That's A Wrap 2019! Bring On 2020!

That's A Wrap 2019! Bring On 2020!

Hey You, 👋

As you may have heard me say before, our tribe (aka. YOU) are our North Star. You guide us in our mission to kick sugar and keep the delicious candy you know and love. We are so grateful that you are in it with us and that you take the time to share what you love and what you would like to see.

We heard you loud and clear - the carrageenan has to go, the sour needs to be more sour and the fiber needs to be dialed down. Throughout 2019, we spent 1000’s of hours in the Candyland Kitchen, tinkering and experimenting to see how we could incorporate your feedback.

Innovation is in our DNA. I absolutely love the iterative process of evolving our recipes (not to mention bringing new product innovations to life!). It’s who we are - after all SmartSweets was born from me recipe testing in my kitchen with my trusted gummy bear mold I bought off Amazon.

While we were in the kitchen, we also considered the latest thinking and labelling changes related to one of our ingredients, soluble tapioca fiber from isomalto-oligosaccharides (“IMO”). From mid-next year IMO will be labelled as a non-digestible carb in the U.S and a hybrid carb/fiber in Canada, instead of a fiber as it is currently. It’s both fascinating and challenging how one ingredient can be viewed in so many different ways by different regulators. The bottom line is as views on IMO are evolving, so are we.

In ‘SmartSweets 3.0’ (our third recipe iteration since we launched in 2016) you will find and taste:

  • No more carrageenan, the sour more sour and less fiber
  • A different type of soluble tapioca fiber and corn fiber - both non-GMO. Our new fibers tick all the fiber boxes and have all the attributes of fiber - regardless of which country you are in. Yep, it’s full of all those great pre-biotics and ‘feel full for longer qualities’. We’ll still use some non-GMO IMO but less of it
  • A new non-artificial sweetener, Allulose in our U.S products. Allulose is found in nature in raisins and figs, has almost zero calories and doesn’t affect the body like sugar does (no GI impact). So, of course, we seized the chance to use it! Sorry Canada - it isn’t yet available here but hope it will be over time. In the meantime, this means our recipes and nutritional stats will differ slightly in the U.S and Canada
  • Updated packaging and nutritional labels in Canada and the U.S that reflect our new recipes and the new and differing ways US and Canadian regulators look at fiber
  • All the deliciousness you know and love


We can’t wait for you to try it all! You can get your hands on SmartSweets 3.0 on our websites now. You can also find the new recipe in select stores in Canada and U.S. (You'll know you've found the new recipe if you see "Kick Sugar Keep Candy" in the top left corner on the front of the bag.)

Looking ahead to 2020, we will continue to disrupt the candy aisle by offering radically better alternatives to traditional candy. In doing so, we will continue to relentlessly research, test and choose cutting edge non-artificial ingredients to create delicious candy you know and love while kicking as many grams of sugar per bag as possible.

We want to set a new standard in the industry. We push our suppliers for non-GMO ingredients and are now raising the bar on nutritional testing to ensure every last gram of sugar is measured. Check out the graphic below! And of course, our pinky promise of candy free from sugar alcohols, artificial sweeteners and added sugars remains (it’s a pinky promise for a reason!).

Infinite gratitude to you for being on this mission to kick sugar with us. Cutting sugar in one of the most sugar ladened foods out there - candy - is no easy feat (traditional candy is 97% sugar!). It just goes to show - anything is possible. One better choice at a time.

I believe 2020 and beyond is limitless in the difference we can make together on the mission to kick sugar! Make this YOUR year. Stay brave and curious and enjoy all the (natural) sweetness that comes your way.


Love Tara

PS. Tell us on social what you love about SmartSweets and your dream #KickSugar candy you think we should innovate next! Or, if your more an email kind-of folk I’d love to hear directly from you at hello@smartsweets.com

Read more

The (naturally) sweet finishing touches are underway!

The (naturally) sweet finishing touches are underway!

Read more
2020: Adapting, Listening and Learning

2020: Adapting, Listening and Learning

Read more