Amongst all the events of this year, it was studded with many winners in the confectionery industry.  We counted down some of our favourite products launched throughout the year, and this is our list of the best of 2022!

 

22. Starburst Pops

We’re sneaking this one in despite Spangler Starburst Lollipops appearing in late 2021 because these were one of our first 2022 candy arrivals. These perfectly translate the classic candy Starburst flavours (cherry, strawberry, lemon, and orange) into a lollipop form with a surprise chewy Starburst centre. The only thing we think could improve this is having an “All Pink,” version because we all know it’s the best flavour.

 

21. Charms Blow Pop Inside Outs

Classic candy Charms Blow Pops have revamped their flavour selection, (see Kiwi Berry Blast), but it felt like there wasn’t any way to evolve this retro candy until someone turned them inside out! 

This new candy is fun, but if you’ve ever been too impatient to finish a Blow Pop and just chomped down on it whole, you already know what this wad of candy-filled bubble gum tastes - and feels - like!

 

20. Ghoul-Aid Scary Berry Popping Candy

While 2021 saw Hilco's first mashup of Kool-Aid with retro candy popping rocks, they got to another level with their 2022 products. Missing no opportunity, with Halloween on the horizon they released Ghoul-Aid Popping Candy in Scary Berry. The scariest thing about this candy is how precise the Kool-Aid taste is, and how nostalgic the lively popping sensations are.

19. Hershey’s Cotton Candy Ice Cream Bar

Each summer, Hershey’s presents whimsical creations inspired by celebrated ice cream flavours.  This year, they revealed three new Canadian Candy bars: Chocolate Hazelnut, Salted Caramel Toffee, and perhaps their most innovative to date, Cotton Candy. 

The Cotton Candy bar is a brilliant blue and tastes like a real scoop from your local ice cream and retro candy shop. But you either loved it or hated it. However, we insist on appreciating the adorable ice cream cone-shaped triangles to break away and share this treat with friends. 

18. Trolli Sour Duo Crawlers Gummy Candy

Trolli owns the gummy worm niche well, and the new release of Duo Crawlers is a great reminder.  They boast a dual experience of a traditional gummy candy texture on top, with a softer pillowy candy on the bottom, which we've noticed is a 2022 candy theme. 

This is a welcome addition to Trolli’s host of “Crawlers,” but we still love Trolli Bursting Crawlers, best! Whichever Crawlers you’re reaching for, Trolli's funky colourful quirkiness will always satisfy.

17. Twizzlers Filled Twists - Tropical Blast (Pink Guava & Paradise Punch)

Guava is one of those flavours most people can’t describe, and "paradise punch" shares a similar vagueness. So you'll have to trust us when we say that these are one of the best Twizzlers candies we’ve tasted. These filled licorice twists are so soft and fresh that if you close your eyes, you might hear waves crashing and be duped into thinking you're in the tropics.

16. M&M’s Crunchy Cookie

Since M&M's all look the same on the outside, it’s extra fun to try their new flavours! This year’s new candy creation was no different, and the crunchy cookie center was so light and delicate we weren’t sure we were eating an M&M. The hint of candy and chocolate just coating the inside enough achieves that familiar flavour of a crispy fresh baked cookie sprinkled with M&M's.

15. Sweetarts Gummies Fruity Splitz

Originally a Wonka candy creation, Sweetarts has been wise to transform its signature tangy and sweet complementary pallet into many different confectionery forms. This new release of soft and tangy sweets is another dual-sided gummy 2022 candy with a sweet chewy side and a tart puffy flipside. We love to nibble them separately or enjoy the namesake retro candy flavours together in one bite!

14. Maynards Swedish Berries & Creme

Almost as indulgent as an actual bowl of berries and cream, and luckily, not just a seasonal summer pleasure. This new release of the Canadian candy staple has a less gummy texture and a rich creamy flavour swirled with the sweetness of strawberries and raspberries. With one bite of this Maynards candy, you too will be a little lad who loves berries and cream!

13. Kit Kat Blueberry Muffin

We’re still unsure if we needed this, but we can’t disagree that the taste is impeccable. Eyes closed, taking your first bite into this pretty light purple bar, the blueberry muffin taste is undeniable. It’s not just blueberry flavour; somehow, they specifically nailed the exact flavour of a blueberry muffin.  You have to try it to believe it.

12. Maynards Sour Patch Kids Cola

This new candy, on the other hand, we feel was definitely necessary. It seems like there always should have been a cola-flavoured Sour Patch Kids candy, so we were bubbling with excitement for this and can report that its perfectly captured cola essence has yet to go flat. In all fairness, there have been other Sour Patch Kids Cola candies on the market, but they only blessed us with our very own Canadian candy version this year. 

