# Why no mainstream sugar free candy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443 "2019-12-27T05:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/1 "2019-12-27T05:15:07Z")
There are lots of sugar free candies out there, But you have to search them out, nothing at the check out lane other than mints and gum. But more importantly, there are no mainstream candies that come in a sugar free version. Skittles is a big one on my list, followed by any candy bar, Spree, peanut butter cups. etc… Seems like they are missing out on a large demographic of potential customers. Why? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/2 "2019-12-27T05:17:46Z")
Look up sugar free gummy bears…then read the reviews. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/3 "2019-12-27T05:27:42Z")
Most of the sugar alternatives which will work acceptably for those kinds of candies are sugar alcohols like maltitol and lactitol, which have laxative side effects prunes couldn’t hope to touch. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/4 "2019-12-27T06:16:37Z")
For the same reason I’ve told many customers why we don’t carry whatever product that they’re looking for (and insisting that lots of people would buy it). Lots of people don’t want it, or at least wouldn’t buy it. Again, along the same lines of what I’ve told people, if it sold enough for them to make a reasonable profit I assure you, they’d be making it. If it was only about the laxative side effects, they’d figure something else out of it meant bringing in extra money. PK, you live near me. Surely you know of Candy Raisins. In the 90’s we sold them so fast we, literally, had a hard time keeping the store stocked. A while back, maybe 15 years ago, they stopped being made. The official reason from Necco was that they were primarily a Wisconsin thing and being sold almost entirely to one state made it not worth it to them. On a side note, kept ownership over the recipe and equipment (and presumably the name). It wasn’t until not to long ago they finally sod what they had to a Wisconsin company (and it’s since changed hands a few times) which is why they suddenly popped back up around here. TLDR, as with anything, if you don’t see them on the shelf, it’s because there’s not enough demand. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/5 "2019-12-27T07:12:01Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Most of the sugar alternatives which will work acceptably for those kinds of candies are sugar alcohols like maltitol and lactitol, which have laxative side effects prunes couldn’t hope to touch. But, as I posted, there are lots of sugar free candies out there. Just not many of the mainstream brands. I had some sugar free Jots once (Brachs version of M&M’s) and it did indeed have that effect. But like **Joey** said, there are ways around that. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > TLDR, as with anything, if you don’t see them on the shelf, it’s because there’s not enough demand. I don’t buy this. Practically every other product has a sugar free version but not main stream candy? If they had tried selling them and it failed, I’d understand. But have you ever seen sugar free Skittles or a Hershey bar? BTW, Candy raisins are weird tasting. I like them, but they are a bit odd. A small stopnrob in my sector has been selling them. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/6 "2019-12-27T07:41:09Z")
Sugar free candies are nice for a little nip if you’re craving a sweet taste but as others said they’re not to be consumed en masse. And they generally taste bad. Candy companies are not in the business of selling us off-flavored candies that are more expensive to make and can’t be wolfed down. \*\*[Hershey’s does have a sugar free line.](https://shop.hersheys.com/search?q=sugar-free) Even Twizzlers. \*\* How are you expecting sugar-free Skittles or Nerds or Spree to taste? I mean, those candies are like 99% sugar. It would take a lot of chemistry ($$) to make them taste like Skittles at all, and then they would make people hella sick if they were consumed at the rate one typically consumes those sorts of candies. If you’re a diabetic or a low carber you eventually figure out that sugar free “frankenfood” is not worth it. It’s so much better to have a smaller portion of or a once-in-a-great-while treat of the real deal than it is to go around trying to find a suitable sugar free version. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/7 "2019-12-27T08:03:14Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > How are you expecting sugar-free Skittles or Nerds or Spree to taste? Don’t know. I’d like to find out. Ever had Faygo diet soda or Jolly Good diet soda? Their sugar free grape, cherry, and orange flavors tastes just fine. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > It would take a lot of chemistry ($$) to make them taste like Skittles at all, and then they would make people hella sick if they were consumed at the rate one typically consumes those sorts of candies. No it wouldn’t, on both accounts. Other sweetners can be used. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > \*\*[Hershey’s does have a sugar free line.](https://shop.hersheys.com/search?q=sugar-free) Even Twizzlers. \*\* And like I said in the OP, you have to search them out. They aren’t usually readily available in the store. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/8 "2019-12-27T11:04:22Z")
