What are Kids’ Favorite Candy Flavors?
Flavor trends in the confectionery industry are always changing when it comes to the adult market. However, kids’ favorite candy flavors tend to be surprisingly universal, whether the candy in question is an all-natural treat, a gummy concoction, a chewy treat like taffy, or a sweet novelty candy item such as powder or syrup. Even when it comes to sweet variants such as sour flavors, there are certain candy flavors that dominate the market when it comes to kids. So what are these favored childhood treats, and how can knowing what they are be of advantage to a flavorist?
Starting out the list is green apple. Green apple, which can be created with flavor ingredients such as Advanced Biotech’s Natural Ethyl Levulinate, is a sweet but tart treat that can be found in everything from hard candies to jellybeans. It is among the candy types that are most common turned into sour alternatives.
Next up is grape, which can be recreated in candy products using Advanced Biotech’s Natural Methyl Anthranilate. While kids’ love of grape flavor has not changed over the years, the way that flavorists are creating this flavor has. It now has a much more natural flavor, making it perfect for an even wider range of uses than ever before.
In a trend that may be surprising to some, raspberry has overshot both apple and grape in popularity. The sweet, tart, berry flavor of ingredients such as Advanced Biotech’s Natural Raspberry Ketone has even made its way into non-edible confectionery products, such as bubblegum. This booming popularity in raspberry flavor in kids’ candies has been reflected in the fact that many candy companies are now offering raspberry as a basic flavor in fruit flavored candy variety packs.
Next up, in a close race for fourth place, flavorists will find orange and watermelon flavors. While these flavors have always maintained a spot as being among the most desired candy flavors, they have a tendency to fluctuate in popularity.
Perhaps the biggest drawback that flavorists are now finding is that there is not as much room for innovation with orange and watermelon as there are with some other candy flavors. However, choosing flavors within the same family can be a great way to put an innovative twist on these classics. Lemon, lime, and even general citrus flavors can make a great orange alternative, while there are many melon flavors and melon combinations for flavorists to experiment with.
In the number two and number three spots are strawberry and cherry, respectively. The “red” flavors as they are sometimes known are popular for their sweetness. Both classic varieties of cherry and strawberry flavor, as well as the more natural alternatives, such as that provided by Advanced Biotech’s Natural Strawberry Furanone, are big hits among kids.
And what takes up the number one spot in the list of most popular kids’ candy flavors? Not surprisingly, general fruit flavored mixes dominate. Basic fruit mixes, tropical mixes, and other varieties of mixed fruit flavor are fresh, innovative, and a lot of fun. They can be found virtually everywhere in the confectionery industry, too, in treats ranging from lollipops to taffy. And, what makes them appealing to flavorists, there are many different ways to formulate a mixed fruit flavor. It’s not hard to see why they’re number one.