It is generally accepted that Americans eat a lot of fast food and sugar. Supermarket shelves in the US are really bursting with chocolates, bars, sweets and other similar products. But there are several types of confectionery products familiar to Russians that cannot be found overseas. Sometimes it looks paradoxical, especially when it comes to products of American manufacturers. “Subtleties” you can not only read and be inspired, but also travel with us! Mars is an American food and pet food company, but is best known for its sweets. The line includes Snickers, Milky Way, Twix – all this can be bought in US stores. But there are no Mars bars. Sweet “Mars” appeared in 1932 in Great Britain, and it is named after its creator, entrepreneur Forest Mars, who later founded a food company. Why exactly the Mars brand is not found in the States is not known for certain. There is an opinion that it was replaced by Milky Way, similar in composition, but this sounds somehow unconvincing. Interestingly, in The Big Bang Theory, chocolate is still mentioned.
Handmade author's tours - here.Mars
Bounty
Another popular product of the same factory among our compatriots, which cannot be found in America, is Bounty. Favorite by many, “heavenly delight” is sold only in Russia, Europe, Oceania and the Middle East. At home, the production of this brand was stopped in the mid-1990s. The place of Bounty in the States was taken by bars Mounds (coconut filling in dark glaze) and Almond Joy (with the addition of almonds). Occasionally, you can still find Bounty in US stores, but these will be sweets delivered from Europe. Do you know what surprised an American in Russian supermarkets? 4 important nuances.}}
Chupa Chups
It's hard to believe, but the famous Chupa Chups lollipop with a logo drawn personally by Salvador Dali is completely unfamiliar to Americans .
The candy appeared in 1958 in Spain. According to legend, its creator Enrique Bernat saw a woman scolding her child for getting her hands dirty with a melted candy and realized that manufacturers were not targeting their main consumers – children. The “design” of the sweet has changed, and it has become possible to consume it without sticky fingers. In general, Enrique was truly a level 80 marketer: he also came up with the idea of placing a counter with Chupa Chups at the checkout, where the kids easily reached for sweets. In America, such sweets are called lollipop, and the main brand that produces them is Tootsie Roll Pop. When they give Mars instead of Milky Way: how the same products are called in different countries.
In Russia, many people love Choco Pie – round biscuits with a marshmallow layer, glazed with chocolate. This dessert is unknown in the USA, although its prototype appeared in Tennessee in 1929.
Kinder Surprise
Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs, which are widely known in our country, are also not sold in the States: they have been strictly prohibited there since 1938, when a law was passed that inedible objects could not be inside edible ones. Every year, thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands, of Kinders are confiscated at customs, and until 2003, anyone who tried to smuggle them across the border had to pay a fine of 2,500 USD per piece. The reason for the ban is the fear that kids might choke on plastic, deciding that since there is chocolate on the outside, then everything inside can be eaten.
Since 2003, the standards have changed, and eggs with a capsule that divides the inner space in two and protrudes beyond the outer edges of the chocolate halves were allowed to be sold. It is believed that with this design, even very young children will understand that something inedible is hidden inside. But prefabricated toys in Kinder Surprise are still prohibited – because of the small details. In 2018, Kinder Joy, a new product, entered the US market – a plastic egg with a gift in one part and filled sweet paste in the other. So the manufacturer fights for his product, creating a legal analogue.
What else to read?
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Choco Pie
In Russia, many people love Choco Pie – round biscuits with a marshmallow layer, glazed with chocolate. This dessert is unknown in the United States, although its prototype appeared in Tennessee – it has been produced by the local bakery Chatanooga since 1929, only it was called Moon Pie. It became the famous Choco Pie thanks to the South Korean corporation Orion. In America, it is still almost impossible to find these cakes in red and white packaging. But the Chinese analogue is in use – square and without white marshmallows inside.
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