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Skittles is a favorite candy of kids and is the most popular candies available. It was created 40 years back and throughout the time it has been updated and marketed to always look colorful and attractive.
Skittles was introduced for the first time in US markets in 1974. The candy was loosely based on the M&M products that have a colorful candy shell and a chocolate center. Still it has a colorful shell and instead of chocolate center, the center has a fruity and sometimes sour taste in it. In addition, Skittles prints a small 's' on each of its candies instead of where the M&M logo is found on M&M candies.
While it was originally made in England, the production of these candies moved to the US after becoming popular over there. Mars Corporation which is perhaps one of the largest candy makers today currently owns Skittles.
The original skittles has five different fruit flavors that include grape, strawberry, lemon, lime and orange. Furthermore, Skittles has other varieties available that include Skittles Candies Tropical, Skittles Candies Original Flavor and Skittles Bite Size Candies Smoothie Mix. They feature smooth fruit combinations which include mango, peach pear and orange.
Skittles was extended with the release of Skittles Bubble Gum in the summer of 2004. In addition to the crunchy candy shell, the difference was the center having a fruit flavor and soft bubble gum.
Skittles is easily eatable, it is an attractive candy which is wrapped in a colorful shell. The complete process of creating Skittles takes nearly 8 hours. First, the chewy center is created which is primarily made of sugar and other ingredients including fruit juice, citric acid, hydrogenated vegetable oil, natural and artificial flavors. When the center is completed, these centers are coated with a sugar flavored shell. This process is called panning. These shells are then polished and blended. The logo 's' is then printed on each candy. Finally it is packed and is ready for sale.
The marketing slogan 'Taste the rainbow' is the identity of Skittles. Skittles has recently launched an internet marketing campaign in 2009 for promoting their candies in a more aggressive way on social networks including Twitter.com. Skittles is sold today worldwide in more than 65 countries and is still one of the most popular and available candy brand. It is manufactured in the Czech Republic for European markets and in Victoria for markets in Australian and New Zealand.
