Walking The Candy Aisle is a blog about all the awesome chocolate and candy in your local candy aisle. Here you'll find chocolate bar and candy reviews, random musings, pictures, and a lot of fun. We don't take ourselves too seriously here, so join us on our walk down the candy aisle :)
I'm amazed that this exists... but honestly I shouldn't be.
Only in Canada would something like this be made. It's pretty funny to see how regional changes can affect the way companies market, or distribute their products but it seems rare for a big company to make a whole new product that will only appeal to a specific demographic. This definitely reminds me of the Twizzlers Skates I reviewed a while back.
Then again, Canada is a pretty big place and I'm sure Hershey does alright here. Why not throw us a bone every now and again. And hey, I know people love hockey in the States too. Just not quite as much as the Canucks. So hockey fans rejoice here is a chocolate just for you!
But guess what? that's not all. PEZ has gotten into the action too!
Does 'Limited Edition' mean only available in Canada? I will say that for some reason despite this display up in the Dollarama here in Toronto, the only actual pez dispensers available were for the Red Wings and the Habs.
You'd think they'd at least have the Maple Leafs ones.... unless of course they had sold out or something. Definitely interesting stuff for all those hockey nuts out there. I hope you can find these in our neck of the woods.
So I was pretty surprised to see this limited edition (?) Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter staring back at me from the aisle in Shoppers Drug Mart this past weekend. I don't think I've ever heard of a Kit Kat Peanut Butter before. And while I know I haven't reviewed it yet on the Candy Aisle, I am a MASSIVE fan of the Chunky line. So needless to say this is very exciting.
To add to the interesting it looks like Nestlé Canada is (or was) having a little vote on their Facebook page - the Kit Kat Chunky Challenge page linked here. You see they actually released two variants on the Chunky bars just before Easter: Peanut Butter and a Hazlenut. Then people were challenged to vote on the best tasting one, presumably that one would stick around while the other went away. Unfortunately thats not how things worked out.
Now I know I'm late to the game on this, but seriously this isn't a candy news blog. The thing is hat there were several reports of people finding bits of plastic in their new Kit Kat Chunky bars.... I know, gross. According to reports the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a warning to consumers, and then Nestlé voluntarily had the products recalled. I believe this affected other countries but I'm finding it hard to confirm that. According to The Grocer blog (which is a very good food and candy news blog btw) Nestlé also recalled some Easter Eggs, and Chunky bars in Chocolate Fudge and Caramel varieties (although I don't know if those variants were sold here in Canada).
Not to worry though my intrepid Kit Kat lovers, check out the page linked here to see the affected product lines and make sure you cross check you next Kit Kat Chunky before eating. I'm pretty sure all the big chain stores would have gotten rid of the bad product by now, but better safe than sorry right.
I definitely would like to try a Kit Kat Peanut Butter, but now I'm a bit nervous. I'll have to make sure the best before dates on it are new before getting one... and even then I expect I'll be a bit squeamish. Its a shame when things like this happen, but at least Nestlé stepped up and did the right thing.
It was back in June and July of last year that I posted about the Extra Desserts gums. I've had some of them and the entire concept fascinates me. While I'm not so sure I want to regularly walk around chewing apple pie flavored gum, I suppose its nice to know that's an actual option.
I was surprised to see a new entry into the Desserts gum scene last week while checking out at Target.
Lemon Squares is a good idea. Not sure why they've dropped the Extra branding in favor of Juicy Fruit, but I'm sure there's some solid marketing behind that... Also hey've changed the name from "Dessert Delights" to "Desserts". Lemon Squares now adds to the already released flavors of Mint Chocolate Chip, Orange Creampop, Apple Pie, Strawberry Shortcake, and Root Beer Float. What other flavors would you like to see them take a crack at? I think Peanut Brittle, Black Forrest Cake, and (if you're Canadian you'll know this one) Nanimo Bars would all be great entries.
Today I thought we'd take some time out of our bust schedule and talk shop a bit about your favorite candy mascots and mine the M&Ms.
Now why it has taken me so long to write a basic post on these iconic mascots is beyond me. Perhaps its all just a bit daunting, I mean when you're talking big league candy mascots they simply get no bigger than the M&Ms. Also the M&Ms have such a history to them, I'm not talking just academically here, I'm talking on a deep personal level I have strong emotions and memories of the M&Ms from my youth. Where do you begin when you're talking about a brand mascot, a whole series of brand mascots who so dominate the playing field that others are, I think, scared to even get out of the gate?
