another German gummy candy manufacturer under the name of Trolli made the very first gummy worm, which soon became the most popular gummy candy ever made! 

Here is a brief history and some facts about other popular gummy candies!


Bottles
Bottles are sweets in the shape of classic Coca-Cola-style bottles with a cola flavor. They are produced by numerous companies. "Fizzy Blue Bottles", made by Lutti (formerly part of the French division of the Leaf Candy Company, now controlled by a private investment group), are sweets typically found in a pick and mix selection. They are very similar to cola bottle gummies in shape, but blue and pink colored and usually sour. "Blue Bottles", a variation from another company, have small rims around the sides, and are chewier and thicker, with a sweeter taste.

Rings
Ring-shaped gummy candy is often covered in sugar or sour powder. The most common and popular flavor is the peach ring, but other flavors include green apple, melon, blue raspberry, strawberry, and aniseed - although these are typically coated in chocolate. A commonly known producer of gummy rings is Trolli, for which the gummy rings are an important asset.


Red frogs
In Australia, jelly confectionery in the shape of frogs has been very popular since the 1930s. They are colored red or green, although they are usually referred to as "red frogs".

Road kill gummies
In February 2005, following complaints by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Kraft decided to stop production of the controversial Trolli U.S. Road Kill Gummies. The society complained that the products, shaped as partly flattened squirrels, chickens and snakes, would give children an incorrect message on the proper treatment of animals.


Teeth gummies
In Australia, jelly confectionery in the shape of teeth has been very popular since the 1930s. They are colored pink and white, with pink representing the gums and teeth being white. They have a slight minty flavor, similar to mint toothpaste.

How gummy candy is made

Johnnie Ryan soda

Not only do we have a lot (tons actually) of candy but also we have a huge selection of glass-bottled soda! Here at SugarPop’s we defiantly have some sodas that have always been our customer’s favorites and one of them is Johnnie Ryan soda!

This delicious soda comes in a variety of classic flavors: Cream, Cola, Diet Cola, Root beer, Birch beer, Orange, Cherry and Ginger Ale.

 Johnnie Ryan soda has been around since 1935 and is sweetened with 100% pure cane sugar! It all started when three brothers, Walter, Stephen, and John Janik, started Keystone Water Company in their basement of their home located in Niagara Falls, NY. When Coke decided to abandon their multi-flavor line of soft drinks and focus only on Cola, the Janik brothers saw their opportunity. They realized that they already had all the ingredients to make soft drinks and started making a variety of flavors, that’s when they started up their new company; Extra Bottling Company. They called their new bottling and soft drink company Extra Bottling Company because instead of offering the standard seven-ounce bottle they offered ten-ounces so they could give customers more for their money.

Johnnie Ryan soda almost came to an end with a wave of closures for independent regional brands and consumers started to think there was only two types of soft drinks, Pepsi and Coke. Needless to say, the Johnnie Ryan soda weathered this consumer shift and is still making delicious and unique sodas today. The sleek and vintage looking logo and design of the bottle helps set its self apart from any other soda.

So next time you stop in, try out a delicious Johnny Ryan soda!

-SugarPop's soda and candy shop

248 N Main St.

Mooresville, NC 28115

704 499-0959

Chocolate!

We offer a wide variety of chocolate from milk chocolate to dark chocolate, but this delicious treat wasn’t always the way it is now. Chocolate consumption can be dated back to Pre-Columbian Mexico were the Mayans and Aztecs used the beans from the cocoa tree to make a drink called Xocoatll that was bitter and frothy. From 1528 up until 1847, chocolate was not widely accepted and was still made into the frothy bitter drink the Mayans and Aztecs used to consume. In 1847 Fry and Sons created the first “eating chocolate” but also did not attract much attention because the chocolate was still bitter in taste. It wasn’t until Daniel Peter, a famous Swiss chocolatier, experimented with the chocolate and added milk to balance the flavors did it become a huge success. 

Fun fact: White Chocolate really isn’t chocolate! It is made with powder from a Mediterranean evergreen and only has the same consistency as regular chocolate.   

How its made: Luxury chocolate

How its made: Hershey chocolate 

-SugarPop's Candy and Soda shop

248 N Main St Mooresville, NC 28115

(704) 746-3166 

Good & Plenty!

We now know the licorice based candy coated candy as Good & Plenty but it wasn’t always named that! In 1893 the Quaker City Confectionary Company in Philadelphia first produced Good & Plenty under the name of Good & Planty.  It holds the title of being the oldest candy to be branded in the United States! In the 1950’s Good & Plenty got its first commercial advertisement with this commercial!

-SugarPop's Candy and Soda Shop

248 N Main St Mooresville, NC 28115

(704) 746-3166 

Milky Way!

There’s no one who doesn’t know Mar’s Milky Way candy bar, delicious chocolate-malt nougat topped with caramel and covered in milk chocolate! With such a great combination how could you go wrong with this candy?

The Milky Way was first created in 1923 by Frank C. Mars and was named after a popular milkshake, no the Earth’s galaxy!  In 1926 the Milky Way bar was originally sold as a two-piece bar, one with chocolate nougat and one vanilla but was separated 1936 were separated.  The common vanilla nougat Milky Way bar was branded as many different names such as “Forever Yours”, “ Milky Way Dark”, and “Milky Way Midnight”, but now it is simply just Milky Way.

In different countries the Milky Way comes in many different varieties such as Milky Way Crisp rolls in the UK, fruit flavored Milky Ways in Australia and ice cream Milky Way’s that are offered here in the U.S.!

-SugarPop's Candy and Soda shop

-SugarPop's Candy and Soda Shop

248 N Main St Mooresville, NC 28115

(704) 746-3166