Skittles (candy)
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Skittles candy |
Skittles are small, round fruit chews that come in a
hard candy shell with a letter "
s" printed on it. They are almost identical in appearance to the plain variety of the
chocolate candy M&M's, which, like Skittles, are produced by
Mars, Incorporated. They are sold either in packs or in cup-shaped containers ranging in size from 7.3oz to 48oz. A favorite of children, Skittles have made multiple appearances within
pop culture, including in
The Simpsons and
Family Guy. Skittles are also commonly used by
mathematics teachers to demonstrate
probability using the color distribution.
Skittles® Bite Size Candies, originally made by a company in England, were first introduced in the United States in 1974. In 1982, production of Skittles began in the United States. Skittles sold in the
United Kingdom are made in the
Czech Republic, where Mars, Incorporated makes them for export to many
European Union markets. The company also produces the candy in
Victoria, Australia, for distribution in the
New Zealand market.
Skittles are a non-
kosher food. The American version is not
vegetarian as it contains
gelatin. The European version is gelatin-free.
Skittles are well-known for their
advertising campaigns. Often associated with
rainbows due to their colors, Skittles
slogans include "Taste the rainbow". There have been several
television commercials, centering on
surreal scenes, with people joyously receiving a bounty of Skittles raining from a rainbow in the sky.
Skittles come in several
fruit flavored varieties, including original fruit, tropical, wild berry, smoothie mix, sour, and xtreme fruit (which was not yet introduced). Each variety has five different colors and flavors. A "tart 'n' tangy" flavor was also produced, but it was discontinued in the early-
1990s.
Original Fruit Skittles
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Original Fruit Skittles Web Page Shot |
Original Fruit Skittles were sold in either red bags or boxes. There are five flavors. Sour Skittles also use strawberry, blue raspberry, orange, grape, and lemon, but are coated with
citric acid to give them a
sour flavor.
The flavors are: *
Strawberry (red)
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Lemon (yellow)
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Grape (purple)
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Lime (green)
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Orange (orange)
In the European version of Original Fruit Skittles,
Blackcurrant (purple) replaces Grape.
In the South Korean version of Original Fruit Skittles,
Apple (green) replaces Lime.
Wild Berry Skittles
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Wild Berry Skittles Web Page Shot |
In
1988, Wild Berry Skittles were introduced. Wild Berry is a mix of exotic berry flavoring, and the product was sold in purple bags or boxes.
The flavors are:*
Raspberry (blue)
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Wild Cherry (red)
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Strawberry (magenta)
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Berry Punch (purple)
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Melon Berry (green)
Tropical Skittles
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Tropical Skittles Web Page Shot |
In
1989, Tropical Skittles were introduced. Tropical is a mix of exotic
tropical flavoring, and the product was sold in either blue bags or boxes.
The flavors are:
*
Banana Berry (yellow)
*
Kiwi Lime (green)
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Strawberry Watermelon (pink)
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Mango Peach (orange)
* Passion
Punch (blue)
There are now three new flavors of Tropical skittles. They are:
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Pineapple Passionfruit (blue)
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Strawberry Starfruit (pink)
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Mango Tangelo (orange)
This new package of Tropical skittles mentions nothing of them being merely limited condition.
Smoothie Mix Skittles
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Smoothie Mix Skittles Site Shot |
In
2005, Smoothie Mix Skittles were introduced. The name comes from a
smoothie, which is a
fruit mix drink, and the product was sold in either pink bags or boxes.
The flavors are:*
Peach Pear (light green)
* Mixed
Berry (purple)
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Lemon Berry (light yellow)
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Strawberry Banana (light purple)
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Orange Mango (faded orange)
Xtreme Fruit Skittles
(not yet introduced)
Xtreme Fruit Skittles will be introduced around fall
2006. Xtreme Fruit is a mix of exotic extreme fruit flavoring, and the product will be sold in either black bags or boxes.
The flavors are:*
Wild Cherry (red)
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Tangerine (orange)
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Watermelon (pink)
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Blue Raspberry (blue)
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Green Apple (green)
Skittles Bubble Gum and other products
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Skittles bubble gum |
In
2004, Original Fruit Skittles
bubble gum was introduced. Later that year, Skittles introduced a product made in partnership with
Lip Smackers, Skittles-flavored
lip gloss. Mint Skittles, which came in two mixes (Peppermint and Spearmint mixes) were also made. In March of 2006,
ice cream-flavored Skittles also debuted for a limited time. Though finding an actual full package of Ice Cream Skittles may be a challenge, small samples are being sold in a portion of the bags of other Skittles' flavors.
The original release in
1981 featured a child doing the
moonwalk, a dance made popular by
Michael JacksonSkittles was the sponsor of the #36
Pontiac in the
NEXTEL Cup Series in
NASCAR racing from 1997-1998. Drivers were
Derrike Cope and
Ernie Irvan.
Skittles were mentioned in the 1995 film
Bad Boys. When Detectives Lowry and Burnett (played by
Will Smith and
Martin Lawrence) encounter a hostile convenience store clerk, Lowry asks for Tropical Fruit Bubbalicious and Burnett adds, "... and some Skittles."
Skittles were mentioned in
The Simpsons, as the ingredient in a fictional alcoholic concoction known as "
Skittlebrau". To this day, some mistakenly believe it is a commercially produced product, and numerous websites have attempted to find the perfect Skittlebrau concoction. In a later Simpsons episode than that in which Skittlebrau was first mentioned, the beverage made an appearance as a real product on the shelves of the 33-Cent store which also sold plankton and Marge's dress style in blue.
Many teenagers make their own version of the beverage by soaking skittles of a particular colour (usually red) in a high alcohol content spirit such as vodka. This results in a gloopy, coloured alcoholic syrup that tastes of its skittles ingredients.
Skittles were in incorporated as a major part of the video game
Darkened Skye. The game involved finding the rare Skittles in order to use them to form spells. The game was a way of promoting the candy.
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Official U.S. Website
