Starburst (candy)
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Starburst (originally known as Opal Fruits) is the brand name of a box-shaped, fruit-flavoured soft taffy candy manufactured by The Wrigley Company, which is a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Starburst has many different varieties, such as Tropical, Sour, FaveREDs, Watermelon, Very Berry, Superfruit, Summer Blast and Original.
Introduced in the United Kingdom in 1959, the regular flavours are blackcurrant, lemon and lime, orange and strawberry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The brand was introduced by Mars in the United Kingdom in the autumn of 1959, named Opal Fruits by Peter Phillips (known as Peter Pfeffer at the time), the winner of a competition that won him £5.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=official>Template:Cite web</ref> Produced at their factory in Slough, Berkshire, the four original flavours were strawberry, lemon, orange and lime. Opal Fruits were introduced in the United States in 1967<ref name=official /> as M&M's Fruit Chewies. By 1968, they were renamed Starburst under the suggestion of Mars food scientist Aaron L. Brody, who noted M&M's connotation to chocolate. Brody's team originally wanted to use fruit on the packaging but this was rejected as real fruit was not used.<ref name="LosA680520">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While the etymology of the name Starburst is not certain, it was probably an attempt to express the burst of flavour at each bite, and draw attention while space interest was at its peak during the Space Race.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Originally, Starburst came in the same flavours as Opal Fruits, though the lime flavour was replaced by cherry in the US in the early 1980s.<ref>UK Starburst Flavors And American Starburst Flavors: A Comparison </ref> Subsequently, its first variant, "Sunshine Flavors", was released, and was later renamed "Tropical Opal Fruits". In Europe, the lemon and lime flavours were combined to become a singular "lemon and lime" flavour to make room for a blackcurrant flavour.
The brand name Opal Fruits was phased out in the UK, followed by Ireland in 1998 in order to standardise the product in a globalised marketplace.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2008, however, Mars revived the original Opal Fruits in the UK in conjunction with the supermarket chain Asda for a period of 12 weeks starting on 10 May 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 6 October 2008, Mars acquired Wrigley<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> and it transferred Mars' non-chocolate candy brands, including Starburst, to the Wrigley subsidiary.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The original flavours are now branded "Original Fruits", and Starburst now comes in several assortments: FaveREDs, Limited Edition Retro Fruits, Tropical, Baja California, Sour, Strawberry Mix, Berries and Creme, Very Berry and Fruity Slushies. Among the additional flavours are Strawberry Lemonade, Strawberry-Banana, Blue Raspberry, Blue Raspberry Rush, Cherry Splash, Citrus Slush, Kiwi, Banana, Plum, Passion Fruit, Mango, Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry, Melon, Watermelon, Tropical Punch, Green Apple, Orange Cream, Mixed Berries and Cream, Peaches and Cream and Strawberry and Cream. Europe and the United States also has the "Sour" assortment, which includes Apple, Cherry, Pineapple and Raspberry, as well as Strawberry Mix.
Starburst in the UK is vegetarian, its packaging and website clearly stating "Suitable for Vegetarians", and also does not contain any artificial colours or flavours.<ref name="WrgUKsb">Template:Cite web</ref> In the US, Starburst contains non-vegan gelatin in its ingredients.
Lime Starburst made a comeback in 2007 as a limited-edition "retro" flavour in packages of the "Baja" version, while the range in the UK was further extended with a version named Starburst Choozers. These lozenge shaped chews have a liquid fruit juice centre, and come packaged with the tag line "The chews that ooze." Each packet contains three flavours; Orange & Mango, Raspberry & Orange and Pineapple & Orange.
As of August 2016, the advertising slogan for Starburst is "Unexplainably Juicy".<ref name=official />
During March 2020, the Opal Fruits name was revived again for a limited period in the UK with a 152g bag available in Poundland and Dealz stores initially, which included the four original flavours (lemon, strawberry, orange, lime).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Starburst products were entirely discontinued in New Zealand in April 2021,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in Australia in June 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Starburst-branded products had been sold in Australia since 1996.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
As of November 2022, the Duos and Tropical flavours have been discontinued by Mars Inc.
In March 2023, Democratic California Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel introduced the California Food Safety Act to the California Assembly which intended to ban production, sales, and consumption of all foods and drinks (including Starburst, Skittles, Pez, Sour Patch Kids, Campbell Soup, etc.) that contain titanium dioxide and 4 other harmful additives (propylparaben, red dye 3, brominated vegetable oil, and potassium bromate) across the state. All five of additives had been linked to causing cancer and other health problems and at least three were already banned by the European Union from being used in food and drink products. If passed, California will become the first US state to adopt the European Union's ban on titanium dioxide and other cancer-causing chemical additives from being used in food and drink products.Template:Citation needed Although the legislation was signed into law in October 2023, a last-minute amendment removed titanium dioxide from the banned ingredients.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Marketing
In the 1970s, Opal Fruits were well known in the UK for their advertising tag line "Opal Fruits—made to make your mouth water!" (slogan coined by Murray Walker<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>). The full advertising jingle was "Opal Fruits—made to make your mouth water/Fresh with the tang of citrus/four refreshing fruit flavours/orange, lemon, strawberry, lime/Opal Fruits—made to make your mouth water!"
Starburst has been marketed in several ways, including a marketing tie-in for the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest where they replaced Kiwi Banana and Tropical Punch with Royal Berry Punch.
In 2002, Starburst created a song for the Australian market called "Get Your Juices Going". It was released as a CD single and attributed to a fictional pop group also called Starburst.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2007, a commercial for Starburst's Berries and Creme flavour went viral.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The commercial, referred to as "Berries and Creme" or as "The Little Lad Dance", stars a man dressed in Victorian/Georgian clothing expressing his excitement for the candy's flavour by performing an impromptu song and dance routine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The commercial received praise for its style from Advertising Age.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In an interview with Adweek the actor of the character (Jack Ferver) commented that the commercial took over 12 hours to film and that they had to wear the full costume in Template:Convert weather.<ref name=Adweek>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the second half of 2021, the Berries and Creme commercial went viral for a second time, with a number of videos on TikTok using the audio and the "Little Lad Dance".<ref name=Mashable>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other varieties
Starburst also exists or has existed in the form of vines "fruit twists",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> ropes, candy corn, popsicles, gum, candy canes, jelly beans, fruit roll ups, gelatin,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> energy drinks (in partnership with C4 Energy),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> lip gloss (in a partnership with Lip Smackers)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and yogurt (by Yoplait in 2019 as a flavour).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Until 2021, the company also produced 'heart-shaped' jelly beans for Valentine's Day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2021, Starburst released their first vegan gummy candy in the US.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A range of non-taffy Starburst products for the Australian and New Zealand markets were produced from 1997 to 2020; products included 'Snakes' gummies and 'Sucks' lollipops.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>