Those with a sweet tooth, gather around! Chances are you’ve tried some (or all) of these candies before. If not, maybe you’ll discover a new treat to try out.
While percentages of sugar by weight may vary among each candy brand, the candies will also be ranked on how sweet they taste.
In this article, we’ll rank the sweetest candies in the world from least to most sweet.
9. Twizzlers
~42% sugar by weight for the standard popular Strawberry-flavored Twizzler.
As one of the oldest candies around, Twizzlers as a brand was created back in 1929.
Some describe these snacks as having the right amount of sweetness.
However, as the least sugary candy on this list, others have described the texture as waxy, rubbery, and somewhat plastic-like.
You could also bite off each end for a makeshift straw. Now that’s pretty sweet.
8. Snickers
~51% sugar by weight for a standard 57g Snickers bar.
A very popular chocolate candy bar in the United States. Snickers feature a nougat with a combination of caramel, peanuts, and milk chocolate.
Compared to other American chocolate bars, Snickers are quite dense and almost sticky. If you’re looking for a crunch, you won’t find it in a Snickers bar.
7. Airheads
~56% sugar by weight for a 16g stick of Airheads.
Airheads are known for their various fruity flavors and colors. These taffy candies have the right amount of chewiness yet softness to them.
Unlike other taffy candies, Airheads become slightly grainy on the tongue as you chew on them.
Did you know that the white mystery flavor is a combination of leftovers of other flavors of Airheads? Sometimes imagination is the best flavor when it comes to trying to guess which Airhead you’re eating.
6. Kit Kat
~48% sugar by weight for a 42g bar of Kit Kat.
Kit Kats are crispy wafer chocolate bars that come in segmented, breakable pieces.
Civilized people may break them apart before eating. It’s neat and easy to share this way!
But savages like me will just bite into the bar with no regard for the bar’s precut separations.
5. Gummy Bears
~47% sugar by weight for Haribo gummy bears
These are high on our sweetness list because of how easy it is to keep eating one after the other.
Fruity, soft, and chewy makes for an addicting combination.
I would place a gummy bear on my textbook throughout each section. Even if reading was boring, looking forward to that next gummy bear bite at the end made studying a little more bearable. Pun intended.
4. Sour Patch Kids
~80% sugar by weight for a serving size of 30g.
These candies are known for their sour coated exterior on a sweet gummy. After all, the slogan “Sour. Sweet. Gone” makes a lot of sense when you get your hands on a bag of these.
They were first made in the 1970s under the name Mars Men. Later, the name changed to Sour Patch Kids in 1985.
In France, the direct translation of these candies is “Very Bad Kids“.
3. Skittles
~75% sugar by weight in a 62g package .
For small candy businesses, they are a popular treat to freeze dry. These candies are fruit-flavored and rainbow-colored.
Recent News: As of July 2022, a class action lawsuit was filed against Mars Inc. for the usage of a chemical additive called titanium dioxide (TiO2). TiO2 is used mainly as a whitening agent which is responsible for Skittles’ bright hue of colors. It is also used in non-food products such as cosmetics and paint.
While the FDA approves the use of this additive as long as its under 1% of the total food product’s weight, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is considering titanium dioxide unsafe as a food additive.
For more information, visit the Scientific American. It is likely that this lawsuit is simply a cash grab though.
An EFSA evaluation found no observed adverse effects on a dosage of 2.25g TiO2/kg body weight for male rats. Additionally, TiO2 showed an extremely low oral absorption rate (less than 0.1%).
In short, you should be more worried about the amount of sugar as eating enough Skittles to reach that 2.25g/kg bodyweight threshold is impossible.
2. Nerds
~93% sugar by weight for a serving size of 15g.
Nerds are pebble-shaped candies that come in a variety of bright colors and flavors.
They are similar to rock candies in texture and crunch.
However, they are made by tumbling (or panning) tiny crystals of sugar with sweet and sour flavorings with a final coat for color. This is according to a local Oompa Loompa.
Whether eaten by the handful or used as a topping for other confections, Nerds candy are undoubtedly very sweet! If you’re looking for some chew along with the crunch, Nerds have ropes and clusters which have a gummy base.
1. Pixy Stix
>94% sugar by weight for a 16g straw.
Quite literally a paper straw filled with sweet and sour flavored sugar. These are devoured by opening one end of the straw and then dumping the fillings onto your tongue.
These were originally sold as a drink mix, kind of like Kool-Aid. After the creators found out kids were just eating the powder, it was later packaged into colored straws.
This is the same candy powder used to make Fun Dips and Sweet Tarts!
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about the sweetest sweets this world has to offer.
It’s no surprise that Pixy Stix and Nerds are the sweetest candy. They have the highest sugar percentage by weight and are essentially just flavored sugar!