Sugar free Ricola were easily available when I lived in Asia. In the US the supply is very limited (at least here in Hawaii) - lemon flavor only, and sold individually wrapped instead of as loose candy in a box. I don’t get it at all - since most flavors are rather mentholated, the artificial sweetener taste is not especially pronounced. Likewise, since they are mints/coughdrops, one is generally not tempted to eat them in quantities that would have a laxative effect (though the boxes do warn that consuming a whole box in a day would not be a good idea). I miss my sugar-free Ricola. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/9 "2019-12-27T11:57:56Z")
As Joey P stated, simple economics. Every square inch of retail space is valuable, sometimes paid for by distributors who in turn want to also see the highest return on their investment. No matter the market share, retailers and distributors don’t see it as money they’re making for that retail space used, but money lost by not using it for a more popular product. There’s also the proper marketing of the product. If retailers place the sugar free version next to the regular product, there’s a chance that some consumers will accidentally pick up the sugar free version, not like it and switch to another brand. If retailers were to place them in a separate section, sugar free consumers would complain that they’re being isolated and discriminated against. The one section I see that usually has the sugar-free version next to the regular product is in the cough drop aisle. However, as I said above, sometimes my Mom would buy the sugar free version of Ricola and complain about it, usually tossing it after buying the regular version. If there was a direct alternative, she’d probably switch brands. A Google search for “market size for sugar free candy” brings up a lot of links, mostly purposefully vague and leading to calls for purchase of the reports, but this 2017 article (free for first time viewers) [https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/87619-sugar-free-trends-reducing-sugar-expanding-the-category](https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/87619-sugar-free-trends-reducing-sugar-expanding-the-category) states that while sugar free gum accounts for 80% of the gum market, sales of sugar free candy overall was down. Also note that while sugar free chocolate brought in ~115mil dollars, it’s a tiny drop in the ~22bil dollar sales in 2017: [https://www.google.com/search?q=chocolate+sales+2017&rlz=1C1MSIM\_enUS785US785&oq=chocolate+sales+2017&aqs=chrome…69i57.6448j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8](https://www.google.com/search?q=chocolate+sales+2017&rlz=1C1MSIM_enUS785US785&oq=chocolate+sales+2017&aqs=chrome..69i57.6448j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8). "Long heralded as a way to reduce overall sugar intake without cutting indulgences altogether, sugar-free confections give consumers a way to have their sweets and eat them, too. And they have been eating them. Recent data from IRI, a Chicago-based research firm, shows sugar-free gum accounted for more than 80 percent of the $3.12 billion U.S. gum market in the previous 52 weeks ending Oct. 30. Meanwhile, sugar-free chocolate pulled in nearly $115 million, and sugar-free diet candy brought in almost $100 million during the same period. Despite occupying considerable chunks of their respective market segments, sales of sugar-free confections are flat or sliding downward. Sugar-free gum dollar sales dipped 1.57 percent and unit sales dropped 4.82 percent over the last year. Sugar-free chocolate hasn’t fared much better. Dollar sales sagged 3.17 percent and unit sales fell 14.11 percent in the same period. Sugar-free diet candies posted a small gain in dollar sales — 1.04 percent. However, unit sales shrunk 3.2 percent." ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/10 "2019-12-27T12:23:04Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > But, as I posted, there are lots of sugar free candies out there. Just not many of the mainstream brands. I had some sugar free Jots once (Brachs version of M&M’s) and it did indeed have that effect. But like **Joey** said, there are ways around that. > > I don’t buy this. Practically every other product has a sugar free version but not main stream candy? If they had tried selling them and it failed, I’d understand. But have you ever seen sugar free Skittles or a Hershey bar? > > BTW, Candy raisins are weird tasting. I like them, but they are a bit odd. A small stopnrob in my sector has been selling them. You’ve answered your own question. “I like them, but they are a bit odd”. They’re a “bit odd”, so would you continue to buy them versus some other type of sugar free candy? I’ve heard people say to the checkout clerk or the store manager: “If you carried product XXX, I’d buy every one of them!”