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Nerds
are candies sold by Nestlé under
their Willy Wonka Candy Company brand.
Introduced
in 1983, Nerds are small candies that
come in a variety of abstract shapes
and flavors, and are usually sold in
a box that has two separate flavors,
each with a separate opening device.
The
separation of two distinct flavors in
one commodity has generated success
for Nerds, likely because consumers
can control their experiences. A breakfast
cereal based on this concept appeared
in the 1980s, but had a short life.
Nerds
are of varied flavors and varied colors,
ranging from extremely sweet to extremely
sour; often the two flavors in one box
will contrast, and even one 'Nerd' may
exhibit both extremes.
They
are thickly glazed with carnauba wax,
which gives them a hard 'bite', and
a gloss. The nucleus of each candy is
composed of one or more complete sucrose
crystals.
Recently,
Wonka came out with Sour Nerds.The first
released Sour Nerds came out with the
all-new flavors, Lightning Lemon and
Amped Apple.The second released package
featured Shocking Strawberry and Electric
Blue. There are also 3 more varieties
of flavors.
There
are also several Nerds spin-off products
by Willy Wonka:
Nerd
Rope consists of a soft candy string
with a variety of Nerds attached to
the outside, and come in original, berry
and tropical flavors. "As much
fun to play with, as it is to eat, and
vice versa".
Rainbow
Nerds is a box of regular Nerds of multiple
flavors, with no partition or any organization
at all.
Jumbo
Nerds is a box of regular Nerds of multiple
flavors which are much larger than regular
Nerds. The box depicts one jumbo Nerd
on a teeter-totter with several regular
sized Nerds trying to counter its weight.
Nerds
Gum Balls are bubble gum balls filled
with multiple flavors of Nerds on the
inside.
Theme
Nerds are sometimes manufactured seasonally
for holidays such as Halloween or Valentine's
day with names such as "Spooky
Nerds". Flavors can include fruit
punch and cherry.
Nerds
Cereal, a now discontinued breakfast
cereal that, like the candy, featured
2 separated flavors to a box. The cereal
came with a mail-in offer for a Nerds
cereal bowl, which also could be divided
in two.
Techno-Nerds,
a lesser-well known variety, was comprised
of three compartments, green, blue,
and multicoloured.
Dweebs,
a now discontinued soft, chewy version
of Nerds released mid-90s, that contained
three separate flavors rather than only
two. They were available only for a
short time.
I n the 1980s there were several new
flavors of Nerds introduced from time
to time; for example, "Hot and
Cold" Nerds (cinnamon & peppermint
flavored), Blueberry and Raspberry,
and Lemon and Lime (Blueberry Nerds
can still be found in large packages
of Rainbow Nerds).
One
of the most unique ways of introducing
these new flavors to the market was
with small, plastic "Nerd"
figures/toys (about 2-3 inches in height),
which were hollow and contained the
candies within. The color of the figure
corresponded to the flavor of the candy
(also printed on the access cap on the
bottom of the toy);
it
is uncertain how many flavors were produced
in this manner, although Citrus Nerds
were released through the toy premium.
There are very few of the toy figures
in existence today, and these would
most likely be perceived as collector's
items.
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