5 Candies You Didn’t Know Got Renamed

A candy that is truly successful can easily remain on the market for decades. But the candy industry changes at a fast pace. Products that were once popular can disappear, companies enter new international markets, and familiar brands are rebranded and sometimes merged. Therefore, not every part of our beloved candies stays the same. Sometimes, you may bite into something completely familiar, but look at the wrapper and see a name you don’t recognize at all. 

In this article, we’ll discuss a few popular candy brands that changed names and manage to keep their loyal fans anyway.

1. Opal Fruits → Starburst

Many British candy admirers remember the 1960s’ popular candy, Opal Fruits, which came in a square shape, had a soft, chewy texture, and tasted like fruit. The candy was created by Mars, and its original flavors were strawberry, lemon, orange, and lime.

According to the story, the name Opal Fruits was chosen through a competition held in the United Kingdom in 1959. Specifically, the author of this name is Peter Pfeffer, who won the competition and received £5 for suggesting Opal Fruits. From this perspective, his effort may seem a bit unusual, as it’s easier to score a HitnSpin 25€ bonus on online sites, where you don’t need to win a naming contest or wait around for a prize. But this name was swapped either way.  

When the candy entered the American market, Mars decided to call in Starburst. For a few more decades, the UK kept the original name, but in 1998, it was finally replaced in the UK too. Still, Peter Pfeffer’s five pounds bought him a well-deserved place in candy history.

2. Raider → Twix

Twix is one of the most common candy bars around the world and can be found in almost every corner of the globe. But little do people know that the famous combination of two biscuit bars, caramel, and milk chocolate was once sold under a completely different name.

Similar to Opal Fruits, its original name, Raider, was used in the United Kingdom until Mars started producing it in the United States and decided to give it the name Twix internationally. In the case of this candy bar, Twix was definitely the correct choice. The name is commonly believed to combine “twin” and “sticks,” which basically reflects what the product is all about.

3. Marathon → Snickers

The story of Snickers’ original name is a little bit more familiar to candy enthusiasts all over the world because Marathon bar has returned to British stores several times as a limited-edition release. Still, Marathon wasn’t actually the candy’s first global name.

Considering that the entire idea behind Snickers was to give customers a quick boost of energy, enough to even compete in a marathon, that name seemed like a very suitable option for the candy bar. However, the candy had already been sold as Snickers in the United States since 1930, so Mars changed the name and gave the candy the name of the family’s favorite horse. 

4. Shock Tarts → Shockers

While this one also belongs to the candy from the 1960s, it was not created by Mars, Incorporated, and thus, its history is a bit different. Originally, Shock Tarts were created for people who wanted something much more sour than an ordinary fruit candy. They were colorful, chewy candies with a sweet-and-sour flavor. The name sounded completely suitable because of their taste.

In this case, renaming the candy Shockers, which is close to the original one, made it easier for the Willy Wonka brand to compete with other sour treats that were gaining popularity at the time. The new name was shorter, but it kept the same basic idea: these candies “shocked” people with their sour taste.

5. Mars Men → Sour Patch Kids

The final candy that changed its name is still associated with Mars, but in this case, it’s not the candy company. Instead, the original name of everyone’s beloved Sour Patch Kids was once “Mars Men,” and it referred to the planet. The candy had small alien shapes, and it was a very timely branding decision, considering the public fascination with space exploration during the 1970s. 

However, in the 1980s, people became fascinated by Cabbage Patch Kids, and the company decided to give the candy a more familiar name. As a result, in 1985, Mars Men became Sour Patch Kids, while the alien figures were swapped for children’s shapes. 

Bottom Line

The history of popular candies is full of unusual marketing decisions, and we just introduced a few of them. As you can see, in most cases, companies didn’t change the candy itself, and their flavors are still the same. Still, changing the popular names with a new one is usually a risky marketing decision, and the fact that all of these candies survived and continue to remain on the market is proof that their identities were already strong enough.