11. Oreo Snickerdoodle

Has there ever really been a disappointing Oreo flavour? Don’t waste your time thinking of an answer to that because they pretty much never miss, and this year’s new Oreo Snickerdoodle fits right in as one of our top 2022 snacks. Light golden vanilla wafers sandwich Nabisco’s signature secret creme, spiced with cinnamon, and dressed for the Holidays with red and green crunchy sugar crystals. These are the cookies Santa has been waiting for.

10. New Reese’s Big Cup with Reese’s Puffs Cereal

Reese’s cups have been stuffed with everything from cookie crumbles to pretzels and even potato chips in 2021. This year's new Reese's invention was imagined by stuffing the classic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with the famous Reese’s Puff Cereal! The crispy crunch of these corn-based cereal puffs nestled inside the humble chocolate and peanut butter cup will surely become a Reese’s candy fan staple.

9. Sour Skittles Candy Gummies 

Skittles Candy is terrific, but all the best people know that Sour Skittles are an elite classic candy.  Thankfully, this 2022 candy unveiling gave the people a Sour Skittles gummy candy, alongside their original and berry flavours! The nostalgic flavour is delicious as ever in gummy form.

8. Hi-Chew Fantasy Mix

Hi-Chew has dominated the chewy candy game with endless spot-on fruity-flavoured creations.  Fast forward to their 2022 candy creation, the Hi-Chew Fantasy Mix, containing the whimsical and dreamy Rainbow Sherbet, Blue Hawaii, and Blue Raspberry. These visionary flavours will whisk your senses away to new worlds.

7. Prime Hydration Drink

The undisputed best of 2022 in the food industry is the Prime Hydration Drink.  A collaboration between Logan Paul and KSI, this new beverage makes what makes you feel good, taste good. 

Prime is brimming with coconut water, electrolytes, and vitamins, without added sugars while not skimping out on delicious nostalgic flavours, like retro rocket ship Popsicles.  There’s no doubting the splash this coveted new refreshment has made throughout the year, and we don’t see the hype letting up anytime soon.

6. New Reese’s Dipped Animal Crackers

Enter the mundane domestic animal cracker… but dip them in chocolate and peanut butter coating and they are revived as another Reese's Candy new release, a champion of 2022 snacks!  We thought they’d be pretty good, but we were not prepared for how delish a creation so modest as this would be.  

5. Rap Snacks Nicki Minaj Truffle Flavours

Rap Snacks capitalizes on the pop culture of legendary rap icons, like Snoop Dogg, Master P, and now Nicki Minaj, but setting them apart is their chips themselves, which are the epitome of flavour. 

For the Rap Snacks Nicki Minaj collab, they concocted three Truffle-based seasonings: Salt & Vinegar Truffle, Sour Cream Ranch Truffle, and the aptly named for the self-proclaimed “Barbie” Queen herself: Bar-B-Quin with my Honey Truffle.  If you fancy yourself a foodie, or just love to dig into a bag of chips, definitely sample these!

4. Skittles Cotton Candy & Starburst Fave Reds Cotton Candy

This heavenly infusion of original Skittles candy flavour and Starburst Fave Reds flavours into luscious fluffy cotton candy was long-awaited and then gone in the blink of an eye.  The perfect summer classic candy meets your childhood favourite chewy confections, and the results are a delightful way to taste the rainbow.

3. Warheads Sour Soda

One of the year's most deliciously innovative products was the new Warheads Sour Soda.  These fizzy drinks debuted in the Sour Warheads' classic candy flavours Black Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Lemon, Green Apple, and Watermelon.  Perhaps the most interesting thing about this product is its genuine sour candy flavour.  The possibilities of drink combinations are endless, and they'll have you puckering up like this beverage’s tart inspiration in no time.  

2. Mountain Dew VooDEW

Mystery flavours have popped up for years, and their buzz has bolstered brands like Mountain Dew to forge new and exciting mystery flavours annually.  Mountain Dew leaned into the spooky spirit of the holiday with the 2022 VooDEW mystery flavour, their fourth foray into this Halloween trick.

We taste-tested this product like we were some kind of soda sommeliers, applying our candy connoisseur expertise to pinpoint this mystery.  The consensus prediction: popular sour candy, like the Maynards candy brand. The reveal: simply… ”sour candy.” 

So while it wasn’t a compelling mystery per se, that doesn't change how exquisite this drink was. Currently clutching our last cans for as long as we can resist their temptation.

1. Twix Cookie Dough

Twix has been churning out original flavours since 1990, with the then-new release of Cookies & Creme - yes, you read that right - recently rereleased in 2020 and immediately flying off shelves.  But this year, they participated in a more popular flavour craze of late: cookie dough. 

Unsure that this flavour profile would compliment the Twix iconic duo, we can now admit we were so wrong.  Our number one best of 2022, this is one of the finest, most authentic cookie dough-flavoured creations we have ever tried, (and you know we’ve tried them all). This velvety batter ribbon tastes like real homemade cookie dough, no details forgotten, with baby chocolate chip morsels.