Sour Patch Kids are a soft candy with a coating of sour sugar created by Paul Mihalick. When sour confectionery was first introduced it was not considered a serious product category, more of a children's fad. Success, however, rocketed it into the mainstream. One of the driving forces behind the brand's growth was its success in cinemas, and even now it is a staple for moviegoers. Today Sour Patch Kids is a top selling sour brand in the North American marketplace. There are many different flavors, including regular, Watermelon, Fruits, Cherry, Peach, Blue Raspberry, Xploders, and Extreme. The Sour Patch Christmas Kids, which are only sold around Christmas time, have been discontinued.[1]
Many Sour Patch Kids flavors are identical to those of the Swedish Fish gummy candy, except that the Sour Patch Kids are covered in sour "sand". An identical formula is used to produce like-colored varieties of both candies by their manufacturer, Cadbury Adams.
They contain no gelatin, which makes them suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
In the U.S. market, Sour Patch candies come in a variety of sizes, including individual candies sold in boxes, as well as 2 oz, 5 oz, 8 oz, 14 oz, and 32 oz bags. A bulk, commercial range is also offered for candy stores. In Canada, the candies are available in sizes including 55 g, 250 g, and a 1 kg bulk commercial package.
Sour Patch products are produced by Cadbury Adams, a subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes, at a factory located in Hamilton, Ontario. This location offers quick access to the United States marketplace. New flavors and line extensions are produced at the Ewen Road facility, also located in Hamilton.
Under Cadbury Schweppes ownership, the distribution of Sour Patch products is growing greatly. Sour Patch Kids are the top selling candy for Cadbury Schweppes. The candies are currently available throughout the United States, Canada, and some areas of Western Europe. The products enjoy particularly strong success along the U.S. East Coast, and in the New York City metropolitan market, where the original Sour Patch candies were first introduced.
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Originally, Sour Patch Kids were sold under the name Mars Men, as little aliens, sold for 1¢. The product was inspired by UFO sightings.
The process creating the sour-coated soft candy was developed in the late 1970s, and Mars Men the first candy to be tested with it. It is believed that Paul Mihalick, then national sales manager of a distributor called Jaret, came up with the idea of sour products in soft confectionery and developed the candy by having Canadian manufacturing colleagues experiment with regular gummy products and adding a coating of sour sanding. This new product was then named Sour Patch Kids for the US, in 1985 through Jaret. Also playing a big part in the development of the company was co-founder Don Brown.
The Allan Candy Company in Hamilton, Ontario, was chosen to produce Sour Patch Kids, offering quick access to the US marketplace and the advantage of world sugar prices. They continued development of the candy in their Ewen Road facility in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[2]
In 1995, Cadbury Schweppes purchased Allan Candy and the Sour Patch trademark in Canada. In 1997, Cadbury Schweppes purchased Jaret International and the Sour Patch trademark in the United States.
| Serving Size (40g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|
| Calories 140 | |
| Total Fat 0 g | 0% |
| Sodium 25 mg | 1% |
| Total Carbohydrate 36 g | 12% |
| Sugars 26 g | |
| Protein 0 g |
In 2006, Sour Patch Kids became the main sponsor for ABC Family's hit show Kyle XY. As a result, product placement of the candies is seen in each new episode of this show.
Also in 2007 Sour Patch Kids came out with a Slurpee that was featured at 7-Eleven.