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A package of Original Fruit Skittles
Skittles is a brand of chewy fruit flavoured sweets currently produced and marketed by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a division of Mars, Inc. They have hard sugar shells which carry the letter S. The inside is mainly sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil along with fruit juice, citric acid and natural and artificial flavours.
Skittles were first made in 1974 by a British company.[1] They were first introduced in North America in 1979 as an import candy.[2] In 1982, domestic production of Skittles began in the United States. On March 2, 2009, Skittles launched a web-based marketing campaign where their official website became a small overlay with options to view different social media sites in the main area, including its official YouTube page, a Facebook site, the Twitter feed for the word "Skittles" and the Skittles article on Wikipedia.[3] The move was debated by people interested in social media.[4][5]
Varieties
A package of Wild Berry Skittles, a variety of Skittles.
Skittles are produced in a wide variety of flavours and colours. Some varieties are released for a limited time, sold only in some markets worldwide or packaged differently everywhere.
Dietary restrictions
Skittles used to be unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians because they contain shellac and gelatin, which are both derived from animals. Recently, however, Mars appears to have begun removing gelatin from some of their products, including Skittles.[6]
Additionally, Skittles contains apple juice derivatives which might pose an allergen issue for certain people.
References
- ^ SKITTLES Bite Size Candies Backgrounder, company press release, August 23, 2005
- ^ Mars - Skittles, company website, accessed in May 2009
- ^ "Skittles Cozies Up to Social Media", Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2009
- ^ "When Skittles Met Twitter", BusinessWeek, March 8, 2009
- ^ "Skittles' Stupid Social Media Trick", Forbes, March 12, 2009
- ^ Mars Healthy Living
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