Written by Michael Bryan
Modified & Updated: 02 Jun 2024
Reviewed by Sherman Smith
When you think about candy, Skittles may be one of the first things you visualize. As the leading non-chocolate candy in the world, it only makes sense for Skittles to be a staple confectionery. However, how much do you really know about these sugary treats? Find out the most unexpected about the brand that lets you taste the rainbow with these Skittles facts.
- Frank C. Mars founded Mars Candy Company in 1911.
- Mars Candy Company first made Skittles commercially in 1974.
- Skittles first came to the United States as an import confectionery in 1979.
- Skittles’ local production in the U.S. started in 1982.
- Skittles is sold to more than 60 countries around the world.
- Skittles is one of the most popular brands of fruit-flavored candy.
- Skittles were first made commercially made by a British company.
- Today, it’s manufactured and marketed by the Wrigley Company.
- The Mars company is popular confectionery products such as Mars bars, M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way bars, and of course, Skittles.
- The Mars company is the parent company of Wrigley Company. The Wrigley Company is a subsidiary of Mars.
- Mars is the 3rd largest private company in the United States which has around 100,000 employees.
- As a private company, many consider Mars as one of the most “secretive” and “anonymous” companies in the United States.
- Skittles’ main ingredients are: sugar, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, corn syrup, citric acid, fruit juice, natural and artificial flavors.
- Skittles are sold in a broad diversity of flavors and colors.
- The Skittles official website is https://skittles.com/.
- Skittles first used, “Taste the rainbow.” as its slogan in 1994.
- The slogan of Skittles was created by the New York ad agency D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles.
- Skittles used to have animal-derived gelatin in its candies.
- In 2009, the company removed its animal-derived gelatin from its candies and now suitable for vegetarians.
- Some of the most popular flavor collections Skittles are; Wild Berry, Dessert, Tropical, Sweet Heat, and Sour.
Skittles Facts Infographics
The Skittles uses Helvetica Black for its logo.
As timeless as the candy itself, Skittles has used Helvetica Black as its base font for quite some time. Since label’s font has heavily customized, others may have not noticed that it’s Helvetica Black. However, it’s just one of the Skittles facts that might surprise you.
Skittles ranks among America's favorite candies.
According to a Monmouth University survey, Skittles ranks among America’s favorite Halloween candies of 2019. Of all these confectioneries, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups took the lead with 36%, followed by Snickers at 18%, M&M’s at 10%, and Skittles at 5%. How’s that for neat Skittles facts?
Skittles continues to innovate its products.
Though Skittles rose to fame with its original fruity flavors, the brand has put out many variations under its sugary coating. Alternative Skittles flavors include orchard, dark, sweet heat, sensations, wild berry, and many more.
Skittles released a yogurt flavor line.
Among Skittles’ latest variations include Skittles Dips or yoghurt-coated Skittles. This new flavor line includes new favorites such as blackcurrant, orange, lime, lemon, and strawberry.
For every 100 grams, Skittles contain 400 calories.
For every 100 grams, Skittles contain 400 calories, 90.7 g carbohydrates, and a whopping 75.6 g of sugar. They may be fruit-flavored, but they’re nowhere near the nutrition of actual fruits. Definitely one of the Skittles facts to keep in mind before you get a little too fond of them.
The original Skittles has 5 colors.
Originally, Skittles come in red, orange, green, purple, and yellow. Though they’re marketed as different flavors, Original Skittles actually have the same taste with different fragrances and colors. Definitely one for mind-blowing Skittles facts.
The color blue is one of the most difficult dyes to create.
Ever wonder why there is no blue in the original Skittles? During the mid-70s, the color blue used to be one of the most difficult dyes to create for food products including candies. At the time, the only available blue dyes only had industrial uses for their toxicity. Instead, the Mars Chocolate Company included colors readily available and edible.
The brand offered limited-edition blue Skittles.
As technology grew over time, Skittles was able to heed customers’ requests to complete the rainbow in its slogan. For eight weeks in 2015, the Wrigley Company released a limited run of Original Skittles with limited-edition blue variants. How’s that for cool Skittles facts?
Skittles had a website-based promotional campaign.
In March 2009, the company created a web-based promotional campaign. As part of the campaign, their official website included widgets that redirected to their other social media profiles such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Skittles has an unofficial mascot.
Skittles’ unofficial mascot comes in the form of Yogurt Boy, or a white, gooey creature that coats Skittles to make Skittles Dips.
More than 200 million pieces of Skittles are produced every day.
On a rough estimate, over 200 million pieces of Skittles are produced each day in factories worldwide. This makes for a total of 70 billion pieces of Skittles per year. Definitely one of the Skittles facts that make you realize how big it is as a brand.
Skittles has a bad rep in candy.
According to reports, Skittles is one of the worst non-chocolate candy options due to its high sugar, fat, and calorie content compared to its peers.
There is an ongoing debate about whether Skittles is really using different flavors or not.
Though a blind test in the UK somewhat confirmed that Skittles all come in the same flavor, it’s still an ongoing debate. Whether our brains trick us into perceiving different flavors from Skittles or not, only the Wrigley Company knows for now.
The name Skittles seemed to originate from a game called 'skittles.'
Considered an ancestor of modern bowling, skittles is a traditional lawn and target game in Europe dating back to 3,000 BC. Some believe that the famous candy’s name comes from the game due to the resemblance of the candy’s shape and the objects used in the game.
No one knows who invented Skittles.
Frank C. Mars founded Mars Candy Company in 1911, eventually producing Skittles commercially in 1974. Even so, there is still so much speculation on the actual inventor of skittles. How’s that for mysterious Skittles facts?
The makers of Skittles also created Juicy Fruit and M&M’S.
Currently, Mars Wrigley Brands hold some of the most powerful candy brands on earth. Aside from Skittles, it also produces the legendary gum Juicy Fruit, Doublemint, Eclipse, and Spearmint. Mars Wrigley also produces other chocolates such as M&M’S, Snickers, Twix, 3 Musketeers, Starburst, Dove, and many more.
The company plans to have more environment-friendly facilities by 2025.
In terms of industrialization, Mars Wrigley Brands aims to have zero-waste garbage disposal from their facilities by reducing the usage of plastic. Along with this, the company plans to switch to 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging by 2025.
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