. All fine and good, but what happens when you buy them all and the store restocks them because they sold out, only to find that you’ve brought enough to last you months and no one else wants that product? The article I linked above has an interesting sentence: “Sugar-free diet candies posted a small gain in dollar sales — 1.04 percent. However, unit sales shrunk 3.2 percent.” At first read it didn’t click, but after thinking about it, it’s stating that sugar free diet candies went up in price. Another factor in why sugar free candy sales are low. It costs more to produce due to the ingredients and production size and line (probably separate from the regular line to prevent sugar from getting into it). Yet another potential cause of complaint by consumers: “Why am I getting less/paying more than the regular product!”. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/11 "2019-12-27T12:44:35Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > You’ve answered your own question. “I like them, but they are a bit odd”. They’re a “bit odd”, so would you continue to buy them versus some other type of sugar free candy? You’re confused. Candy raisins aren’t sugar free at all. Joey was using them as an example of consumer demand. My comment was only to let him know I’ve had them. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/12 "2019-12-27T12:47:01Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > But, as I posted, there are lots of sugar free candies out there. Just not many of the mainstream brands. I had some sugar free Jots once (Brachs version of M&M’s) and it did indeed have that effect. But like **Joey** said, there are ways around that. > > I don’t buy this. Practically every other product has a sugar free version but not main stream candy? If they had tried selling them and it failed, I’d understand. But have you ever seen sugar free Skittles or a Hershey bar? > > BTW, Candy raisins are weird tasting. I like them, but they are a bit odd. A small stopnrob in my sector has been selling them. You answered your own question. They are out there. So there’s data as to how well they sell. And I’d guess the answer is “not well enough to sully the Hershey’s brand by selling funny-flavored chocolate that gives you the run”. I’ve seen sugar-free chocolate. I’ve seen sugar-free hard candy and gummies. They aren’t popular. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/13 "2019-12-27T12:48:20Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I don’t buy this. Practically every other product has a sugar free version but not main stream candy? If they had tried selling them and it failed, I’d understand. But have you ever seen sugar free Skittles or a Hershey bar? As I said to a customer who thought I was lying to her when I told her we don’t sell an item because it doesn’t sell well, ‘I promise, if it sold well and we could turn a profit on it, we’d have it in the store’. [Sugar Free Hershey Bar (not really a bar)](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hershey-s-Sugar-Free-Milk-Chocolates-3-Oz/10535652) [Sugar Free Reese’s PB Cups](https://www.amazon.com/REESES-Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Miniatures/dp/B000WL58J0) I didn’t see Sprees or Skittles, but my WAG is that there’s so much sugar in those products that leaving it out would change it so much it would be a different product. > [@](#): > > BTW, Candy raisins are weird tasting. I like them, but they are a bit odd. A small stopnrob in my sector has been selling them. I’ve actually never eaten one, I don’t know if it’s the name or the color or what, but they’ve never appealed to me. And, I wasn’t encoureged to try them when they came back and all I heard was ‘Wow, these are so good, they even have that soapy taste like the originals’. Soap, exactly what I’m looking for in my candy. Back when the original ones were out, I remember my GF at the time would buy a bag, open it, leave them out for a few days and then eat them. I just assumed she was wasting money, turns out letting them get stale/hard for a few days was a somewhat common thing. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/14 "2019-12-27T14:09:51Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Sugar free candies are nice for a little nip if you’re craving a sweet taste but as others said they’re not to be consumed en masse. And they generally taste bad. Candy companies are not in the business of selling us off-flavored candies that are more expensive to make and can’t be wolfed down. > > \*\*[Hershey’s does have a sugar free line.](https://shop.hersheys.com/search?q=sugar-free) Even Twizzlers. \*\* > > How are you expecting sugar-free Skittles or Nerds or Spree to taste? I mean, those candies are like 99% sugar. It would take a lot of chemistry ($$) to make them taste like Skittles at all, and then they would make people hella sick if they were consumed at the rate one typically consumes those sorts of candies. > > If you’re a diabetic or a low carber you eventually figure out that sugar free “frankenfood” is not worth it. It’s so much better to have a smaller portion of or a once-in-a-great-while treat of the real deal than it is to go around trying to find a suitable sugar free version. This just reminded me of something- I once asked the owner of a 7-11 why their sugar free Slurpees only came in weird flavors like kiwi-strawberry or mango-clam, and never anything like Diet Coke or Diet Mtn. Dew. Her response was that the company had tried but ultimately couldn’t get a syrup which tasted right and would freeze acceptably. Makes sense that something like sugar free starburst or skittles would taste wrong enough to not bother. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/15 "2019-12-27T14:11:01Z")
Back when Aspartame stuff was starting to roll out, someone gave me a sample pack of bubble gum sweetened with it. It was great. I waited for Aspartame gums and candies to be available everywhere. Still waiting. I think it isn’t shelf stable in many forms. The alcohol-sugars stuff is nowhere the same in flavor, is not zero calorie and is crap digestively speaking. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/16 "2019-12-27T14:18:36Z")
Why don’t sweeteners like Splenda or Ace K work for candy? Is it the chemistry and the texture they produce? I’ve substituted Splenda in baking before, and it seems to work as well as sugar, though baking has flour and eggs to provide structure, so I assume that’s quite different than making a chocolate bar. Still, I’m wondering what it is. I’d certainly be in the market for sugar-free candy bars. (Instead, I simply don’t buy candy bars.) ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/17 "2019-12-27T14:22:09Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > You answered your own question. They are out there. So there’s data as to how well they sell. And I’d guess the answer is “not well enough to sully the Hershey’s brand by selling funny-flavored chocolate that gives you the run”. > > I’ve seen sugar-free chocolate. I’ve seen sugar-free hard candy and gummies. They aren’t popular. 2017 Sugar free chocolate sales numbers linked to in Post #9. $115 mil in a $22 bil market. As stated above, Hersey’s does make sugar free candies: [https://www.thehersheycompany.com/en\_us/whats-inside/sugar-free.html](https://www.thehersheycompany.com/en_us/whats-inside/sugar-free.html) Just not profitable enough for the retail space. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/18 "2019-12-27T14:33:10Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > This just reminded me of something- I once asked the owner of a 7-11 why their sugar free Slurpees only came in weird flavors like kiwi-strawberry or mango-clam, and never anything like Diet Coke or Diet Mtn. Dew. Her response was that the company had tried but ultimately couldn’t get a syrup which tasted right and would freeze acceptably. Makes sense that something like sugar free starburst or skittles would taste wrong enough to not bother. Sugar is a texturizer as well as a sweetening agent in freezer goods as well as candy - ‘boiled sweets’/hard candies - it is the sugar ‘solidifying’ that makes the hard sweet - not much other than sugar can turn into glassy sweet candy until you start playing around with chemicals. One can make the bouncy rubbery stuff - that is gelatin [either animal or plant based] that makes the main chewy part of the candy - that is why you will find more in the way of sugar free gummies than hard candies. [Go Lightely](https://hillsidecandy.com/golightly-sugar-free-candy/) [yup, also the name of a laxative] makes a tolerable line of candies. Still give you the shits if you eat too many, but what the hell =) In frozen stuff like ice cream, sugar is a texturizer as I said - it can be repalced with chemicals and various gums, but the actual texture is ever so slightly wrong, but not so wrong as to be inedible. If you want to go sugar free, you can always go with a granita, which is just a frozen liquid - coffee is a popular one for going sugar free because one can use sucralose just fine. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/19 "2019-12-27T14:47:16Z")
People eat candy for the sugar, not a lame substitute. If there was a sugar substitute that tasted as good to everybody, didn’t have side effects, and was as satisfying as real sugar, then it would be the standard sweetener. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443/20 "2019-12-27T14:49:04Z")
You can make (say) sugar-free pop because pop is mostly water. Replace the sugar dissolved in the water with an equivalent amount of some other sweet substance dissolved in the water, and you have sugar-free pop. It probably won’t taste the same, because the stuff you’re using won’t taste exactly like sugar, but there are a lot of sugar-free sweeteners out there, and so you can at least approximate it. But candy isn’t water with sugar and some other stuff added. It’s sugar, with some other stuff added. You need something that’s not only sweet, but that you can make the candy itself out of. Most artificial sweeteners are much sweeter, on a per-weight or per-volume basis, than sugar, so you only need the equivalent of a single grain to sweeten as much as an entire piece of candy. What’s the rest of the candy made out of? The reason they use the sugar alcohols, despite their laxative effect, is because they haven’t found anything else that’s better. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mainstream-sugar-free-candy/845443.md?page=2)