Nerds (candy)

For the stereotype, see Nerd.

For other meanings, see nerd (disambiguation).

Nerds (apple-coated watermelon on left, lemonade-coated wild cherry on right)

File:Nerds box.jpg

Nerds

Nerds are candies sold by Nestlé under their Willy Wonka Candy Company brand.

Introduced in 1983, Nerds are small candies that come in a vary of abstract shapes and flavors, and are usually sold in a box that has two separate flavors, each with a separate opening device. Nerds are anthropomorphized on the cover of its distinctive box package. The separation of two distinct flavours in one commodity has generated success for Nerds, likely because consumers can control their experiences. A breakfast cereal based on this concept appeared in the 1980s, but had a short life.

Nerds are of varied flavors, ranging from extremely sweet to extremely sour; often the two flavors in one box will contrast, and even one 'Nerd' may exhibit both extremes. They are thickly glazed with carnauba wax, which gives them a hard 'bite', and a gloss. The nucleus of each candy is composed of one or more complete sucrose crystals. These optically clear monoclinic crystals are about 0.2 – 1 mm in length and help define the irregular shape.

Products

There are also several Nerds spin-off products by Willy Wonka:

• Nerds Rope consists of a soft candy string with a variety of Nerds attached to the outside, and come in original and tropical flavors. "As much fun to play with, as it is to eat, and vice versa".
• Rainbow Nerds is a box of regular Nerds of multiple flavors, with no partition or any organization at all.
• Nerds Gum Balls are bubble gum balls filled with multiple flavors of Nerds on the inside.
• Theme Nerds are sometimes manufactured seasonally for holidays such as Halloween or Valentine's day with names such as "Spooky Nerds". Flavors can include fruit punch and cherry.

Techno-Nerds was comprised of three compartments, but not well known. It had green, blue and multicoloured.

Back in the 1980's, there were several new flavors of Nerds introduced from time to time; for example, "Hot and Cold" Nerds (cinnamon & peppermint flavored), Blueberry and Raspberry, and Lemon and Lime (Blueberry Nerds can still be found in large packages of Rainbow Nerds). One of the most unique ways of introducing these new flavors to the market was with small, plastic "Nerd" figures/toys (about 2-3 inches in height), which were hollow and contained the candies within. The color of the figure corresponded to the flavor of the candy (also printed on the access cap on the bottom of the toy); it is uncertain how many flavors were produced in this manner, although Citrus Nerds were released through the toy premium. There are very few of the toy figures in existence today, and these would most likely be perceived as collector's items.

SweeTarts Rope also contains nerds in its interior.