Swedish Fish!

It's rare that a bag of candy leaves SugarPop's without at least one Swedish Fish nestled between various other candies! Swedish fish are hugely popular in the candy scene and for a good reason. Their delicious cherry-esque flavor and sweet aroma has captured many hearts throughout the years, dating back to the late 1950's.

Swedish Fish first arrived in the states around the late 1950's as an import from the Swedish confectionery company Malaco. While Swedish Fish is considered a gummy candy, it is very different from the usual gummies one is used to eating. Swedish Fish contains no gelatin and is actually a wine gum candy (it doesn't actually contain wine), that is where its denseness comes from and it makes it a wholly vegetarian candy! After its debut in the states it became fully accepted into the candy scene between the 1960-1970's.

There has been much debate over what a Swedish Fish "Original red" flavor actually is. It has a very aromatic cherry smell upon first opening up a jar or bag filled with these treats and the tastes can go from cherry to raspberry, fruit punch or even lingonberry! Not even the candy company who produces Swedish Fish can tell consumers what the actual flavor is because it is a special flavor specifically crafted for Swedish Fish. Cadbury currently owns and distributes Swedish Fish in the U.S and produce the original red flavor, green, yellow, orange, and purple. 7,000 metric tons of Swedish Fish are produced each year, that could approximate to 1,929 orca whales!

In Sweden you can find a Swedish Fish called salmaik which is a salty black licorice flavor that is hugely popular and can be found almost anywhere in Sweden. In 2009 Rita's Italian Ice company released a Swedish Fish flavor that was hugely popular in the United States!

-SugarPop's Candy

248 North Main St.

Mooresville, NC 28115(704) 799-0959

Nerds!

According to Laurnie Wilson, "Some say that [Nerds were] named after a reference in the Dr. Seuss Book, If I Ran the Zoo, where a 'nerd' is mentioned as one of the creatures the narrator would collect for his zoo." Nerds are crunchy, sour, sweet and bright! Kids love this box full of treats because of the bright colors and delicious flavors. They were launched in 1983 by Angelo Farggos of the Nestle candy company and by 1985 they were voted "Candy of the Year" by the National Candy Wholesalers Association.
Nerds were very popular in the 1980s but had big competitors like Pop Rocks, Candy Buttons, and Mike and Ike's. They were generally, and still are today, sold in one box with two separate chambers to hold two different flavors of nerds. In the UK they once sold Nerds in a box with three separate chambers with a strawberry cola flavor that the United States never got to distribute. Nerds is a unique candy in its shape, size, and flavor but had a close cousin called Dweebs. Dweebs were slightly larger then an average Nerd, less sour, and were sold in three different flavors in one box; Dweebs only lasted a short time on the market. Nerds also tried to take off in the cereal market by creating a Nerd Cereal that came packaged just like the candy. Two separate cereal flavors in one box and it even came with a mail-in coupon to receive a nerds cereal bowl that you could separate your cereal into! Unfortunately, this cereal did not last long and is now discontinued.

This iconic candy comes in many flavors and forms! The most popular are the nerd boxes with these current flavors:

• Strawberry and Grape (Pink and Purple)
• Wild Cherry and Watermelon (orange or red and green)
• Double Dipped Lemonade-Wild Cherry and Apple-Watermelon (red and yellow)
• Sour-Lightning Lemon and Amped Apple (yellow and light green) 
• Surf n' Turf- Totally Tropical Punch and Road Rash Raspberry (red and blue) 
• Wildberry and Peach (blue and orange) 
• Wildberry and Punch and Watermelon (Green and Blue) 

Nerds has also morphed into different and just as unique products such as:

• Sour Nerds
• Nerds Rope- The factory makes about 60 miles of Nerd Ropes each day! 
• Rainbow Nerds
• Jumbo Nerds
• Nerds Gum ball 
• Theme Nerds
• Nerds Cereal 
• Techno-nerds
• Nerd Gum 
• Dweebs 
• Neon nerds- now only sold in Australia and New Zealand 
• Nerd Jelly Beans
• Wonkalate- A UK only chocolate bar that is purple in color and contains snozzberry flavored Nerds. 

See how Nerd Ropes are made! 

Wilson, Laurnie. "Candy Favorites – Wholesale Candy & Bulk Candy Suppliers Since 1927." A Nerd-tastic History. Candy Favorites, 1, Feb.2015.

SugarPop's Candy and Soda 
248 N. Main Street
Historic Downtown
Mooresville, Nc
28117
704-799-0959