If you’re an avid Candy Addict® reader, a chocolate aficionado, or just a tad obsessed with Ritter Sport, you’re probably already familiar with the company history. But, for everyone else, here’s a rundown of the past 100 years in Ritter Sport:

• 1912: Alfred Ritter and his wife, Clara, founded a chocolate factory in Bad Cannstatt, Germany.
• 1919: They introduced Alrike, their own chocolate brand, to the market.
• 1930: The company relocated to Waldenbuch.
• 1932: The square bar we know and love today was created. Clara Ritter set out to make a unique chocolate bar—one “that fits into the pocket of every sports jacket, doesn’t break and still weighs the same as a normal long bar of chocolate.” Welcome Ritter’s Sport Chocolate.
• 1952: Founder Alfred Eugen Ritter dies at age 66. His son Alfred Otto Ritter takes over.
• 1959: Founder Clara Ritter dies at age 82.
• 1960: Alfred Otto Ritter decides do away with the production of long chocolate bars, pralines and hollow chocolate figures. Instead, production is focused on the chocolate square, and the Ritter Sport brand is born.
• 1970: Ritter Sport is recognized throughout all of Germany when the country’s first-ever chocolate made with yogurt is introduced by the company and a national TV commercial debuts. Germany is also introduced to the “Quality. Chocolate. Squared.” slogan.
• 1974: Each Ritter Sport bar is assigned a colored packaging.
• 1976: The revolutionary snap-open pack is introduced.
• 1978: A third generation of Ritters takes over the company.
• 1982: The miniature square bar is introduced.
• 1991: The switch is made from composite materials to fully recyclable, single-material packaging made of polypropylene.
• 2002: Ritter Sport begins producing approximately 30% of its own electricity and 70% of its own heating needs.
• 2004: The candy is now available in more than 70 countries.
• 2007: Ritter Sport makes the switch to 100% natural flavorings.
• 2008: An organic line of chocolate bars in introduced.
• 2012: 100th birthday!

Phew, that was a lot of history. But even by just reading these company highlights, it’s evident that Ritter Sport is more than a family of chocolatiers. They’re successful entrepreneurs whose family values, innovative mindset, compassion and environmental interest have set them apart from other candy makers.

Suggested ways to celebrate Ritter Sport’s 100th birthday:

• Eat your way through all the flavors available in your country.
• Visit the award-winning special 100 Years website.
• Buy some for your friends.
• Cook with Ritter Sport.
• Book a trip to Germany so you can try the special anniversary bar (pictured above).

In a league of their own, Ritter Sport has spent the past decade flirting with chocoholics worldwide, titillating our taste buds, wooing us with masterful flavor combinations and colorful, inventive snap-open packaging. Hopefully this decadent German chocolate love affair shall continue for years to come.

• Ritter Sport
• Ritter Sport at Candy Addict®

The chocolate bar has been around since 1847. In one form or another, cake has been around since long before then. But in recent years we’ve seen a surge of interest in cupcakes, designer cakes and cake pops. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if someone somehow combined both the candy bar and the cake worlds to prove to all of the naysayers out there that this whole cake fascination is more than a fad? Well, that’s exactly what Ryan Taylor did.

Along with little sister Krystal as baker, cake-loving Ryan began experimenting with recipes that married cake and candy. The result? Cakedy (pronounced cake-uh-dee, for all you word nerds).

The Cakedy website lists three flavors—best-selling Peanutter, RedHead and Choco Chocatus—with a fourth, Red Velvet, currently in the works. (I’m assuming Mint Chocolate is another new flavor.) Each bar is made from cake nougat and candy chips, all coated in a candy shell. RedHead is strawberry cake nougat mixed with strawberry chips, covered in a vanilla shell. The other two are, of course, made with peanut butter and chocolate cake nougat.

I received two Cakedy samples—Mint Chocolate and Peanutter. The first thing I noticed was that the packaging looked semi-professional. I was impressed with the labels and happy to see ingredients on the back. There are no nutrition facts but this is common among independent products, manufactured in small quantities. I did find both packages a bit difficult to open though. But I’m sure that once mass produced this won’t be a problem!

First up, Mint Chocolate. As I sunk my teeth into the outer layer of chocolate and inner pillow of chocolate-mint cake, my first thought was that I was eating something cake-like…perhaps a brownie. The cake center made for a texture unlike other candy bars I’ve eaten. And it was pleasant. The mint flavoring was a bit overpowering though.

Next, I tried Peanutter. I bit into the chocolatey outside and peanut butter-butterscotch middle expecting more of this unique cake texture. But instead I found the texture to be more like that of a peanut butter cup. While the center didn’t resemble cake, it was certainly delightful. I could taste subtle butterscotch in each bite, resulting in a sweet, rich flavor with a hint of a tart aftertaste. Good balance of flavors in this bar.

