Consumers pucker up for sour food, drinks
When it comes to a taste marketers know consumers will crave, sour is the new sweet.
Consumers are puckering up for sour food and drinks of all sorts. Sometimes they are rewarded with a sweet burst. Sometimes not.
The latest entrant in the sour sweepstakes is the popsicle-like version of Sour Patch Kids candy, arriving just in time for the warmer weather of spring. Sour Patch Kids Flavored Ice Pops will be sold in retail and club stores throughout the U.S. Like the candy, the ice pops start out with a sour taste then turn sweet. They’ll come in a variety of fruit flavors.
J&J Snack Foods is launching it in conjunction with Sour Patch maker Mondelez International.
But the ultimate in sour flavor is what Sonic Drive-In reportedly has in store. Coming next month will be a Pickle Juice Slush. Food & Wine magazine reported it was offered a taste test at Sonic’s Oklahoma City headquarters. The taster described the slush as “sweet and tangy” and that the “only gripe is that the slush is a bit too sweet, as if overcorrecting for the acidity, but maybe this is what has to happen for America to acclimate to — and embrace — a pickle-flavored soft drink.”