I love a good gift as much as the next person. However, I really prefer functional gifts. Not that I don’t appreciate the thought, but how many basket-fulls of perfumed lotion can one person stand?! Well, Ooh La La Candy is the answer to gift giving. A sweet sentiment (pun intended) AND a tasty treat makes for a good gift. How can you go wrong with popular candy mixed with some good design/packaging?

Given my predilection for useful gifts, it is needless to say that I was looking forward to seeing if Ooh La La Candy could meet my gift-giving needs. I quickly noticed the dual purpose of the “cupcakes”. Gift + sustenance! The cupcakes are crafted from candy which means one of my favorite things is being made from one of my other favorite things! The Sweet Stripes cupcake consists of black and white Sixlets (who doesn’t like Sixlets??) and is topped with a giant pink gumball. (Be forewarned, the anticipation will surely build because the packaging of the little cupcake is a bear to get into! They are securely attached to their individual, plastic cubes.) The other cupcake I tried was a PB&J Cupcake made with, yep, you guessed it, peanut butter chips and grape jellybeans. In lieu of a gumball topping the cupcake, this one had a peanut butter cup adornment.

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As I was enjoying the tiny chocolate essence of Sixlets one day (see our Sixlets Flashback for more Sixlets info), I wondered how Sixlets got their name. I counted the colors… Orange, yellow, green, brown, and red. That’s five… I counted the candies in the package. More than six. I counted the ingredients. More than six. I looked over the nutrition facts. Not a “6″ in sight. Why on Earth are these candies called Sixlets? For some reason I can’t explain, I felt compelled to know.

I looked at the plastic package again. “Questions or comments about this product?” Oh yes. I called the toll-free number. Oddly enough, I never could get a human being on the line. Eventually, I shrugged and hung up. I noticed the website on the wrapper. http://www.hersheys.com/.

Perhaps I could find the answer there. Though I had a wonderful time browsing through info about other delicious Hershey’s products, Sixlets were nowhere to be found. I e-mailed them my query. I received a basic “thank you for your e-mail” message, but that was all.

I was growing desperate. Was there no history to be found about the Sixlet? I began e-mailing companies that sold Sixlets online. The ones that replied were very sweet. (No pun intended.) I got a lot of apologetic “I have no idea”s and “good question”s, and even a couple that said if I do find out, to please let them know as well! Even a search on Wikipedia returns minimal information.

Old Time Candy states, “We have been told that they are called Sixlets because originally they came six to a package.” Is this true?

I also mentioned Sixlets to a friend who lives in Canada, and he had never heard of them. I thought that was odd but not very odd, since he is in another country. However, I mentioned them to my co-workers, and a few said they had never heard of them, either! Holy smokes! I had no idea Sixlets were so elusive! They always seemed to common to me as I was growing up.

Even now, as I look at the empty wrapper, I am in awe of how mysterious they are. When were they originally created? Was the name significant or was it just a trick to get your attention and make you wonder? If it was just to get attention, it certainly worked!

Buy Sixlets Online:

• at Old Time Candy
• at Candy Crate
• at Candy Direct

candy, sixlets, retro, nostalgia, nostalgic, chocolate

As a little girl, I remember going to the old People’s drugstore near our house and my mom buying me a package of Sixlets. When Brian recently reminded me of them, I immediately snatched the chance to step away from licorice and focus for a bit on these yummy chocolate candies.

Sixlets are similar to M&Ms, being small morsels of chocolate covered with a crunchy candy coating. However, there the similarities end. Instead of the flattened orb that M&Ms resemble, Sixlets are a round ball. In addition, the chocolate they contain is far superior to that which you find in M&Ms. In all honesty, I loathe M&Ms. Other than making me thirsty, they do nothing for me.

Sixlets are quite different. Instead of having a uniform taste among all the colors, there are at least two different flavors. The orange color pieces are the most obviously flavored ones, and I think I can detect another flavor in the browns. Among the rest, however, it is almost impossible to discern any difference. But, that’s always been part of the fun for me – are they all different flavors, or just the oranges? If I eat all the yellows at one time, will I discover a unique flavor? Ok, so I may be a tad obsessed. Me, obsessed with candy? Never!

I remember as a child how Sixlets came in a long tubular cellophane, similar to Smarties (US, not UK). It seems that now they have expanded their offerings, and larger packages are available. Nothing will ever beat popping them out of the end of the package one by one and savoring their smooth chocolate flavor combined with the sweet, vaguely fruity candy coating.

Buy Sixlets online:

• at Amazon
• at Groovy Candies
• at Old Time Candy Co.
• in bulk at Candy Direct

candy, sweets, sixlets, chocolate, orange, nostalgia, retro