Monthly Archives: January 2008

PEZ for Pets – Dog Treat Dispenser

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PEZ for Pets

Gone are the days when a t-shirt or other non-edible item with a candy logo was a rare find. I can walk through almost any major store now and find something with a candy theme – scarves, pillows, even dog treats. Is it licensing overkill, or just good fun? I’m still on the fence, but I have to admit, I was thrilled to find the new over-sized PEZ dog treat dispensers (made by Pet-Riffic) at Walgreens.

I wasn’t happy just because one of the varieties is a Smiling Beagle, and I have a beagle. I was thrilled because the product actually mimics a real PEZ dispenser. So, I guess for me, when the non-candy item is reasonably representative of the original, I’m fine with it. The price on the Walgreens display as well as the price on the box said $9.99, but when it was rung up at the register, the total before tax was only $5.99, and the receipt said “SALE” next to “PEZ for Pets.”

I was pleasantly surprised, and briefly entertained by the idea of buying another dispenser as a collector’s item, until I realized I’d spent a good portion of my weekend building an outdoor shed because my living quarters are too full of stuff already. For you collectors out there though, each dispenser goes for $20 at the PEZ Collector’s Store.

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Candy Review: Cinnamon-Flavored Fire Twizzlers

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twizzlers_fire_package.jpg
It’s a good day for a Candy Addict when you stumble upon a new candy that rocks your world. I was in Walgreen’s the other day picking up a prescription for my newly-acquired bronchitis (long story) and what did I see but a display of new Fire Twizzlers. A cinnamon Twizzlers! When had these come out? I had heard nothing about them! With my love of all things cinnamon, especially Atomic Fireballs, I had to try them.

twizzlers_fire_bent.jpg These Fire Twizzlers are of the “Pull – n – Peel” variety; nine shoestring-thin ropes stuck together to make one solid rope. As you can see from the picture, they are nice and fresh and wonderfully soft. If you like hot cinnamon candy like Fireballs, you’ll love these.

Some of the bites have a nice spicy flavor to them that just tastes good. Some of them have a really spicy kick to them that makes me say “Damn, this is hot!” (but in a really good way). I love these things. They’re way better than Chewy Atomic Fireballs. These are the best non-chocolate candy I have eaten in ages and I am awarding them our coveted CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Candy Award. I’m on my second bag in less than a week.

CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Candy Award

I talked with someone from Hershey’s and was told that “Fire Twizzlers are a customer exclusive – available only through Walgreens” – so if you want some of these, Walgreens is the only place to find them. The “Twizzler brand team” is supposed to be getting back with me with more information, but I wanted to go ahead and get this review out. I’ll update it if I get any more good info.

Twizzlers, cinnamon, Fireballs

Candy Addict site news – traffic, magazine, hiring, Twitter

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I have a few site-related items to share with everyone…..

First, we’re in need of some more staff writers. Keep your eyes peeled for the “Help Wanted” call article SOON.

2007 Traffic
Candy Addict 2007 traffic totals

(click to enlarge)

I recently took a look at the 2007 traffic numbers for the site and was amazed at the actual totals! Here they are (click the graph above to see them all):

  • almost 1.5 million visitors
  • averaging almost 150,000 unique visitors per month for the last three months
  • 12.8 million pages viewed
  • over 60 million hits
  • 769 GB of bandwidth used

Our thanks go out to all of our regular readers and to those people that have linked to us from other sites and blogs. This could have never happened without you!

Smart Computing Magazine

Smart Computing

Recently, a friend of mine noticed that Candy Addict made it into a print magazine! We’re in the magazine Smart Computing, February 2008, Vol.19 Issue 2, Page(s) 42-43. They had many good things to say about us:

When it comes to candy, blogger Brian Pipa knows what he’s talking about. He and his staff of sweet-toothed writers post several reviews or candy-related news items every week. Sure, it sounds like an easy (and tasty) gig, but the Candy Addict folks take their reviews very seriously. They even travel to the yearly, trade-professionals-only All Candy Expo to stay up-to-date on the latest confections. The reviews are often humorous but always detailed, which means you’ll know just what to expect when you pick up that bag of suckers. The blog’s search engine lets you scour the archives for posts about particular candies.

[read this online at the SmartComputing site]

I went to Borders yesterday and bought the magazine. There’s something about seeing your site in a magazine that makes it seem real. We’re on the same page where they talk about FoodNetwork.com and Epicurious.com – both bigtime websites. If you happen to be in a bookstore in the next few weeks or so, go find the magazine and turn to page 42 and see us in print!

Twitter

I have started Twittering about behind-the-scenes Candy Addict stuff. It’s full of topics that aren’t really worthy of their own post here on the site, but that might be interesting to true Candy Addicts. Here’s the Candy Addict Twitter page if anyone’s interested. Somehow I already have 16 followers before I have even announced it.

Candy Review: Chuao Chocolatier Bars

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Chuao Chocolate Bars

When I met Chuao Chocolatier at the All Candy Expo, I knew I had found something special. I have already reviewed their Bonbons and signature ChocoPods, and now I am going to review their creative line of chocolate bars. Chuao’s bars really represent the theme of the company: unique, creative and delicious. The bars come in Caracas, Spicy Maya, Earl Grey and Chinita Nibs Bar flavors.

I was really excited to try these, especially since I am already so smitten with Chuao’s other delicious creations. These bars, like the rest of Chuao’s products, use Venezuelan El Rey chocolate as a base and then enhance its flavor by using fresh unique ingredients. All that aside though, what I was really curious about was tasting these to see if they were going to be bar sized versions of the solid ChocoPods: rich, creamy, and 100% addictive. When I opened the wrappers, just a whiff of their aromas told me a loud “yes!”

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Sweet Decor: Chocolate Coasters

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Chocolate Coaster

When I figured out that my love for all things chocolate and candy was a little more intense that your average Joe, I did what most any person would do. I looked for ways to incorporate my love of sugar into my personal style! I sought out clothing, scarves, pillows, and anything I could get my hands on.

The problem was that once I graduated college and started living in the adult world, I began to crave ways to still show my love of candy in a more sophisticated way. I wanted my apartment to read “young professional” rather than “pig tailed preteen” with bright pink pillows all over my IKEA couch. I did find that candy coffee table books work nicely, but then the problem of too many nice books and not enough surface space arose. What’s a candy lover to do?

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