Spicy Skittles and Starbursts Are the Latest Wacky Junk Food Trend

By Joanna Fantozzi, Staff Writer

Skittles and Starbursts ‘Sweet Heat’ made with a kick of spice will be available starting December

We already know that sweet and salty go perfectly together (hello, chocolate-covered pretzels and PB&J), but Wrigley candies are being even more experimental with unusual flavor combinations. The newest weird junk food is Sweet Heat Skittles and Starbursts. These spicy candies — which were announced at the National Confectioners Association’s Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago — will be available nationwide starting in December for $.99 a single pack.

“From flavors like honey sriracha to mango chipotle, confectioners and snack manufacturers both are increasingly turning to sweet to balance out hot, spicy or tangy flavors,” Susan Whiteside, vice president of public relations for the National Confectioners Association told Food Business News. “We’ve certainly seen some of that in the candy industry before with Red Hots and Atomic Fireball, but this is taking those flavors to the next level.”

The new spicy Skittles will be available in Fiery Watermelon, Blazin’ Mango, Flamin’ Orange, Sizzlin’ Strawberry and Lemon Spark flavors, while the fiery Starbursts will come in Fiery Watermelon, Strawberry Mango, Flamin’ Orange and Pipin’ Pineapple.

Here are some other new and unusual candies from Wrigley and its parent company, Mars:

— Twix dark chocolate and white chocolate

— Snickers hazelnut

— Starburst mini sours

— Skittles ugly sweater edition

— Extra mint chocolate chip gum

— M&Ms ice cream bars

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