As a candy collector, it’s fun to pick up the things you can’t get locally, and it’s especially fun when those things come from overseas.
Though there is a rich and wonderful world of international confections to sample and consume, as a collector my favorite international pieces are the USA brands I know, specially packaged and sold in other countries.
Recently, I did an exchange with a pal of mine in Germany where I challenged him with picking up a number of “German versions of USA products”. And over the weekend, I received my candy care package from him. Today I’d like to share the contents.
It’s always exciting when you get a package like this from a friend or fellow collector. You never know exactly what you’re going to get, so cracking the box for the first time is a surprise:
Germany candy care package – opening the box
The first two items that caught my attention were the Twix with the Burger King offer and the Bubblicious Original pack with the cat mascot on it.
German Twix with Burger King Cappuccino offer – February 2013
For me, an international version of a USA wrapper doesn’t have to have a unique or unusual flavor for it to be appealing (though that doesn’t hurt). Sometimes it can have a different logo or a unique offer, or perhaps a unique mascot:
Bubblicious Ultimate Original pack – European – 2013
That Bubblicious pack wasn’t the only bubblegum in the box. There was also a pack of Bubblicious Magic, which is a gumball product not sold in the United States:
Bubblicious Magic gumball pack – Europe – January 2013
Cola is a flavor of Bubblicious I can’t find stateside, but there was one in this German candy care package. I also received a nice assortment of European Hubba Bubba items:
German-European Bubblicious and Hubba Bubba – February 2013
There was one interesting Norweigen bar included in the box. Named Kvikk Lunsj, it translates to Quick Lunch, but it reminded me of something more familiar:
Freia – Kvikk Lunsj – looks like a Kit Kat – February 2013
I thought it had the shape and general look of a KitKat, and upon opening, that’s exactly what it was like:
Freia – Kvikk Lunsj – It’s like a Kit Kat – February 2013
Of course there were a number of bars in there, too. One was the latest release of the powerful-sounding Snickers Maximus, which has been a Limited Edition release a number of times.
Kit Kat Chunky Hazelnut and Snickers Maximus
And one that didn’t survive long-enough to be photographed. The always-delicious Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter. [Yum!]
Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter – February 2013
A few things arrived having already been consumed – which was expected. It’s so expensive to ship overseas that I only ask for a few things to arrive with the candy still inside.
This next wrapper is some kind of birthday or anniversary Milka bar:
Milka – some kind of Birthday wrapper – February 2013
Next up is a particularly cool set of packages, as 2012 was a big 90th Anniversary for Haribo and they released a series of packages using vintage logos and mascots.
Haribo 90th Anniversary packages – 2012
Those are pretty great. It’s not the only Haribo that was found in the box, as I also discovered a trio of Christmas-themed mini Haribo packs:
Haribo Christmas mini-packs – 2012
And finally, here is everything (I think) spread out for viewing:
Germany candy care package – all laid out.
I didn’t highlight every single piece in that photo today, and I hope that’s okay. Looking at it all laid-out like this, I think it makes for a pretty great assortment of goodies. [Special thanks to my pal Sebastian for selecting them all with care and shipping them over.]
One of the best parts of any hobby is when you can share it, and when you have the opportunity to make friends through it. So it is that I’ve been able to do a little bit of exchanging with some fellow collectors and found other non-collector friends who have picked up things for me over the years. It’s a great bit of fun.
And that’s everything for today’s post and my candy care package from Germany.
See you next time!
Fun stuff!