I am a big believer in the idea that candy should, above all things, be fun. And there is perhaps no candy on earth as fun as the candy with Fun right in its name – the legendary Lik-M-Aid itself: Fun Dip.
If you’ve never had Fun Dip before, you are missing out on one of the greatest candy experiences of all time. There’s nothing particularly fancy or high class about Fun Dip; it’s the kind of candy you fall in love with when you’re in elementary school and never quite grow out of, the kind of candy that is both simple and wonderfully ridiculous, the kind of candy that makes dentists cringe and kids flip out with sugar-induced happiness. Fun Dip is candy at its best: sour, sweet sugar that tastes great and is super fun to eat.
The taste of Fun Dip is extremely similar in taste and texture to that of Pixy Stix. In fact, eating a packet of Fun Dip is a bit like eating a bowl of Pixy Stix sugar, which, I must say, is pretty awesome.
Fun Dip currently comes in three flavors: RazzApple Magic, Cherry-Yum-Diddly, and Grape-Yumptious:
RazzApple Magic is the wackiest flavor of the three; the powder changes color (and, supposedly, flavor) as soon as it touches a wet Lik-a-Stik, changing from a blue raspberry dip to a green apple one on contact. The flavor falls somewhere between apple and raspberry, though the overwhelming taste is akin to Sour Apple Blow Pops.
Cherry-Yum-Diddly has a tart cherry snap to it that is both sour and sweet. Eating a packet of Cherry-Yum-Diddly is a bit like living out a childhood dream of eating an entire container of Kool-Aid powder with a spoon. Good stuff.
Grape-Yumptious is certainly “yumptious,” but I’m not sure I detected much of a grape flavor at all. I’m more inclined to say that the flavor is “purple,” which is the same reaction I’ve had toward purple Pixy Stix throughout the years; it’s hard to tell them apart from the other colors after a while, as the only true flavor here is sour beyond all things.
As delicious as these packets of sugar sweet goodness are, I have to say that my very favorite part of Fun Dip are the legendary Lik-a-Stix, chalk-like pieces of candy that put both the “fun” and the “dip” into Fun Dip. Lik-a-Stix, by rights, should be gross; they’re like giant Tums, flattened out and designed to be utensils, tools by which we reach the real candy. Yet for some reason, I can’t even get through two or three dips without eating at least one of the Lik-a-Stix, because I find them so delicious. This is a type of candy insanity; it’s a bit like brushing aside your ice cream sundae so you can spend time eating your spoon.
So here is where I have to call shenanigans on Fun Dip. For everything that is right about this candy, there is one glaring problem: a standard pack of Fun Dip comes with three packets of powder and two Lik-a-Stix. Shenanigans, Fun Dip! I know you’d like me to believe that a serving size of Fun Dip is 1 packet of sugar and 2/3 of a Lik-a-Stix, but come on now. Who eats 2/3 of a piece of candy? Nobody I want to be friends with, that’s for sure.
The problem with the Stix-to-Dip ratio lies in the fact that there’s a ton of powder to dip, and two Stix just doesn’t cut it. Besides, it makes it very hard to share the candy when you have to break the Stix into tiny little stubs. I always end up eating the Stix after the first packet and then shoving the rest of the powder into my mouth by holding the paper and funneling it through my lips. It’s still fun, sure, but the entire point of the candy is to dip, and that is taken away when the Stix situation goes terribly wrong. Apparently, I’m not the only person who feels this way: there is currently a petition to “Add Another Stick!” to Fun Dip, and 485 people have already signed.
Alas, I’m not sure we’ll ever get a third Lik-a-Stix. This, however, will not stop me from buying, eating, and loving Fun Dip in the same way I have for the past 20 or so years. Sometimes with candy, you get lucky: you find something that makes your entire day better as a child, and for some reason, though you change and the world changes and yes, even candy changes, you can always go back to one of your favorites and still have that little spark of glee as the sour sugar hits your tongue. So viva la Fun Dip! May it always make my dentist nervous and my mouth bluish-green with happiness.
