Candy Hunting - New Hershey's Products

Reese's Crunchy

These are a re-release. They already existed as a limited edition and full time product a few years ago. 

SRP: $1.19
Release: December 2014

Kit Kat White Minis

SRP: $1.89
Release: January 2015

Twizzlers

These look like sets of two extra long Twizzlers. 

Flavors: Cherry Pull 'n Peel, Fruit Punch Pull 'n Peel, and Strawberry Lemonade Filled Twists
SRP: $1.19
Release: December 2014

Candy Hunting - New Chewing Gum

Trident Layers Pumpkin Spice (Review)

Place found: Target
Price: $2.80 for 42 sticks

Extra Pumpkin Spice (Review)

Place found: Meijer (Thanks, David!)
Price: $1.00 for 15 sticks

Extra Apple Crisp

My guess is that this flavor is the same as the discontinued Extra Dessert Delights Apple Pie gum. 

Place found: Meijer
Price: $1.00 for 15 sticks

Extra Sweet Orange

Place found: CVS
Price: $1.37 for 15 sticks

Orbit Citrus Remix

Place found: Target
Price: $2.29 for 42 sticks

5 Tempo 

"A Rhythmic Fruit Punch"

Place found: Target
Price: $2.99 for 45 sticks

Dove Whole Cranberries in Dark Chocolate

Dove Whole Cranberries and Dove Whole Blueberries are new releases from Mars that compete with Hershey's Brookside line. Unlike the Brookside brand, these Dove products use whole berries rather than fruit juice centers. Dove Whole Cherries will be released in January 2015. 

Place purchased: Meijer 

Price: $3.50

Number of reviewers: 6

Appearance - 6.8

The pieces are larger than I had expected; most piece contain two whole dried cranberries. A thick dark chocolate coating with a shiny glaze surrounds the dried cranberries.

E: Attractive packaging and chocolate pieces are glossy and dark. 
E2: Very shiny, glossy. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.6

The first flavor noticeable is that of the dark chocolate. While chewing, the sweet, tart, and fruity flavor of the cranberries emerge. The cranberries take more time to chew than the chocolate, resulting in a dominant cranberry flavor toward the end.

E: Intense dark chocolate bitterness pairs well with the punchy sweet/sour fruit center. 
E2: I like the fruit and chocolate balance, but the cranberry isn't as tart as I would like. 
J: Good mix of cranberry and chocolate.
N: Very fruity, comes in waves. 

Texture - 6.8

The dark chocolate melts in your mouth while the cranberries are being chewed, which provides for an enjoyable textural experience. 

E: Chewy center and melty chocolate. 
E2: Good balance of chew, creaminess of chocolate, cranberry is a little gummy.
J: Smooth, and cranberry adds nice texture. 
N: Sticks in the teeth a bit too much. 

Aftertaste - 6.8

The aftertaste is mostly sweet cranberries from the pieces stuck to my molars. 

E: Lightly sweet and fruity. 
E2: Sweet, chocolaty. 
N: Fruity!

Overall - 7.5

Overall, I think the Dove Whole Cranberries are an excellent product. The flavor and texture of the dried cranberries and dark chocolate pair well together. These take the deliciousness of Craisins and elevate them with the addition of dark chocolate. Yum. 

E: Really tasty and just what you'd expect. Would purchase. 
E2: I would like the cranberry to be a bit tarter, but overall satisfied. 
J: I like the balance between the bitterness of the chocolate and sweetness of the cranberries. 

Candy Hunting - New Mars and Wrigley Products

Crispy M&M's

THEY'RE BACK!!! While Crispy M&M's have been available overseas, they are being re-released in the US! 

SRP: $1.19
Release: December 2014

Snickers Xtreme 

Snickers Xtreme will be introduced as a full-time product. It was previously available as a limited edition product twice. 

SRP: $1.89
Release: December 2014

Other New Mars Products

I do not have pictures for these yet, so I will just list them. Edit: View photos here. 

3 Musketeers Mint Bites

Release: December 2014

Twix Creamy Peanut Butter

Release: January 2015

Milky Way Marshmallow

Release: Summer 2015

Juicy Fruit Starburst Gum

Flavors: Strawberry and Cherry
SRP: $1.29
Release: December 2014

Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape Sour Blue Raspberry

SRP: $1.39
Release: December 2014

Link to More new Mars products. 

Link to More new Wrigley products.

Brach's Caramel Apple Royals

Place purchased: CVS 

Price: $3.00

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 5.8

The Caramel Apple Royals have a caramel exterior with a bright green, apple flavored filling. The green color of the filling looks incredibly similar to green glow-in-the-dark paint (the filling doesn't actually glow in the dark, I checked). These Royals have a waxy paper wrapper, rather than the usual foil wrapper common for Brach's Royals. 

E: Wow, green center! 

E2: Green is too green, reminds me more of mint than apple. 

