R: 9 / I: 2candy discussion
Revive the complacent world of candy by discussing and sharing your favorites - hidden gems or underappreciated classics, foreign or domestic, gummy, chocolate, or something else entirely, anything goes.
I have lamented before that it often feels as if all the big candy bars were invented decades ago and that innovation has greatly slowed down these days, especially in the chocolate bar world. One realization I had recently was that there are still people out there trying new things at a mass-production level - it's just that these ideas always get funneled into being a spin-off of an existing candy, for marketing purposes. For example, we're not getting new bite-size chocolate candies ala M&Ms, but we are regularly getting new "flavors" of M&Ms. I still think this is less delightful than an aisle full of products that feel truly distinct, but things could be worse.
You can always go to local candymakers for out-there flavors or ingredients (the quality will be much better too), but there are some unique candies that are probably only really feasible at mass-production scale. I'd love for both to succeed and continue making interesting new candy!
Hell, even bars that had their own name for many years (and still managed to hold their own in the candy aisle) are being bought up and rebranded as spin-off candies. The candy bar formerly known as "Take 5" is now "Reese's Take 5", complete with an orange-wrapper makeover. This makes the bar blend in with all the other Reese's variations on the shelf, and I honestly had no idea it was in there until I looked closer the other week.
Anyway, apparently picrel is the biggest upcoming candy launch, should be in stores Feb '25 - Reese's pieces bark. Would you try it?