Editor’s Note: I also received two Cakedy samples… the Peanutter was fabulous and I enjoyed the heck out of it. Sweet, but not too sweet, a great mix of flavors. Delicious! I also tried the Redhead flavor which is described as “strawberry cake nougat mixed with strawberry chips and covered in a vanilla shell”. I wasn’t as fond of this one. The “vanilla shell” tasted like white chocolate (which I have never liked) and the strawberry flavor inside was lacking.

Overall, Cakedy is a great concept and I hope these make it to the rest of the US/world and Minnesota doesn’t hoard Cakedy for themselves. You can order them online though!

• Cakedy Official Site
• Cakedy Facebook
• News and Video Footage

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

And what about Bonkers!™? Those chewy, fruity rectangles with the soft fruit-filled centers that came in grape, orange, strawberry, watermelon and chocolate flavors, to name a few. (I, of course, was partial to the chocolate ones.) Manufactured by Nabisco, these treasured nuggets were not quite gum, not quite taffy, but something in between. You could find them just about everywhere in the mid-’80s. But sometime in the mid-’90s the candy disappeared.

Now, wipe away those tears, because here’s the part where I brighten your day. The Wacky Wafers™ and Bonkers!™ trademarks have recently been purchased by Leaf Brands® LLC. And they’re planning a market relaunch by the end of 2012. So, while, according to those kooky Mayans, the world is about to end, you’ll at least be given one last chance to savor your favorite candies that stir up pleasant childhood memories.

Who is Leaf Brands, you ask? Well, they’re somewhat of a Superhero to those of us in the delightful land of Candy Addict®. They’re the ones responsible for the recent resurrection of Astro Pops® as well as for launching Farts Candy™ and David’s Signature Beyond Gourmet™ (review on the way).

Which other candies would you like to see brought back from the dead?

• Official Press Release
• Leaf Brands

The year was 1912. The Titanic was sinking, New Mexico was becoming the 47th state and Arizona was becoming the 48th. The Scoville Organoleptic Test was being developed (to rate the spicy heat of a pepper), and, ah, yes, the good ol’ Life Saver was being born.

Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, weighing approximately 2 grams, the Pep-O-Mint Life Saver was born thanks to the clever determination of his father, Clarence Crane, a chocolate maker who set out to create a sweet treat to beat the summer heat.

Life Savers became so popular that during WWII other candy manufacturers donated sugar rations to sustain production so they could be supplied to the Armed Forces.

In the 100 years since Life Savers were born, the candy has had more than 40 siblings, each uniquely flavored. These include Lic-O-Rice, Cin-O-Mon, Vi-O-Let, Choc-O-Mint, Molas-O-Mint, Lemon-Lime and Wint-O-Green.

Yes, it is true that Wint-O-Green Life Savers cause a spark in the dark—or, if you prefer the fancy scientific term: triboluminescence. Simply sit in a dark room, bring a friend or two, put a Wint-O-Green Life Saver in your mouth and bite. Your friend(s) will be impressed. To my surprise, many people under 30 have never heard of this whole spark in the dark thing. How bizarre!

Despite being kept in the dark regarding the spark, the under 30 demographic does seem awfully familiar with fruit-flavored Life Savers Holes that were born in 1990 or the Gummies, which are just two years younger.

Wrigley, the candy company who owns Life Saver, has launched a joyous website to celebrate this milestone birthday. And what does Life Saver, the man of the hour himself, want for his birthday? … He want you to purchase a 100th Anniversary Life Saver bag and enter the code on the birthday site so that you can donate $1 to a charity. I suppose it all circles back that charitable name of his – Life Saver.

And for those of you who want to reminisce, here’s an old commercial you may remember seeing.

What’s your favorite type of Life Saver? I prefer the Gummies Wild Berries. But I’m not one to ever turn down a spark in the dark, so I suppose I also favor the Wint-O-Green.

• Life Savers Website
• Birthday Press Release

In case you haven’t heard, after a 72-year relationship, Mike & Ike have split. Yes, a candy-coated PR stunt similar to that of the great Barbie & Ken divorce of 2004.

Hoping to capture the attention of teenagers, Just Born (the candy company who makes Mike & Ike) made the split well known across multiple social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, earlier this month.

Mike apparently wants to be a musician, Ike an artist. And the two have gone their separate ways to mingle with their respective social scenes whilst avoiding one another. Who knew that candies behaved as selfishly as humans?!

So, what will come of this? Well, so far Mike & Ike’s Facebook fan page has grown by more than 200,000 new fans. And, speaking of fans, they want YOU – yes, you, the one with colored sugar stains on your fingertips and sugar caked on your lips, to document your very own reaction to this startling news. You might win a music player, a t-shirt or candy!

I’ve read through a number of Facebook posts and blog entries documenting this entire event and I have to say that I’ve become more of a Mike fan. He seems funnier and less pathetic to me. Whose side are you on? Do you want to see them get back together or split? Personally, I’d like to see them split and each make their own new candy.