Flavor and Taste - 5.5

The green apple flavor dominates at first. Then the buttery caramel flavor builds as you chew, while the apple flavor subsides. It works. 

E: Probably the best apple/caramel flavor balance I've tried so far. Apple flavor is quite artificial tasting. 

E2: Caramel is barely noticeable, green apple flavor has a weird temporal profile. 

S: Caramel and apple, but they don't mesh well together. 

Texture - 6.3

The Caramel Apple Royals are soft and chewy. 

E: Very sticky and chewy. My jaws are getting a workout. 

E2: Slightly grainy and chewy, but not as sticky as I would hope for. Kind of a disappointing attempt at salt water taffy texture. 

S: Soft, chewy. 

Aftertaste - 5.8

The flavor of sweet, buttery caramel persists longer than the apple flavor. 

E: Sweet, artificial apple flavor lingers. Buttery. 

Overall - 5.6

Overall, I think these are a good caramel apple candy, though my fellow reviewers did not quite agree with me. While I think the Caramel Apple Royals are just an average candy ratings-wise, they are the best caramel apple candy I have tried this season. The caramel flavor is on point, the apple flavor is not overpowering, and the texture is pleasant. If you are to buy a caramel apple candy this fall, I would recommend this one. 

E2: Would not eat ever again. 

Jolly Rancher Caramel Apple Crunch 'n Chew

Place purchased: Walmart 

Price: $0.67

Number of reviewers: 

Appearance - 7.0

The Jolly Rancher Caramel Apple Crunch 'n Chew candies are individually wrapped within a single-serve size pouch. The hard candy exterior of the Jolly Rancher has a green apple stripe and a brown, caramel flavored stripe. The ratio between the green apple and caramel hard candy varies significantly between pieces. While the exterior differed from piece to piece, they all had the same amount of light brown, caramel flavored filling. 

Flavor and Taste - 6.0

The hard candy exterior has a good balance between tart green apple and sweet caramel flavors, though the flavor is dominantly whichever flavored stripe is directly against your tongue. The center has a light, very artificial tasting caramel flavor. 

C: Get both caramel and green apple, but something a little off with it. 
S: Sour green apple with a hint of caramel. 

Texture - 4.7

The exterior is a hard candy, like normal Jolly Ranchers. I found the exterior too thick to crunch into until it was in my mouth for few minutes. The "chewy" center is malleable, yet still very tough, similar to a Now and Later. I tried to crunch and chew one of the pieces and ended up spitting out the center because my jaw became tired and it didn't taste that great. 

C: Softer than a regular Jolly Rancher, but not soft and chewy. 
S: Inside isn't very chewy and it is really hard and sticks to my teeth. 

Aftertaste - 5.7

The aftertaste after eating the entire candy is mainly just sweetness. 

C: Green apple and creamy. 

Overall - 5.7

Overall, the exterior hard candy shell had a great mix of green apple and caramel flavors. However, the interior was just a dull, artificial caramel flavor and difficult to chew. If the filling had been softer, the Jolly Rancher Caramel Apple Crunch 'n Chew candy would have been much better. 

Caramel Apple Laffy Taffy

Place purchased: Target 

Price: $2.69

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 4.5

Before I opened one of the Laffy Taffys, I was expecting the taffy to be green, caramel colored, or maybe a striped combination of the two. The wrapper is caramel and green colored, so why would one think it would be anything else? Then I opened the Laffy Taffy, and, nope, not green or caramel colored. Instead, it is an unattractive reddish brown color. Why Nestle chose this color out of all the possible options is beyond me. 

C: Poor color choice, should be green or caramel color. 
E: Weird reddish-brown. 
S: Looks like poop. 

Flavor and Taste - 5.5

The Caramel Apple Laffy Taffys smell somewhat like caramel apple candy, yet they just taste like sour apple. Any caramel flavor that might be in there is masked by the intense sour apple flavor. 

C: Sour apple flavor, no caramel detectable. 
E: Apple flavor is distinct, but caramel flavor is overshadowed. Kind of plasticy. 
S: Mostly just sour apple with an off flavor. 

Texture - 7.0

The Laffy Taffy is chewy and sticky, like normal taffy. Some of the taffies also adhered to the interior of their wrappers; I think there should be a better way to package these. 

C: Good chewy texture. Doesn't stick to teeth very much. 
E: Like Laffy Taffy. Very chewy/sticky. 

Aftertaste - 6.0

The aftertaste is sweet and sour, with some lingering apple flavor. 

C: Apple. 
E: Sweet. Apple flavor. 
S: Sour, sweet. 

Overall - 5.5

The Caramel Apple Laffy Taffys are just a sour apple Laffy Taffys with an ugly brown color. Nothing special here. 

C: Misses the mark. 
E: It's on par for Laffy Taffy. 
S: Not impressed.