Everyone knows you can’t beat bacon for flavor. Despite some raised eyebrows, the American Licorice Company’s launch of Bacon Bites, maple bacon flavored Sour Punch Bites, on April 1 was no joke.
“Sometimes all it takes is pairing two unlikely flavors that create something special,” Kristi Shafer, vice president of marketing for SOUR PUNCH, said in a release.
According to the makers of SOUR PUNCH candy, “these sweet, savory and sour bites are the real deal.”
The new Bacon Bites item was inspired by the brand’s release of similarly unique flavors on April Fool’s Day in years past, the company said in a release.
In 2022, Sour Punch announced Sour Cream & Onion flavored Bites - an item which was never released, but which drew a great amount of attention from consumers.
In 2023, the brand unveiled Sour Punch Pickle Roulette straws, an all-green pack of sweet and sour fruit-flavors like lime, green apple and watermelon with random pickle flavored straws hiding among them.
“The item was meant for a limited time only release, but consumers’ overwhelmingly positive reactions to the fun, playability of this delicious candy encouraged the brand to make both Pickle Roulette Straws and Bites a permanent part of the Sour Punch brand family,” the company said in a release.
The popular Pickle Roulette flavor ultimately led the brand to get even more creative with flavor, the company said.
“With the April Fool’s Day success of the Pickle Roulette in 2023, we wanted to create a product that had fans questioning once again if it was real,” senior product and innovation manager Kyle Stout said in a release. “Bacon has been on trend for other food categories, and we thought it would be fun to bring it to sour candy. The flavor was designed to have a subtle bacon taste while delivery a nice maple flavor to offset the bacon.”
This is the first savory item in the brand’s lineup. The company said the new bites are a combination of sweet maple syrup and savory smoked bacon flavors, smothered in the signature Sour Punch blend.