• Mike & Ike Website
• Fruity Facts About Mike & Ike
• New York Times Article Profiling the Campaign

Yes, you read that correctly. Promotional company Chocolate Graphics uses a patented process to create edible advertising—QR Codes made from 100% chocolate.

Choose from white, milk or dark chocolate, in 1-inch or 2-inch squares. The chocolate is made by Blommer, which I’ve never eaten. So I can’t tell you how it tastes. But Blommer’s website does state that they’re the largest cocoa bean processor in North America…if that influences your buying decision.

Do you think this is a clever marketing tool you can use to “…step into the future!” as it says on the Chocolate Graphics flyer, or do you think it’s just a sugar-coated blessing (i.e., a foolish way of throwing away your marketing dollars)?

The idea is certainly a matter of opinion. But for all of the candy lovers out there, it seems like a reason for us to all run out to business networking events and exchange “cards,” right? To have someone hand you a chocolate QR Code rather than a boring business card seems wonderful.

And rest assured, Chocolate Graphics also makes plenty of other chocolate promotional items that you can also use to attempt to extend your reach.

Of course, if you’d rather just get a chocolate photo of yourself, the Internet also gives you that ability.

The point of this post? Marketing can be sweet!

• Chocolate Graphics

Candy is fun! Creative! Inventive! So what does any respectable candy company like Cadbury do when its Google+ page gets 500,000 “circlers” (fans)? …it celebrates by making a Google+ profile page out of chocolate!

How does one go about making an edible profile page? Well, the base is made of 1 kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of milk chocolate. Followed by a layer of Cadbury Dream Chocolate. Then topped with layers of sculpted chocolate pieces all held together by chocolate glue. There are even edible inks printed on sugar papers to display fan photos. Amazing!

• Mashable news story
• Video of the “choconstruction”
• Cadbury Google+

Apparently, there is a chocolate bar out there that I am NOT allowed to eat!!! When I found out that there was no way I could get at this phenomenal piece of candy, I was outraged! Until I found out from the Chicago Tribune that this particular 12,000 pound chocolate bar was made to teach our children about portion control.

The company, World’s Finest Chocolate, is usually a company that does fundraising for schools but this time they went beyond that. This enormous piece of confectionary marvel is 21 feet long and 3 feet high. It took 1700 pounds of cocoa butter, just to give you one ingredient, to make this monster. But, it’s all for a good cause.

World’s Finest Chocolate is taking this bar on a tour called the “Think Big, Eat Smart Tour” to teach the nation’s children about limiting the amount of sweets they eat. Well, if they bring this baby to my kids’ school, I don’t know if I’ll be able to limit the amount of chocolate I’m going to eat!

• World’s Finest Chocolate Website

Willy Wonka. The name just induces candy coma fantasies. So, when I was at the mall recently, I noticed this new Wonka machine and juts had to check it out. thought it was very cool. I’ve always been a big fan of Wonka candies since I was a little girl (the movie helped too).

The machine is all touch-screen operated and it takes a few steps to get your candy. The candy is dispensed from the tubes you see in the front left of the machine (yes it’s the actual candy you get not some plastic display). You first decide how many scoops you want and then which candy you want (you can get a different one for each scoop). The final step is feeding the machine your cash or you can use a credit card. The candy is then dispensed into a nice plastic container with a lid. Really cool and a very modern way of vending.

Now here’s the downside. It cost me three dollars for two scoops. I chose Everlasting Gobstoppers and Chewy Berry Spree. The two scoops I received for $3 was about the equivalent of a small handful. You can see by my photo that it really was not much. I could buy a full box of Gobstoppers at the store for less than a dollar. In order to fill up this nice little container it would have cost me $7. I think I actually just paid for the plastic tub and not much else. If you see one at your mall, I suggest you wait and watch someone else spend their money. It’s really neat to watch but not worth the cost for what you get.

• The Wonka Website
• Buy Wonka Candy Online

We’ve all seen Ring Pops: those sweet lollipops made into the shape of huge faceted gemstones that we slip on our fingers in order to eat them. Well, now I’ve seen it all. Check out the “Bling” pops that Bazooka, the maker of Ring Pops, is sending to the Dallas Mavericks. These are Swarovski crystal encrusted Ring Pops in the Mavericks signature colors.

Here’s what Bazooka had to say:

“Bazooka Candy Brands, the iconic confectionary company and manufacturer of Ring Pops, believes that the Dallas Mavericks should be rewarded for all their hard work and their NBA finals win. That’s why they’ll be stepping in and saving the day, creating Swarovski-encrusted Ring Pops in the team colors of Blue and White for the team to wear to celebrate their feat. The Ring Pops will be shipped to the team shortly. “

I don’t know if any of the Mavericks will, but being a Candy Addict, I’d probably one of the only people in the world to actually eat this special Ring Pop, if they sent me one.

• Yahoo Sports story
• Bazooka (Ring Pops) Website
• Buy Ring Pops Online