Well, for me I thought I'd talk a bit today about the M&Ms themselves. Why does it even work? You've got a great little chocolate and candy confection, I mean I think we all know plain, or 'milk chocolate' M&Ms as they are now called, are really fantastic, but why do you even think to put arms and a face on them for the marketing? I know there have been a lot of food mascots over the years, heck even Wikipedia lists the Quaker Oats Man going back to 1877, But I have to think it wasn't until Mr Peanut came along in the 30s that people really got to see a mascot that was made of his own product. More often than not you had some associated person, or cuddly cartoon animal hocking your wares, think Toucan Sam, or the Jolly Green Giant. Other than a few exceptions like Twinkie the Kid, or the McNugget Buddies anthropomorphic food trying to get you to eat it (or not in some cases) is generally shied away from.
Now the M&M characters first appeared in the 60s, and I know that this reference wasn't written until 1980 but doesn't the whole thing smack a bit too much like that great scene in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe where they Meet the Meat (watch the clip on YouTube here). This is either some very clever or some very morbid marketing at work. But what really amazes me most is that no one seems to notice it?!
Although there is definitely a weird morbidity to the entire prospect, the awesome thing is that there's no denying how effective these little guys are! I'm not here to regurgitate Wikipedia to you, there is more than enough info there to keep you occupied, but I do want to say that the very fact that these guys exist, and that they are so great at keeping me interested in M&Ms is a real testament to an enduring concept, and some great marketing execution.
And since the late mid 90s these characters have also really evolved into something fascinating that no other candy company can claim. They are unique as candy mascots that are recognized all over the world. they also have distinct personalities, an basic character plot lines in their specific ads. And because (basically) each one is associated with a specific flavor of the candy, fans can have their favorites. People connect with them, and care about them. That is branding gold and something you have to commend.
Some of my fondest memories from being a kid are browsing through my comic books, or flipping the tv on and watching the great advertising. Seriously, I really have always loved good advertizing. And M&M ads were, and still are always a ton of fun.
Next time we'll get more into the advertizing specifically, but I thought it best to start with the real heart of the ads first. These guys are what makes the M&M ads tick, and I'm very glad they're around.
We've got a bit of a weird one for you today, have a look at Nestlé's elusive Crunch Crisp.
Walking the Candy Aisle rates the Crunch Crisp - 4 / 5
For more on all things Nestlé and specifically Crunch please check out their online presence at http://www.nestlecrunch.com/. And for more reviews covering the gamut of chocolates and candy, please visit our Reviews Page for a list of everything we've covered here on the Candy Aisle.
Thanks again for joining Walking the Candy Aisle this year for all of our Easter reviews. I started this blog last year just before Easter time mainly because of all the great candy I was seeing down the aisle and I'm glad to be able to continue bringing my thoughts on these delicious treats to you.
In case you missed any of the 2013 coverage here are links through to all of this years Easter reviews!
And if that's not enough, just head over to our YouTube Page for the Easter Playlist to get all of this year and last years reviews in one handy place. Regular new candy and chocolate reviews continue here posting every Friday. Additionally I'll be trying my best to get you at least one other blog post every Tuesday. Stay with us here at WTCA, there's a lot more fun to come :)
Skittles is a Wrigley (ne Mars) product, please find out more about them and Darkside specifically at http://www.skittles.com/ For more Skittles reviews or any others, please check out our Reviews page.
This is definitely one to pass on, it just got more and more plastic tasting as I ate it.
For more on Falize you can check out my previous review for the Falize Caramel Egg.As I've mentioned before this company just does not seem to have an online presence.As always for more reviews feel free to check out the Reviews Page. I'll be back tomorrow with the standard Friday review.
Well, Easter may be over but we've got one more bonus Easter review for you today. We're actually going to have a look at the one and only Kinder Surprise.
and part 2 showing the toy!
Walking the Candy Aisle rates Kinder Surprise - 4 / 5
Now I should make it clear, I am really no huge Kinder expert, but I like the egg, and this review was really based for the most part on the chocolate, and the presentation / packaging etc; but NOT on the specific toy included. The fact that they are pretty much uniformly cool toys is a bonus though.
Kinder as I said, is a Ferrero product, but you can find more about them at their online presence - . And for more reviews please head on over to our Reviews Page, or feel freel to just browse the Easter Candy Playlist on YouTube. Expect an Easter wrap up post later this week. until then, don;t forget to check the aisle for some remainders :)
