It is no secret that we LOVE experimenting with flavors. Each season, Sweet Kee's introduces 2-3 seasonal candy flavors on www.sweetkees.com, along with our core flavor collection. And if you've encountered us at a live event you know that we routinely have anywhere from 10-15 flavors available at any given time. So how do we decide on these flavors, you ask?
We are always exploring new flavors, leaning into both popular and proven seasonal delights, such as cherry lemonade in Summer or apple pie in Fall, as well as interesting and unique flavors that you don't typically find within the candy landscape, such as lychee or chocolate hazelnut. We're also especially fond of trying cocktail-inspired flavors, so it is no surprise that we have several in our core collection, such as strawberry margarita and pina colada (note: these are non-alcoholic!).
Once we test a flavor, if we're happy with the results, we add it to our live event flavor lineup to gauge in real time how our customers respond to the flavor. If the customer response is strong, you may just find that flavor posted on our website! Recent examples include chocolate hazelnut which started as a test flavor, and blood orange, which was added to our summer lineup. However, occasionally we reserve strong-selling flavors as live event exclusives. An example might be a popular flavor that contains food dyes.
And speaking of dyes - at Sweet Kee's, we seek to limit food dyes in our candies - especially those of the FD&C variety, instead opting for the natural translucency that results from a dye-free candy. This not only results in beautiful candies, but it also aligns with our goal of eliminating unnecessary ingredients in our products, where possible. In our core collection, the only candy flavor which contains dyes is watermelon - and this is because after eliminating the flavor temporarily, customers insisted that we bring it back! We also use naturally colored confetti sprinkles, natural edible roses, and tajin seasoning as dye-free lollipop add-in options.
So by now you're probably wondering what new flavors are in store for Sweet Kee's??? Well, keep checking back! Seasonally, you can expect additions such as butterscotch during the fall season and eggnog (a customer favorite!) during the holiday season, with additional tropical flavors introduced during warm weather months, and a valentine-inspired flavor from the new year through mid-February (for 2024, it was a cherry almond flavored lollipop we called "cherry blast"). However, in addition to these proven gems, we are regularly adding new flavors. If you see a flavor that you really like, place your order as soon as possible, as seasonal flavors are only offered for a limited time!
For the latest and greatest Sweet Kee's flavor offerings, visit us at www.sweetkees.com.