Smarties (Ce De Candy)

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This article is about the American sugar candy. For the European chocolate candy, see Smarties (Nestlé).

A Smarties wrapper containing the candy.

In the United States, Smarties are a type of artificially fruit-flavored candy produced by Ce De Candy, Inc.. They are marketed in Canada under the brand name Rockets, to avoid confusion with Nestlé Smarties. The original product is the English Fizzers from Swizzels Matlow. In 1949, the brother of the chairman of Swizzels Matlow travelled to the US and established Ce De Candy.

The candies bear a strong resemblance to tablet-style pills in shape and texture. One individual candy is in the shape of a cylinder with a diameter of roughly 1 cm and a height of roughly 4 mm. Larger ones have a diameter of 2.5 cm and are about 6 mm thick. Both sizes are double concave. There are 25 calories and 6 grams of sugar in a roll of Smarties.[1] Ingredients include: dextrose (may contain corn syrup solids and/or maltodextrin), citric acid, calcium stearate, artificial flavors, colors.

Smarties come in assorted combinations of colors within their wrapped tubes. These include white and pastels yellow, pink, orange, purple and green. Each color's flavor is slightly different. They are usually packaged as a roll of candies wrapped in cellophane. Because each package is small and inexpensive, they are often bought in bulk for occasions such as parties or Halloween.

[edit] Flavors and tastes

An array of different colored Smarties.

Ce De Candy produces "extreme sour" and "tropical" varieties of Smarties. They also manufacture a Smarties gum, which is shaped like the candy, but has a different texture.

Comparison of USA vs Canadian produced Smarties.

Smarties produced by Ce De Candy's Union Township, Union County, New Jersey plant have a slightly different taste than the ones that are produced by their Newmarket, Ontario plant. The Canadian ones generally taste stronger, with more noticeable differences between the various color flavors.^{[citation needed]} The Canadian candies (branded as Rockets) say "Made in Canada" on the label at the ends after the list of ingredients. Canadian made Smarties are also imported into the US - typically, these Canadian Smarties are most commonly seen in the U.S. around Halloween, likely imported only when the US production is not sufficient for demand. These actually say "Made in Canada" under one of the main Smarties logos on the wrapper. Upon close inspection, these Canadian made Smarties have a slightly smoother look to them than US production - the US produced ones tend to have more colored "specks" present in them.

Ce De Candy's Canadian plant also produces varietal Smarties flavors and sizes, such as the "extreme sour" flavor as well as "candy money" which are larger tablets with monetary amounts etched into them.[2] A new variety of Smarties, in which each piece is roughly the size of an American or Canadian quarter, are sold in single rolls. Although labeled simply as "Smarties", the candies are referred to as "Mega Smarties" by distributors and merchants.