Buy Fun Dip Online:
- at Candy Crate
- at Candy Direct
- at Old Time Candy
- at Amazon.com
Wow, does that bring back memories! I haven’t had a Lik-M-Aid in years. Where are you finding these Fun Dips?
September 10th, 2008 at 9:52 amHey Amy-
I have found them at my local grocery store, in the candy section, and at any pharmacy that has a decent candy aisle. I’m pretty sure I saw single-serve packs around Halloween (or maybe it was Easter?) last year, but I’m not 100% sure. It’s worth keeping a look out, though!
September 10th, 2008 at 10:38 amFun-dip stick lovers unite! The powder was always hit-or-miss for me – I wished they’d make a candy that just tasted like the stick so you could eat as many as you wanted! What is that flavour, anyway? Vanilla, I guess?
Here in Canada, you can buy Fun-Dip at Dollarama, which I think is equivalent to Dollar Tree in the USA, so you might want to check there.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:51 amThere is actually a tropical flavor pack now. It comes with watermelon, mango and strawberry flavors. I saw them at Target.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:44 pm“Freaks and Geeks” did a great homage to fun dip in one of their earlier episodes. It involved how people used to offer to share it… GRODY! Ha ha ha.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:46 pmLoved Lik-M-Aid as a kid. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any. I will have to look for these in the store next time.
September 10th, 2008 at 1:32 pmI got a few of the big lik-m-aids for my bday. I love these my favorite part is the vanilla candy stick i always thought they needed to put more of them on the package.
September 10th, 2008 at 3:25 pmi agree about the stick. i always loved it much more than the powder. its so good and it has an almost cooling quality when it hits your tongue that i love. i really wish the rasberry powder didn’t change to apple, though. i’ve never been a huge apple candy fan.
September 10th, 2008 at 10:56 pmI totally agree with the fun part. And it’s good to bring back the memories.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:56 amI used to love these when I was a kid, even the chalky stick. It’s always fun to have candy that takes a little while to eat, you get to enjoy it for longer!
September 12th, 2008 at 1:44 amI work at a dollar store here in Canada and we sell those like hot cakes. I love them.
September 15th, 2008 at 9:19 amNow that I’m a mom I cringe at the thought of sugary powder spilling into and out of my kids mouths… they always seem to eat the stick first and then use fingers and dumping to get the rest…not a good combo! But the fact is, I can’t really say much because I LOVED THEM – they were my favorite pick at the corner store because I could make them last soooooo long…..yeah for stick red fingers and fingernails…it’s a tradition of stickiness!
September 15th, 2008 at 12:58 pmI just got some of these at Walgreens the other day! I am all about the sticks also – I like them better than the powder!
September 16th, 2008 at 11:20 amHm, did they change the stick flavor? I just bought some Fun Dip valentines and I have to say, the stick doesn’t taste as good as normal. It used to have kind of a sweet vanillaish taste, but this one had no flavor at all. Not even sweet, just a chalky nothingness.
January 16th, 2009 at 1:17 pmI LOVE FUN DIP :)
February 14th, 2009 at 2:10 amI REALLY WANT SOME FUN DIPS RIGHT NOW :(
February 14th, 2009 at 2:13 am[...] imagine any kid wanting to request them on a regular basis. I figure they’d rather have Fun Dip or [...]
July 3rd, 2009 at 2:01 am[...] Sour Grape (purple): As advertised, it’s grape. And sour. It reminds me of the grape powder from Fun Dip. [...]
August 9th, 2009 at 8:51 pmThanks for the link to the 3rd stick petition. I’m the 667th person to sign. I am sitting here eating a fun dip right now & was thinking how great it would be to have a lik-a-stix anytime I want. I never knew that there were so many people who felt the same way.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:47 pmI agree with you, the stick has always been my favorite part of Fun Dips. They actually remind me a bit of those thin little chalky candy sticks that I can’t seem to find anywhere anymore.
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:16 amTo who ever wrote this article,
I think we would be best friends.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:52 pmdoes anyone recall that they changed the flavor of the Lik-a-stix stick about 15 years ago. It is similar, but not exactly the same
February 10th, 2014 at 6:54 pm