Know Your Obscure Halloween Candy: SweeTarts

With Halloween coming soon, that means only one thing really: candy.

Anyone who trick-or-treated as a child knows that there's always one or two houses that dish out some obscure candy. So, between now and October 31st, we'll take quick looks at obscure candies (and some popular ones as well), just so you know what exactly you're getting yourself into.


Today:  SweeTarts


What it's made of:  dextrose, maltodextrin, malic acid, calcium stearate, natural flavors, a whole lot of artificial coloring, and the approval of moms everywhere.


Who owns it:  Nestlé, under the Willy Wonka Candy Company banner.


Background: The world can change on a dime when soccer moms become irked. This explains how SweeTarts were born.

In the 1940s, a company in that candy capital of Salt Lake City created Lik-M-Aid, which was originally supposed to be a powdered drink mix. (Think: Kool-Aid--except Kool-Aid was actually created 15 years before Lik-M-Aid.) The creator, J. Fish Smith, realized children just wanted to eat the powdery mixture instead of making drinks with it (so classy!), so Smith marketed his creation as a new candy instead.

The candy for classy kids.

Fast forward to the 1950s, and an affiliated company of Smith's wanted to market Lik-M-Aid nationally in a new style. Lik-M-Aid was placed in a straw--and Pixy Stix were born as a result. Lik-M-Aid didn't disappear, though. The same sugary concoction was branded as Fun Dip, putting two flavors into individual packets and offering a lickable stick to dip into the packets.

Lik-M-Aid after a makeover. So sleek and sexy!

In a surprise to no one, small children aren't the most adept at managing granular products without making a mess. By the 1960s, soccer moms became fed up at cleaning up after their children's addiction to crank  coke  sugar, and they complained en masse to the manufacturer. Mothers wanted the same flavored product in a less messy form. And that, my friend, is why SweeTarts were created. They are Pixy Stix in a solidified tablet form.

Ticked off moms can change the world. Now if only they'd focus on international diplomacy.


What it tastes like:  The stone cold grandchild of a fruit drink.


Halloween Trick-or-Treat Grade:  B+

Whereas you can look like a hobo on a bender after you down a half dozen Pixy Stix, you lose that debonair look with a SweeTart.