Why Spicy Candy is Always a Popular Treat
| BY JOSH ROTHSTEIN
It seems like wherever you go these days, there’s a new spicy challenge going on. Sure, this typically happens at restaurants with things like ghost pepper hot wings or habanero pizzas, but the spicy craze is also hitting the candy shelves! While spicy candy surely isn’t a new thing, (cinnamon-flavored Red Hots have been around since the early 1930’s) the intensity of these modern-day candy recipes have surely ratcheted up the spice in recent years.
With hit shows on YouTube like First We Feast, and numerous other social media challenges featuring people burning their mouths into oblivion, we can see that this “trend” will likely last for a long time into the foreseeable future. These spicy challenges have countless videos across social media channels that garner millions of views globally. They are particularly popular in the United States with millennials and Gen Z.
You know what else is popular with Gen Z and millennials? You guessed it, it’s CANDY! So we will not be surprised when we find out that spicy candy is going to be a popular treat with consumers for many years to come.
What is some of the best spicy candy available on the market today?
We’re sure glad you asked. We’ve compiled a list of some candy products that will be sure to burn your taste buds into another dimension!
With an almost unimaginable variety of uniquely-flavored candy and snack products available in stores today, you’ll really be able to taste the heat with these selections:
Toe of Satan by Flamethrower Candy Co.
The Toe of Satan is the hottest lollipop ever made! It measures at over 9 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU) on the Scoville scale. This is the international standard for measurement of spiciness or heat that comes from capsaicin in chili peppers and other types of food.
For reference, an average jalapeño is around 2,500 – 8,000. A habanero is typically between 100,000 and 350,000 and the world’s hottest pepper, the Carolina Reaper measures between 1.4 and 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units. Basically, all of this means that at 9 million units on the Scoville scale, the Toe of Satan is one HOT sucker!
If you’re into making viral videos, you could impress your friends and even total strangers by completing the Toe of Satan challenge, this is where you have to keep the sucker in your mouth for five excruciating minutes… We’re not going to do that ourselves, (we’re not that crazy), but many people have certainly tried! If you consider yourself a serious gladiator of spicy food, this sucker definitely should be on your “must-try” list! Pre-order the Toe of Satan with extreme caution here.
Lucas Bomvaso Sweet and Hot Mexican Candy
Mexican candy has been around for a long time. While chocolate consumption and cultivation originated in this area with the Aztecs, it was mixed with spices rather than the sugar we tend to associate with it today. Nevertheless, traditional Mexican candy has a long history in the culture, making it an integral part of Mexico’s heritage.
One popular ingredient in modern Mexican candy, tamarind, actually originates from Asia. This is a sour fruit that is typically mixed with sugar and chili spices to create a unique explosion of flavor. A lot of Mexican candy uses this ingredient today.
Lucas Bomvaso is a sweet and hot candy with the flavor of tamarind and bubble gum. If you can stand the heat, you are rewarded with a piece of sweet bubble gum inside. Este dulce es delicioso! Order your Lucas Bomvaso hot candy here.
Chuao Chocolatier Spicy Maya Dark Chocolate Bar
Speaking of ancient civilizations, Chuao Chocolatiers are masters at creating non-contemporary chocolate flavors with great success. Their Spicy Maya dark chocolate bar is no exception to that rule. This spicy chocolate bar combines a seductive blend of cinnamon, pasilla chile and hot cayenne pepper with dark chocolate for an immaculate flavor that is absolutely unforgettable. You simply must try these if you enjoy spicy food of any kind! These fair-trade certified chocolates can be ordered from our website, here.
Taffy Town Xtreme Hot
Hot taffy??? Now they’ve thought of everything! Taffy Town is known for its extremely soft and chewy delicious taffy. With their Xtreme Hot taffy, they bring flaming hot spice to the world of salt water taffy. This spicy candy burns so good, you’ll be asking for more! Order in 2.5 lb bulk bags here.
Blenheim Hot Ginger Ale – Red Cap
It was about time we included a hot soda on this list. As you know, Redstone Foods isn’t all about candy. We have over 600 craft, glass bottle sodas available for purchase. While some ginger ales claim to be hot, this one is probably the hottest in our lineup. Blenheim delivers a spicy hot soda that is a must-try for people whose taste buds absolutely love a strong ginger flavor. You can order this amazing craft ginger ale here.
Lesters Fixins Buffalo Wing Soda
Lesters Fixins has done it again with this unique, one-of-a-kind soda experience! Their buffalo wing soda tastes, well, exactly like buffalo wings! While this soda is spicy, it is not an over powering experience. Starting off smooth like an orange soda, the after taste kicks in and tastes just like a buffalo chicken wing. Seriously, we don’t know how they do it. If you’re looking for a fun and quirky experience, you can order bottles of this strange soda pop here.
Emerald City Promotions Sriracha Extra Hot Chocolate Bar
This hot, salted sriracha chocolate bar not only has a unique flavor that is memorable, but it is also quite delicious! The combination of chocolate and spice has been around for centuries, but with the signature flavor of Huy Fong Foods’ Sriracha, this dark chocolate bar is an intriguing combination of sweet and spicy! You can order this spicy chocolate bar here.
Hot Tamales Fierce Cinnamon
Hot Tamales may be the most memorable spicy candy for multiple generations. They’ve been around since 1950 and have remained popular to this very day. With so many options for spicy candies in today’s world, Hot Tamales have withstood the test of time. Now they’re even hotter with the Fierce Cinnamon flavor! You can order the Hot Tamales theater box online, here.
Hot Tamales Flavored Marshmallow Peeps
Yeah, you read that right! Now everyone’s favorite marshmallow Easter candy comes in the distinctive cinnamon flavor of Hot Tamales! These marshmallow chicks are the perfect addition to any holiday gift basket. With their bright red color and intense cinnamon flavor, these Peeps are destined to be a hit! Get fired up by ordering these limited-edition Peeps here.
Vidal Spicy Mangos
Vidal spicy mangos are a delicious gummy candy that combines both heat and sweet in one soft and chewy package! The center is made of a sweet mango-flavored gel that is uniquely tantalizing. With just the right combination of tropical fruit flavor and a spicy kick, your customers are bound to love these! Order them here.
De La Rosa Pulparindo Extra Spicy Tamarind Candy
This popular Mexican candy is made from the pulp of dried tamarind, then mixed with sugar, salt and chili spices for a flavor sensation that burns so good you won’t be able to stop eating them! It’s literally got everything you could ever want: sweet, sour, salty, hot and extra spicy for a kick that’s super special. You can order this popular candy from Mexico right here.
Lil Nitro World’s Hottest Gummy Bear
And, last but not least we have the Lil’ Nitro – The World’s Hottest Gummy Bear! This cherry-flavored gummy bear might look innocent enough, but we assure you it is not. This bear is made with the “hellfire” chile extract, which is a flavored oil that measures over 9 million on the Scoville Scale.
Along with the Toe of Satan which we mentioned earlier, it is among the spiciest foods you can purchase in the entire world. Will you be able to bear the heat? (Haha, get it?) If you think you are indeed worthy, you can preorder this mean little bear here.
At Redstone Foods, we always are looking for ways to “spice-up” the candy aisle!
From unique and interesting products that you simply cannot find anywhere else, to spicy candy that could quite possibly burn your taste buds right out of your mouth, we can deliver. Our enormous lineup of over 6,000 different products from all over the world has just about anything you, or your customers could possibly want. We also have a large selection of Mexican candy that is unrivaled. If you would like more information, please give us a call today!
