Sour Punch Bites: History, Flavors & Packaging

Snack History Nostalgia Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆

Sour Punch Bites are one of the products that are made by the American Licorice Company. This was one of the first sour candy brands in the 1990s, and there are actually five different kinds of Sour Punch products to enjoy. The Sour Punch Bites product is the smallest and is one of the favored products for those who enjoy sour candy and don’t want to have to commit to eating an entire rope of gummy candy products.

This is one of the best candy products out there for those with milk allergies as well due to the lactose-free recipe. The sour aspect of these candies is ideal for those who love to eat this kind of candy treat but who are not fans of the sharply and intensely sour nature of some of the other sweets out there that are also made to be sour.

History

The American Licorice Company was one of the first makers of sour candies in the 1990s. There are five different kinds of candies that they make with the Sour Punch Bites recipe. Besides the “Bites” product, the company makes Ropes, Twists, Bits, and Straws. Sour Patch Straws were the first product that the company sold, but the smaller size candies have been a big hit due to how snackable they are. 

Many people are most familiar with the individually-wrapped Sour Punch Twists, which are where the company focuses its holiday efforts. This means that you have probably eaten Easter, Halloween, and Christmas Twists at some point in your life. The Straws products are often sold in accompanying holiday livery as well.

Sour Punch Bites are small sections of the Straws product contained in a bag. Most of them are mixed products with various different flavors inside the bag. You can choose from Tropical flavors, reds, or even “fan favorites” in this form. These are the easiest to eat and to share, which makes them an ideal choice for things like theater candy, hiking, or even for kids to take to school for school events. The bags are 9 oz, which actually offers a lot of candy in one wrapper for anyone, whether you are a kid or an adult.

The Sour Punch brand has always leaned into the silliness of the livery of its products. The bags always show two little cartoon circle heads with wiggly lines for their mouths. There are also usually pictures of the product inside the wrapper on the bag and lots of cartoon pictures of fruit related to the flavor inside the package. The bags have stand-up bottoms, which is ideal so that you don’t lose your candy Sour Punch Bites all over the floor. 

The variety packs have even more color and more cartoons on their fronts, indicating a bit of the livery selections from all the combined flavors that are in each mixed bag. The Fan Favorites and the Sweet Bites are the most visually interesting, having tons of cartoon pictures and lots of colors represented on them. This is one of the things that might attract younger kids to the brand for the first time, just on the strength of the wrapper’s visual interest alone. This styling is a bit of a deviation from the more traditional Sour Punch product wrappers that most of us remember from childhood.

The packaging is actually one of the nicest things about the Sour Punch Bites product, as the Straws come in a plastic sleeve with a simple cardboard backing. The packaging cannot be resealed for the Straws product, but the Bites packages can be resealed. Since sour candies can be pretty hard on your lips and your tongue, this is a great option for later snacking once your mouth has recovered some. 

The company has added Sweet Bites to the product lineup for those who do not love the sour bite of the original candy. These candies have all the same features, the soft jelly formula and the dusting of sugar, but they do not include the sharp sourness of the original recipe. However, most people buy Sour Punch products because they love having access to the strong sour flavor and are probably not interested in the sweet version of this treat.

Like most of these kinds of candies, kids often dare one another to eat a large handful of Sour Punch Bites at once, or they might hold competitions to see how many they can eat in a row. This has always been part of the fun of enjoying this kind of sour candy, and it continues to be a reason that many people select this candy type for their sweet-eating needs. Some of the flavors are rumored to be less sour than others, but the company insists that all of the Bites products are made with the same exact recipe, minus the fruit flavorings that are added to the mixture. 

Sour Punch Bites are a great compromise between a smaller candy and a candy that offers you the really enjoyable taste and sourness of the Straws product that launched the company to fame. For those who were tired of losing candies in their bag or backpack due to the product wrapper that went with the original Straws product, or those who wanted to share their candies, the Sour Punch Bites product offers a great solution. Being able to save your candies for later is also really ideal, especially for those who are not able to eat large quantities of sweets all in one go.

If you want to try some of the more unique candies on offer through this company, but can’t find the flavors at your local store, you will be able to get any of the current product lineups direct from the company’s website. They sell all of their licorice products here as well, which can be great for those who also adore the traditional Red Vines and Black Licorice varieties that the company makes. These are the candies that the company was first known for, well ahead of the creation of the Sour Punch product. Most people think of classic licorice products when they hear the American Licorice Company name.

The company even sells wholesale, so if you ever need to get a huge batch of licorice or Sour Punch products of any kind, you can! This is an unusual offering for a company to make, but it can open up the option to use candies for all kinds of purposes since this kind of purchasing can be so affordable. You will have no trouble getting your hands on Sour Punch products with ease if you choose to order direct from the company itself.

Logo

Flavors:

• Strawberry
• Assorted Flavors Bag
• Tropical Blends
• Rad Reds
• Sweet Bites
• Blue Raspberry
• Fan Favorites

Most of these are assortments, but the original Sour Punch Bites products that were a single flavor can still be purchased. Sweet Bites come in Dream Berry, Passion Punch, Grateful Grape, and Cotton Candy flavors. Rad Reds are Strawberry, Watermelon, Cherry, and Raspberry. Fan Favorites include Grape, Fruit Punch, Tangerine, and Lemon. Tropical Blends does not call out specific flavorings, but there are pictures of pineapples, kiwis, strawberries, and oranges on the bag to tell you what to expect from the flavor profile.

The Assorted Flavors bag included the classic Sour Punch Flavors like Strawberry, Green Apple, and Blue Raspberry. These are the flavors that came out in the early days when Sour Punch Straws were first released. Most people are not even aware that there are any flavors other than these three offerings since the company has been so closely connected with these classic flavor profiles for years.

This is the part of the company that often gets changed or altered to fit consumer demand. You can always consider it a possibility that new, fun flavors will be released in the Sour Punch Bites product lineup. This is also where all the fun taste combinations seem to be created, so if you are looking for really unusual offerings from this candy maker, the Bites product is your go-to option. 

Ingredients:

From the recipe listed on the company website for the Blue Raspberry Sour Punch Bites:

• Corn Syrup
• Sugar
• Wheat Flour
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Citric acid
• Malic acid
• Tartaric acid
• Food starch-modified
• Palm oil
• Glyceryl monostearate
• Sodium citrate
• Glycerin
• Artificial flavor
• Color added Blue 1

This is the basic candy recipe for all the Bites products, minus some flavoring changes.

There is no lactose in the recipe for any of the Sour Punch products, which is great for those who love a candy treat but cannot eat most of the mainstream candies on the market today. The company makes no direct promises about being allergen-free, but there are disclaimers that indicate that there is no milk in the product at all.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	14 pcs (40g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	160
Calories from Fat	35
Total Fat	4g	6%
Saturated Fat	1.5g	8%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	10mg	0%
Total Carbohydrates	31g	10%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars	15g
Protein	1g
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		0%
Iron		0%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet.

Pictures

Ads:

How Sour Punch treats are made:

A more recent Sour Punch Candies ad:

A compilation of Straw ads of varying ages: