How to Become as Sweet as Smarties

As Canadians we know the complete truth about Smarties Candy. After all we have the real ones here! Yes, those little round candy coated and delicious treasures filled with fine milk chocolate. One of our favorite Canadian candies, Smarties  provide you with the perfect candy crunch, filling your mouth with bits of colourful candy coating and then, of course, offering you their rich milk chocolate middle. 

If you were a Canadian kid, you know that your childhood would just not have been complete without the addition of these retro candies. Or would the trips to the grocery store with mom, which usually went something like this: There they are, on the tall and shiny, silver rack of candy near the check out. Displayed of course, exactly at "kid" eye level, boxes of colourful Smarties. You start to hungrily crave them, you even place your hand on your stomach for full effect. Mom looks over at you, and before you even get the courage to ask, she smiles and says "just one box". The car ride home is great, not a care in the world just snacking happily in the backseat, on your favorite candy. Fast forward 20 years or so later, and every time you check out at the grocery store, the Smarties box still sweetly catches your eye. More often then not, you'll buy yourself a box of Smarties.

Smarties Candies are a classic old fashioned candy. They got their start in the UK in 1937 and were originally made by Rowntree's. They were called "chocolate beans". Many people thought the word "beans" was misleading. So eventually they "smartened up" and changed their name to Smarties. In Canada, Smarties are made by Nestle. Nestle has the largest production of Smarties in the world right here in Toronto, Canada.

  When Smarties first came out they had all the letters of the alphabet printed on them. The idea was that the children who ate Smarties would have a fun learning tool with the Smarties.  However they stopped printing the alphabet sometime in the 70's. While I'm sure it helped some children learn to recite their ABC"s , most children probably paid no attention to the alphabet and just wanted to quickly eat the Smarties Candy. Maybe there's a connection between this and the name Smarties, concluding that if you ate these you would become "smarter". It would make perfect sense, wouldn't it, that the kids who learned the alphabet would be called "Smarties"?

 There is another completely different American candy that goes by the name "Smarties", these candies are what we refer to here in Canada as "Rockets Candy"

The American version of Smarties are a tablet looking candy, pastel in colour, with a chalky texture. They come in a roll and are tangy and sweet, with a little tartness.

You would swear that Rockets and Smarties were twins! But why they have the same name as our classic Canadian Smarties Candy is beyond me. Needless to say, you will never have to ask an American "If they eat the red one last".

Over the years there has been much thought about the colour of the Smarties we eat and what they could mean. This may have to do with their famous old jingle from the 1970's,which asks the question: When you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last?" Many people actually believed that perhaps there was some benefit to eating the red ones last. We just had to know, does eating the red Smarties make people happier? Well, they actually did a study! It was called "an active learning approach to epidemiology and critical appraisal". The hypothesis was to put those red Smarties to the test. Did the red Smarties increase one's happiness? The burning question, included a trial of 117 people from Australia, Canada and Malaysia. It sadly concluded that those who ate the red Smarties were no happier than those who ate the yellow Smarties. That would have been a sweet study!

Our well loved Canadian Candy, Smarties, do not only come in a box. Smarties also have a special milk chocolate bar that is filled with bits of Smarties pieces.McDonald's has had the  Smarties McFlurry and Dairy Queen is bringing back the Smarties Candy Blizzard. Sweetness.

And the Smarties infused ice cream is epic!

  The commercials for Smarties have changed over the years. The most memorable Smarties jingle was the one from the 1970's, it had such lasting appeal it ran up until the 1990's. This is where they ask you all the questions: 

These words will forever be stuck in our minds. The other Smarties ad airing in 2008 featured various people that were singing to Sly and The Family Stone's. "We Are Everyday People". As of 2013, Smarties changed their slogan to "Show 'your' Colours!". But in 2015 what does appear, but the original good old slogan asking :Do you eat the red ones last?" Some things definitely have staying power, and every Canadian will know this question. It will always go hand in hand with one of our most favorite Canadian candies, Smarties!

Whether you eat them one at a time, or dump the entire box down at once, nothing compares to our Canadian Smarties Candy. Those brilliantly, shiny candy coated shells, that are stuffed with nuggets of milk chocolate, will always beat the American version.

Since chocolate is great for improving brain power, just eat the Smarties!

That is how to become as sweet as Smarties!

 I just have to ask, as I actually just ate the last of my Smarties Candy while writing this blog: "Do you eat the red ones last?"