Starburst (confectionery)
Encyclopedia
Cuboid
In geometry, a cuboid is a solid figure bounded by six faces, forming a convex polyhedron. There are two competing definitions of a cuboid in mathematical literature...
-shaped, fruit-flavoured soft taffy candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
manufactured by The Wrigley Company
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
The William Wrigley Jr. Company is a company headquartered in the Wrigley Building in Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded on April 1, 1891, originally selling products such as soap and baking powder. In 1892, William Wrigley, Jr., the company's founder, began packaging...
, a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...
. Starburst also exist as jellybeans (known as Joosters), lollipop
Lollipop
A lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...
s, gummies
Gummies
Gummi candy, gummy candy, gummies or jelly sweets are a broad, general type of gelatin-based, chewy candy.Gummi bears are the most popular and well known of the gummi candies...
, hard candy
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
, candy cane
Candy cane
A candy cane is a hard cane-shaped candy stick. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint or cinnamon; however, it is also made in a variety of other flavors and may be decorated with stripes of different colors and thicknesses...
s, and lip gloss
Lip gloss
Lip gloss is a product used primarily to give lips a glossy lustre and sometimes subtle color. It is distributed as a liquid or a soft solid...
(the latter in a partnership with Lip Smackers).
History
The Starburst brand was introduced by MarsMars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...
in 1959, named by Peter Pfeffer in a competition that won him £5 as Opal Fruits. The four original flavors were strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
, lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
, orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, and lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
. Lime was later replaced with cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
. In the 1970s Opal Fruits were well known for their advertising tag line "Opal Fruits - made to make your mouth water! Fresh with the tang of citrus. Orange! Lemon! Cherry! Strawberry!" Opal Fruits were introduced in the United States in 1967 as Starburst. Originally, Starburst came in the same flavors as Opal Fruits and the first variant, "Sunshine Flavors", later renamed "Tropical Opal Fruits", was released thereafter. In Europe, Lemon and Lime were combined to become "Lemon and Lime" to make room for a Blackcurrant
Blackcurrant
Blackcurrant, Ribes nigrum, is a species of Ribes berry native to central and northern Europe and northern Asia, and is a perennial....
flavor. The brand name 'Opal Fruits' was phased out in the UK, followed by Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
in 1998 in order to standardize the product in a globalized marketplace. In 2008, the supermarket chain Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
revived the original Opal Fruits in the UK for a period of 12 weeks starting May 10, 2008. On October 6, 2008, Mars acquired Wrigley, and transferred Mars' non-chocolate candy brands, including Starburst, to the Wrigley subsidiary. In the US, Starburst are manufactured in Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
.
The original flavors are now branded "Original Fruits", and Starburst now comes in several assortments: Limited Edition Retro Fruits, Tropical, Baja California, Sour, Strawberry Mix, and Berries & Creme. Among the additional flavors are Kiwi
Kiwifruit
The kiwifruit, often shortened to kiwi in many parts of the world, is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia....
, Banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
, Plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
, Passion Fruit, Raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
, Strawberry-Banana, Mango
Mango (clothing)
Mango, stylized MANGO, is a clothing design and manufacturing company. Isak Andic is the president.Its goal is "to be present in every city" in the world...
, Melon, Tropical Punch, Green Apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
, Blue Raspberry, Watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
, Mixed Berries & Cream, Peaches & Cream, Orange Cream, and Strawberry & Cream. Europe also has the "Sour" assortment, which includes Apple, Cherry, Pineapple and Raspberry, as well as Strawberry Mix. As of early 2010 it was decided that Strawberry was the most popular flavor in the United Kingdom.
Lime Starbursts made a comeback in 2007 as a limited-edition 'retro' flavor in packages of the 'Baja' version, while the range in the UK was further extended with a version named Starburst Choozers. These lozenge shaped chews have a liquid fruit juice center, and come packaged with the tag line "The chews that ooze." Each packet contains three flavors; Orange & Mango, Raspberry & Orange, and Pineapple & Orange.
Starburst engaged in a marketing tie-in for the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
by replacing Kiwi Banana and Tropical Punch with Royal Berry Punch.
The current slogan for Starburst in the U.S. is "It's A Juicy Contradiction" and in the UK and Australia it is "Tastes Like Summer."
Some time after June in the summer of 2009, Starburst discontinued their Baja California flavor worldwide due to low sales.
Products
- Original Fruit Chews (US: Cherry, Lemon, Strawberry, Orange. UK: Blackcurrant, Orange, Strawberry, Lemon & Lime)
- Starburst - "All Strawberry Pack"
- Starburst - Strawberry Mix
- Starburst - California Fruits (Red Cherry, Strawberry Watermelon, Malibu Punch, Wild Berry)
- Baja California Fruit Chews (discontinued) (Limon, Aztec Punch, Baja Dragonfruit, Strawberry Watermelon, Plum)
- Tropical Fruit Chews (Strawberry Banana, Royal Berry Punch, Mango Melon, Piña Colada)
- Sour Starburst (US: Sour Strawberry, Sour Green Apple, Sour Tangerine, Sour Blue Raspberry. UK: Cherry, Pineapple, Raspberry and Green Apple)
- Berries & Crème Fruit Chews (Mixed Berry & Creme, Strawberry & Creme, Blueberry & Creme, Raspberry & Creme)
- Fave Reds - (Cherry, Strawberry, Fruit Punch, Watermelon)
- Summer Fun Fruits - (Kiwi-Banana, Lemon Limeade, Cherry Splash, & Strawberry Watermelon)
- Joosters Jelly Beans
- Starburst Gummibursts (Liquid Filled Gummies). The idea was adapted for the UK as Starburst Choozers, and later Starburst TongueTangles
- Sweet Fiesta - ( Cherry-Mango, Peach-Guava, Strawberry-Pineapple, Melon-Berry)
- Sour and Sweet (Sweet Blue Raspberry and Strawberry/Sour Green Apple and Watermelon)
- Starburst Twisted Chews (Blueberry & Banana, Strawberry & Lime, Cherry & Lemon)
- Starburst Smoothies (Strawberry & Banana, Strawberry & Blueberry & Yogurt, Mango & Passionfruit).
- Starburst Squirts (Similar to Gummiburst but has more flavors and is made for New Zealand and Australia only, as they do not sell Gummibursts in those countries).
- Starburst Easter Chews (Wrapper shaped like Laffy Taffy, but inside the wrapper has original fruit chews.)
See also
- Now and LaterNow and LaterNow and Later is a brand of fruit-flavored taffy-like product which is organized into squares packaged in colorful paper. The candy is sold in packages containing 3 plastic-wrapped packs of 6 Now and Laters each, with each plastic-wrapped pack containing a different flavor...
- MambasMamba (candy)Mambas are a brand of fruit chew candies, made in Germany by August Storck KG. They are artificially flavored in strawberry, orange, lemon and raspberry. Mamba was launched in 1953 in packs of six. Each package now contains 18 soft chews; six pieces of each of three random flavours out of the four...
- SkittlesSkittles (confectionery)Skittles is a brand of fruit-flavoured sweets, currently produced and marketed by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a division of Mars, Inc. They have hard sugar shells which carry the letter S. The inside is mainly sugar, corn syrup, and hydrogenated palm kernel oil along with fruit juice, citric acid,...
- SugusSugusSugus is a brand of chewy hard candy by the Wrigley Company.Its origins are from the Suchard chocolate Enterprise in Switzerland, who created it in 1931. They are square, and their measures are 2 inch and 7 mm thick, including the packaging....