A Look at Unique and Unusual Candies from Around the Globe

There's nothing better than enjoying your favourite candy, is there? From gummy sweets to traditional hard-boiled candy and face-screwing sour jellies, there's something for everyone. Yes, the UK is one of the best places to discover delicious flavours - along with the USA.

However, let's not forget that lesser-known brands can open you up to new flavours and even help you find a new favourite.

If you're looking for something new and truly unique, some countries take the notion of confectionery and decide to inject some weird and wonderful flavours into their sweets.

Let's take a look at some of the most unique and unusual candies worldwide.

Kitten Tongues

We'll start with Kitten Tongues, which might sound worrying - but they're not as weird as they sound. These milk chocolate treats are shaped into kittens' tongues and lightly sweetened for a melt-in-the-mouth appeal.

Created in Vienna, the tongues became popular in the Czech Republic and remain available today.

Surprisingly, they never made waves in the UK, but if you're heading to the Czech Republic, be sure to grab a pack.

Salsagheti

It's a well-known fact Mexicans love their spicy food, but they decided to take it a step further with this innovative confectionery. Salsagheti is definitely not what you'd expect from a jelly sweet - even though it looks similar to strawberry laces on the outside.

Many would describe the taste as sour jelly sweets, but Salsagheti also has a powerful tamarind and chilli powder coating, which offers new heat levels.

These sweets aren't for the faint-hearted, but they are popular and will blow your mind.

Tayto

Have you ever tried a chocolate spread and cheese and onion sandwich? Well, the creator of Tayto did and loved it so much that they decided to turn their favourite snack into a delicious chocolate bar.

Based in Ireland, the Tayto company launched their limited edition chocolate bar, which only appealed to a small market sector. In fact, it received so many negative reviews that the Tayto chocolate bar never appeared again.

Chocolate Crickets

These definitely aren't for everyone, and the USA and UK aren't quite as receptive to the edible bugs market as other countries. Some people are thoroughly enjoying chocolate-covered crickets- especially ones created by the 'I Ate A Bug Club'.

Maybe they'll catch on soon, but we're not so sure. Why eat bugs when you can have Cadbury and Galaxy chocolate?

Lamb Caramels

You won't find anything more unique than Lamb Caramels - but many would agree that's a good thing! They're certainly not for the faint of heart and make Salsagheti seem 'run of the mill'.

Derived from a traditional dish combining lamb meat and vegetables, the people in Hokkaido call the concoction Genghis Khan. A company decided to try to sell a condensed sauce version of the dish, but it failed to make an impact on people.

However, when the idea was reimagined into a candy, Sapporo Gourmet Foods started selling more, and people loved it. We'd be shocked if this unique candy ever took off anywhere but Japan, but it could be a fantastic joke gift.

Musk Sticks

You'd be forgiven for thinking these bright pink sticks were bubblegum or candy-floss-flavoured sweets - but you'd also be wrong. As one of New Zealand's and Australia's favourite confectionery choices, we don't have Musk Sticks in England.

Made with a combination of gelatin and icing sugar, the sticks have a musk essence and taste added to them. Basically, it's a perfumed stick you can eat - and Australians consume millions of musk sticks each year.

Someone even described it as 'tasting the smell of old ladies', but considering its popularity - Australia and New Zealand must love them.

Salt Liquorice

People in Scandinavia have to deal with particularly harsh winters, but countries like Finland are so beautiful they make it worth it. Due to their hardcore nature, people from these countries aren't happy with simple confectionery and prefer something different.

Salt liquorice has a strong taste, with the traditional texture you'd expect, but there are different intensities available. From weak options for children to incredibly salty sweets, people in the Netherlands also appreciate this unique candy.

Botan Rice Candy

Botan Rice Candy is taking the idea of convenience to whole new levels. If you hate unwrapping your sweets before eating them, these unique treats provide a solution. Covered in edible rice paper, you can remove them from the pack and eat them immediately.

The available flavours include orange and lemon and have a jelly-like cube consistency. Each box comes with a collectable toy, making them a popular option for children.

Kit Kat

Nestle's Kit Kat is one of the most popular chocolates in the UK, but Japan took them to new levels when they decided to take the original milk chocolate flavour and create an explosion of colours and flavours.

Some of the most popular flavours include cheesecake, salted white chocolate, matcha, and strawberry. Better still, you can get great wholesale deals on Japanese chocolate with Appleton Sweets.

Percy Pigs

It's incredible to think that Percy Pigs are as popular today as they were 20 years ago, but there's no denying our love for them. With their foamy faces and jelly ears, these pigs never fail to disappoint - but they're also one of the more unique sweets out there.

Marks & Spencers continues to make changes to the original recipe, including removing gelatin and creating a vegetarian version.

The bottom line

So, now you know some of the weird candies from around the globe, you can watch out for them on your travels. Which will you try? While you're waiting, why not check out our wholesale confectionery?

We regularly update the stock with new options, including Kit Kat flavours from Japan and USA confectionery.

With speedy delivery and great prices, you'll have everything you need to stock your store or fill your cupboards.