Get Ready For Spicy Skittles & Starburst

Your dessert game is about to get lit — literally. The folks over at Wrigley announced at the National Confectioners Association’s Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago that Skittles and Starburst are coming out with a spicy Sweet Heat flavor remix in December 2017. What exactly is Sweet Heat you ask? At this point, my guess is as good as yours, but we can use our imaginations.

The Sweet Heat Skittles flavors are: Fiery Watermelon, Blazin’ Mango, Flamin’ Orange, Sizzlin’ Strawberry and Lemon Spark. And the Starburst flavors are: Fiery Watermelon, Strawberry Mango, Flamin’ Orange and Pipin’ Pineapple.

According to a rep for the National Confectioners Association, Wrigley is getting in on that spicy trend with this creation: Susan Whiteside, vice-president of public relations and marketing communications for the National Confectioners Association told Food Business News,

"From flavors like honey Sriracha to mango chipotle, confectioners and snack manufacturers both are increasingly turning to sweet to balance out hot, spicy or tangy flavors."

And if you're in on food trends, you know that spicy foods are seriously in right now. People love Sriracha so much they carry it around with them, and studies show spicy foods are actually pretty good for you. Perhaps that's why there are hot sauce stores popping up all over the place and people are starting to get a very evolved sense of taste for spice. They can tell the peppers apart. They can take the heat. Which is exactly why candy companies looking to branch out, keep up with trends and expand their flavor boards by experimenting with spices.

What do you think? Will you be rushing to the candy aisle this December?