Now in Stores: Orange Creamsicle-Flavored Skittles & Mike and Ikes!

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_Orange Creme TITLE PLATEVanilla ice cream mixed with orange sherbet (or Creamsicle as it’s popularly known) is one of my all-time favorite frozen treats.  I have fond memories from the summer of 1989, cooling off with Schwan’s version of Creamsicle called Summer’s Dream ice cream – the year when my love of the flavor was cemented.  With my affection for the orange-cream ice cream mix, it should be no surprise that I tend to quickly embrace similarly-flavored confections as well.

Over the last several weeks I was delighted to discover that the orange creme flavor had been incorporated into tasty new editions of two classic brands; Skittles Desserts & Mike and Ike Sweet Paradise!

Continue reading →

Posted in Boxed, Gum, Mars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day with Necco’s “Hot Hearts vs. Cool Hearts” and More!

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_Hot Vs Cold Sweethearts TITLE PLATE

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today I’m featuring a pair of Valentine’s releases from Necco that are all-new this year.  The first is a groovy take on their classic Sweethearts conversation hearts candies:  Sweethearts Hot Hearts vs Cool Hearts.  In addition to that I’ll also be showcasing Necco’s innovative new Color-Your-Own Sweethearts as well as a few other conversation heart pieces I’ve picked up since last year.

So get ready for our Valentine’s Day coverage with Sweethearts Hot Hearts vs Cool Hearts!

Continue reading →

Posted in Boxed, Holiday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Variety of Valentine Wrapper Redesigns for 2014!

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_Valentine Redesigns TITLE PLATE

Over the course of time almost all candy packaging designs change and evolve – some subtly and some dramatically.  Those changes are a big part of what makes collecting them and discussing them here so much fun.   And just as all-year-round packaging designs change, so do holiday editions.  In 2014 it happened that a number of prominent brands refreshed their Valentine’s Day holiday designs with new looks.

It’s pretty fun to see them all together to compare and contrast, so today I am excited to share a variety of Valentine wrapper redesigns for 2014!

Continue reading →

Posted in Chocolate, Hershey, Holiday, Mars, Nestle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Russell Stover’s Rich Variety of Valentine’s Hearts!

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_RussellStoverValentines_TITLE PLATE_ALTI’m happy to continue my coverage of Russell Stover’s holiday editions today with their 2014 variety of individually-wrapped hearts.   Following up posts on Russell Stover’s Halloween Pumpkins and their wonderful variety of Christmas Santas and Snowmen, it’s fun to be able to showcase how many flavors of Valentine Hearts we get for Valentine’s Day.

Continue reading →

Posted in Chocolate, Holiday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Valentine’s Mike and Ike & Hot Tamales for 2014!

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_Just Born Valentine's 2014 and moreThis year, the Just Born company is continuing its roll-out of new holiday packages with all-new Valentine’s box designs for Hot Tamales as well as Mike and Ike.  In addition to taking a smoldering good look at those, today I’ll be showcasing past Just Born Valentine’s packaging going all the way back to 2002!

Continue reading →

Posted in Holiday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

My Year in Collecting: 2013!

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_2013_YearInCollectingTITLE PLATE_BETA

Though it arrives a few weeks later than I’d planned this year, I still wanted to squeeze in my annual “Year in Collecting” post.  This year-in-review is something I started doing back in 2009 over on Flickr while continuing the tradition here last year.  My “Year in Collecting” is a chance to have a little fun by creating a visual representation of some of the neatest pieces I discovered or added to my collection in the previous twelve months.  Some of these were collector Holy Grails I’d sought for years, while others were brand new discoveries for me.

So make the jump to take a look at my 5th Annual Year in Collecting!

Continue reading →

Posted in 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, Boxed, British, Bubble Gum, Cadbury, Canadian, Chocolate, Christmas, Gum, Gummies, Halloween, Hershey, Holiday, Mars, Nestle, Topps, Wonka | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Meet Mark Sweet: The Real-Life Willy Wonka!

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_Mark Sweet TITLE PLATE Today marks CollectingCandy.com’s second anniversary (launched on February 6th, 2012 with our Retrospective of Big League Chew) – and it’s also our 450th post!  With so much to celebrate, we wanted to bring you a great feature as well as one that is uniquely the fare of CollectingCandy.com.  We think this one does the trick.

—————————

The Willy Wonka candy brand was launched in 1971 in concert with the release of the feature film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  It would eventually become one of the most successful candy brands of all time, having just celebrated its 43rd birthday.  For the first half of its successful run, a man named Mark Sweet represented the brand by playing the real-life Willy Wonka – in print ads, television commercials, videos and hundreds of personal appearances around the country.

Mark Sweet hung up his Willy Wonka top hat and cane nearly twenty years ago, though he’s remained a busy entertainer within the television industry and beyond.  Last year I contacted Mark and he generously agreed to share his story and experiences of playing this iconic confectionery spokesman with CollectingCandy.com.  More than just the recollections of a candy company’s costumed spokesman, Mark Sweet’s story is a classic showbiz tale of hard work, perseverance, and a whole lot of magic.

Today’s post is one of the most in-depth I’ve ever presented and it’s also one of the richest stories that I’ve ever had the pleasure to share.  Without further ado, here is the story of Mark Sweet: The Real-Life Willy Wonka!

Continue reading →

Posted in 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, Nestle, Wonka | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

A Trio of Classic 1970’s Candy Commercials not seen in 35 Years!

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_70's Commercial premier TITLE PLATE

As a candy marketing enthusiast, one of the fun things for me to look back on are the old TV commercials for candy products.  There’s no shortage of these wonderful commercials on spots like YouTube – a place where I’ve sought out many of them.  Some of these spots I remember fondly and some of them I’d never seen before.  For all that are out there and currently available to see – there remain countless candy commercials still lost to time and in recognition of CollectingCandy.com’s two-year anniversary tomorrow I’d like to remedy that – at least in a small way.

Today, I’m premiering three previously-lost 1970’s candy commercials.  Classics that, before today, have not been seen since their original broadcast dates.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1970's, Chocolate, Mars, Nestle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Bubble Yum Packs of the 1970’s!

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_Bubble Yum of the 70's TITLE PLATE WIPc

Continuing this week with fun posts acknowledging CollectingCandy.com’s two-year anniversary, today we’re presenting a photo spread of unopened Bubble Yum bubblegum packs from the 1970’s!  Unlike yesterday, today’s post will be light on historical facts as this is a topic I’m still researching and still hoping to learn a lot more about.  So make the jump to get an eyeful of the colorful Bubble Yum packs of the 1970’s!

Continue reading →

Posted in 1970's, Bubble Gum, Gum, Hershey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

50 Years of Nestle’s 100 Grand Bar History!

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Jason Liebig

CC_50Year100GrandHistory_TITLE PLATEb

Today is the beginning of our week-long two-year anniversary celebration for CollectingCandy.com – where each day we hope to share an extra-special post – culminating on Thursday, February 6th – when the site turns two.

Kicking off our celebratory week is a retrospective of the $100,000 bar, or the 100 Grand as it is now known.   We first touched upon the history of the 100 Grand way back in June of 2012, but since then we’ve added a number of remarkable discoveries to what was previously known about the brand.  So please make the jump for our definitive coverage of Nestle’s 100 Grand – a classic chocolate bar which turns 50 this year!

Continue reading →

Posted in 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, Canadian, Chocolate, Holiday, Nestle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments