At last week’s all-candy expo in Chicago, samples of Torture Scorchers, a new cayenne-pepper-coated confection, were distributed with cups of water. Candymakers are hoping other sweet newcomers will cause a similar sensation:
SMINT Made with a plaque-fighting sugar substitute, these powerful breath mints claim to lower mouth temperatures as much as 50[degrees]F–almost as invigorating as a pair of HyperMints, another rookie, that delivers about as much caffeine as a 12-oz. soda.
MOBILE POPS Even lollipops are switching to cell phones. Chupa Chups packages a retractable sucker inside a faux mobile phone that functions as a calculator, so kids can add up all those empty calories.
BODY SMARTS CRUNCH BARS Muscling into PowerBar territory, Viagra maker Pfizer has fortified these chocolate and fruit-chew “nutraceuticals” with as much iron as a cup of spinach, as much fiber as a slice of bread and–surprise!–more flavor than a piece of cardboard.
CANDY CLAY At long last, Play-Doh you can eat. Kosher-foods giant Rokeach introduces this hands-on treat 131 years after the company was founded as a soap factory. Rokeach also makes rocket pops and candynamite.
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