In the United States, Smarties are a type of tablet candy produced by Smarties Candy Company, formerly known as Ce De Candy Inc., since 1949.[1][2][3][4][5] Smarties are produced in factories in both Union Township, New Jersey, and Newmarket, Ontario.[2][6] The candies distributed in Canada are marketed as Rockets, to avoid confusion with
Each candy is a biconcave disc, with a diameter of roughly 1 cm (0.39 in) and a height of roughly 4 mm (0.16 in). Larger ones have a diameter of 2.5 cm (0.98 in) and are about 6 mm (0.24 in) thick. Smarties come in combinations of colors within their wrapped rolls; these include white and pastel shades of yellow, pink, orange, purple, and green.[11] Each color's flavor is different. They are usually packaged as a roll of 15 candies.[2][12] Smarties candies are peanut-free, gluten-free, fat-free, and dairy-free.[1][12] All Smarties candies are free of animal products and therefore vegan.[13][14]
After World War II, the Dee family bought pellet machines and repurposed them to make candy.[1][7][15] This gave the candy its resemblance to tablet-style pills in shape and texture.[7] When sugar prices spiked in the 1970s, Ce De Candy switched from sucrose to dextrose.[7]
Edward Dee founded Ce De Candy in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in 1949. In 2011, the company was renamed Smarties Candy Company, after its most famous product.[16][17][2]
In 2004, Ce De Candy Co., Inc., in conjunction with Rock The Vote, manufactured 500,000 special edition Smarties with "Rock the Vote" on the wrapper.[18] A 3.5-ounce Theater box was released in 2009, with a retro look on the boxes.[19] In August 2011, the company confirmed that Smarties are vegan.[20]
Starting on October 2, 2022, Smarties launched National Smarties Day, hosting a year supply giveaway of candy and launching a TikTok challenge to celebrate Edward Dee’s birthday.[21]
In January 2011, a middle school in Provo, Utah, reported that its students had started to crush the Smarties into a fine powder and inhale them, mimicking a form of drug consumption, following a YouTube trend. Health effects of this trend could be scarring of the nasal cavity, irritation, and a possible risk of allergic reaction. A similar trend also observed at the same time at the Portsmouth school was "smoking" the Smarties, taking in the dust orally and blowing it out, resembling cigarette smoke.[22]
The Smarties Candy Company operates two factories, one in Union, New Jersey, and one in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. The factories produce Smarties 24 hours a day, five days a week, amounting to over 70,000 pounds (around 32,000 kilograms) per day. After mixing the dry ingredients they are pressed into tablets and then stacked and rolled into a Smarties wrapper for packaging.[23] Smarties Candy Company produces over 2 billion Smarties rolls every year.[24]
The ingredients in Smarties candies are dextrose, citric acid, calcium stearate, natural and artificial flavors, and colors.[25] There are 25 calories and 6.9 grams of sugar in a roll of Smarties.[12][11]
Each package contains an assortment of pastel colors[11][26] in the following flavors:[27][28]
Smarties Candy Company also produces "X-treme Sour" and "Tropical" varieties of Smarties[26][29] as well as "Lollies and Giant Lollies". In October 2015, the company launched Smarties 'n Creme, which are quarter-sized candy tablets with Smarties flavor on one side and creme flavor on the other.[1]
