3 ms·

It's so sad that in the USA candy is dominated by handful of brands that produce more or less the same limited range of cloyingly sweet and uninteresting confec

It's so sad that in the USA candy is dominated by handful of brands that produce more or less the same limited range of cloyingly sweet and uninteresting confections of nougat, caramel, cheap chocolate, nuts, and a few other things. I find it impossible to believe that this "sameness" is what people really want. I suspect candy vendors have specifically conditioned the candy market in much the same way as the film industry has conditioned audiences into go to see mass-market films-- endless re-hashes of the same stuff, endless sequels, formulaic plots, god forbid an edgy wildly different film gets out every once in a while. Things are different in most European and Asian countries where you can easily find a mind-blowing variety of candies that are truly distinct from each other. That reminds me, there's a fun book of essays, Candy Freak (https://www.amazon.com/Candyfreak-Journey-through-Chocolate-Underbelly/dp/0156032937 https://www.amazon.com/Candyfreak-Journey-through-Chocolate-...) which is all about the vanishing fringe candy makers in the USA.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
The awful chocolate! Oh the humanity. Its like a brown candle - mostly wax, flavorless. Done that way so it won't melt on the way to the store in an un-refrigerated truck. Once you try proper chocolate (I recommend Winans', http://www.winanscoralville.com/ http://www.winanscoralville.com/), a grocery-store candy bar becomes inedible. I don't want them in my mouth. Its that different.
gwbas1c 6y ago
> Things are different in most European and Asian countries where you can easily find a mind-blowing variety of candies that are truly distinct from each other. Uhm, in the US it's pretty easy to find boutique candy stores with a very wide variety. Even in grocery stores, the candy isle has quite a bit to choose from. Don't conflate what's presented in the checkout rack, for impulse purchases, with the wider variety of what's available.
nicbou 6y ago
That doesn't ring true for me. Germany has Haribo and paprika-flavoured stuff. Everything else is a side show. Central Asia has pretty much only Mars products.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago

The awful chocolate! Oh the humanity. Its like a brown candle - mostly wax, flavorless. Done that way so it won't melt on the way to the store in an un-refrigerated truck. Once you try proper chocolate (I recommend Winans', http://www.winanscoralville.com/ http://www.winanscoralville.com/), a grocery-store candy bar becomes inedible. I don't want them in my mouth. Its that different.

gwbas1c 6y ago

> Things are different in most European and Asian countries where you can easily find a mind-blowing variety of candies that are truly distinct from each other. Uhm, in the US it's pretty easy to find boutique candy stores with a very wide variety. Even in grocery stores, the candy isle has quite a bit to choose from. Don't conflate what's presented in the checkout rack, for impulse purchases, with the wider variety of what's available.

nicbou 6y ago

That doesn't ring true for me. Germany has Haribo and paprika-flavoured stuff. Everything else is a side show. Central Asia has pretty much only Mars products.