International Candy From the Candy Box

We here in Ireland love our sweets. In fact, we probably consume more sugar than most of us are even aware of. According to the latest World Atlas international food consummation study, Ireland is ranked 4th in the average individual sugar consumption index. The typical Irish citizen consumes 96.70 GMS of sugar per day, trailing only the Netherlands at 102.50 GMS, Germany at 102.90 GMS and the Americans at a whopping 126.40 GMS per day. While these statistics certainly aren’t great for our waistline, the top four sugar consumers have more than their sweet tooth in common. All four of these countries have a history of quality confectionery manufacturing.

Although known for some less than savoury activities, Amsterdam has a vibrant sweet culture. Traditional Netherlands cookies and cakes are a favourite in this sugar-loving nation.
Germany’s extremely sweet chocolate is known the world over and is a particular favourite with sweet treat connoisseurs.
And of course, American remains the king of confectionery, producing everything from world-famous chocolate brands to jellies – or gummies to use the proper vernacular – in just about every conceivable shape.
While Ireland has its own sweet culture, in particular our world-beating dairy milk chocolate, in today’s blog The Candy Box want’s to recommend some American treats. Our treat boxes can be jam-packed with international sweets that can’t easily be found in Ireland. The below is a few of our favourite American sweets but we encourage you to check out our website to see our full selection of international candy.

International Candy

Let’s start by discussing American chocolate. However, upon doing so we’re wading into a fiercely contested international conflict. That conflict? Which chocolate is better: American Chocolate or European chocolate?
The distinctive taste profiles of the chocolates on either side of the Atlantic is all down to the different recipes used during the manufacturing process.
American chocolate uses more sugar and less cocoa. A typical chocolate bar in Europe typically contains about 25% cocoa, the same bar in American would likely only contain about 10%. Therefore European chocolate has a richer flavour and a smoother constancy while American chocolate is typically crunchier and sweeter.
If you've never tried American Chocolate, we suggest stuffing a treat box with a packet of Hershey's Kisses, Hershey's With Reese's Pieces and if you’re feeling really adventurous try a limited edition fruity cereal KitKat.

American Sweets

Another famous American export is of course Hollywood films. If you’ve recently been to the movies you may have spotted some of our available sweets on the Silver screen. The Candy Box sells two flavours of Cheetos, the unique Cheddar Jalapeno Crunchy Cheetos and the Flamin’ Hot Crunchy Cheetos.
Packets of Cheetos have recently featured in big Hollywood productions including the Ryan Reynolds staring Free Guy (2021), the animation live-action hybrid Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) and the Amazon Prime Exclusive Borat Subsequent Movie Film (2020).
Some film buffs will have noticed that we also sell a range of Reese’s products. Reese’s Pieces featured in probably the most famous example of product placement in movies. Reese’s Pieces were the chocolate Elliot used to feed ET in 80s classic ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Why not add a bit of star power to your treat boxes by adding some of the above American sweets.

Where do you stand on the European/American chocolate debate? Have you spied any of our other products in the movies? Do you have a favourite American sweet to recommend? Let us know in the comments.