Sour Patch Kids facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sour Patch Kids

Owner	Mondelez International
Introduced	1970s (as Mars Men) 1985 (as Sour Patch Kids)

Sour Patch Kids (known as Very Bad Kids in France, and as Maynards Sour Patch Kids in Canada and formerly in the UK) are a brand of soft candy with a coating of invert sugar and sour sugar (a combination of citric acid, tartaric acid, and sugar). The slogans "Sour Then Sweet" and "Sour. Sweet. Gone." refers to the candy's sour-to-sweet taste.

History

Sour Patch Kids were originally created by Frank Galatolie of Jaret International, under the name of Mars Men in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s, Cadbury and the Smeera Blyton Licorice Company of Sweden formed the Allen Candy Company in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to produce them. In 1985 they re-branded to Sour Patch Kids, likely to capitalize on the popularity of Cabbage Patch Kids.

Flavors and colors

• Sour Patch Kids – The original line of Sour Patch Kids included Lime (green), Lemon (yellow), Orange (orange), and “Redberry” or Red Raspberry (red); and starting in 2014, Blue Raspberry (blue).
• UK Sour Patch Kids – Marketed under the name "Maynards Sour Patch Kids". The UK version initially included Lime, Lemon, Orange, and Raspberry, but later added Blackcurrant.
• Sour Patch Exploders – Similar appearance to the original Sour Patch Kids, but with a soft interior. Raspberry Lemonade Rush (pink), Grape Berry Surge (purple), Cherry Berry Bash (red), Apple Strawberry Burst (green).
• Sour Patch Kids Extreme – Similar to the original Sour Patch Kids, but dusted in an extra sour coating. Strawberry (pink), Orange (orange), Pear (green), and Blue Raspberry (blue). They are known as Sour Patch Kids Max in Australia.
• Sour Patch Fruits – The same texture as the original Sour Patch Kids, but shaped as a variety of fruits rather than as kids. Strawberry (pink), Watermelon (pink), Orange (orange), Lemon (yellow), Lime (green), Grape (purple), Cherry (red).
• Sour Patch Kids gum – Sour Patch Kids gum was introduced by Stride in 2014, originally as a Blue Raspberry flavor. Later that year, Redberry, Orange, and Lime flavors were also introduced.
• Sour Patch Watermelon gum – Made by Stride in 2015.
• Sour Patch Kids Extreme gum – Made by Stride. Available in a Blue Raspberry flavor, with a more extreme sour taste than the original gum.
• Sour Patch Kids Berries – The same shape as the original Sour Patch Kids, but come in berry flavors: Blue Raspberry (blue), Grape (purple), Cherry (red), and Strawberry (pink).
• Sour Patch Kids Tropical – Introduced in 2017, these are the same shape as the original Sour Patch Kids, but come in tropical flavors. Passion Fruit (purple), Tropical Twist (orange), Pineapple (white), and Paradise Punch (pink).
• Sour Patch Kids Tricksters – A mix of Sour Patch Kids where the colors don't match the flavors. For example, a blue one might taste like a red one, or an orange one might taste like a blue one.
• Sour Patch Kids Fire – Released in 2018, these are the same shape as the original Sour Patch Kids, but with some heat in the aftertaste. Berry Blaze (Purple), Tropical Flame (Orange), Apple Fever (Green), Angry Watermelon (Red).
• Sour Patch Kids Freeze – Also released in 2018, these are the same shape as the original Sour Patch Kids, but with a surge of cooling. Berry Punch (Blue), Strawberry Daiquiri (Red), Limeade (Lime) and Lemonade (Yellow).
• Sour Patch Kids Heads – Introduced in 2019, these are two times the size of original Sour Patch Kids, and have two flavors in every piece: Pink Lemonade/Blue Raspberry (pink/blue), Peach/Orange (green/orange), and Pineapple/Redberry (yellow/red).
• Sour Patch Kids Crush Fruit Mix - Introduced in 2020, these are the same shape as the original Sour Patch Kids, but feature the Crush soda flavors of orange, grape, strawberry and pineapple.
• Sour Patch Christmas Kids – A package mix only of Cherry (red) and Lime (green) Sour Patch Kids.
• Sour Patch Kids Chillers – Similar to the original Sour Patch Kids, with menthol, they discontinued in 2010. Berry Punch Chiller (Blue), Frozen Lemonade (Yellow), Strawberry Shiver (Red), Frosty Grape (Purple).
• Sour Patch Bunnies – Shaped as rabbits for Easter and in pastel colors. Sour Patch Bunnies have a slightly different taste than the original Sour Patch Kids. Lime (pastel green), Lemon (pastel yellow), Orange (pastel orange), Raspberry (pastel red/pink).
• Sour Patch Kids Soda Popz – A variant of the candy with soda pop-based flavors, Orangeade (orange), Cola (brown), Cherryade (red), Tropical (pink), Apple Fizz (green), available in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
• Zombie Sour Patch Kids – Halloween-themed: Rattling Raspberry (purple) and Ominous Orange (orange) flavors.
• Big Sour Patch Kids – Individually wrapped, larger-sized Sour Patch Kids (5.5g).
• Sour Patch Kids Heads & Bodies – Halloween-themed Sour Patch Kids, available in the UK only.
• Sour Patch Jelly Beans – Easter-themed jelly beans coated in sour sugar. Same flavors as the original Sour Patch Kids.
• Sour Patch Line Ups – String of Sour Patch Kids stuck together. (Called 'Linkz' in Canada)
• Sour Patch Kids Popsicles – Originally came in Lime, Raspberry, and Orange flavors. Later in 2014, Orange was replaced by Blue Raspberry.
• Sour Patch Kids Cereal – a cereal by Post released in late 2018.
• Sour Patch Kids Hearts — Valentine's themed gummies, shaped liked hearts. Strawberry and cherry.
• Sour Patch Kids Conversation Hearts — Valentine's themed hard candy, shaped liked Sweethearts candy, each with a message like "BAE," "OVR IT," and "LOL" on one side and a sour patch kid imprinted on the other side. Flavors are lemon, lime, blue raspberry, red, and orange.
• Sour Patch Lollipops
• Sour Patch Apple
• Sour Patch Cherry
• Sour Patch Peach
• Sour Patch Watermelon
• Sour Patch Blue Raspberry
• Sour Patch Strawberry
• Sour Patch Pineapple
• Sour Patch Grape
• Sour Patch Mango
• Sour Patch Lemon
• Sour Patch Kids "Chips Ahoy! With Sour Patch Kids Candy" (US)
• Sour Patch Kids Ice Cream

Video game

World Gone Sour is a 2011 video game based on Sour Patch Kids. It was developed by Playbrains and published by Capcom. It was released on December 20, 2011, for PC, April 10, 2012, for PlayStation Network and April 11, 2012, for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA).