VUENJ.COM 65
Iconic Candy is bringing the sweets
of our childhood back to life, one
unforgettable flavor at a time.
!ere are certain tastes you never forget.
A candy tucked into your grandmother's
handbag. Something impossibly sour
passed between friends at a sleepover. A
pink container of Bubble Jug pulled
from a backpack. A Creme Saver
unwrapped on a family road trip.
For an entire generation, these were
small pieces of childhood. !en, many
simply disappeared.
Iconic Candy is bringing them back.
!e family-owned company has built
its business around reviving beloved
brands including Creme Savers, Retro
Sours, Bubble Jug, Squeeze Pop, Ouch!
Bubble Gum, REED'S, Regal Crown
and BarNone.
It Started With a Missing Candy
!e idea began when cofounder and
COO Jordan Wiesen's father, Ken,
went searching for a candy he
remembered from childhood.
!e family eventually acquired the
trademark, despite knowing little about
manufacturing candy. Years of research,
trial and persistence followed, revealing
something important: discontinued did
not necessarily mean unwanted.
Jordan and his wife, Kim, began
making a list of the candies they
remembered growing up in the 1980s
and '90s.
!at list became Iconic Candy.
Recreating a Memory
Reviving a beloved candy involves far
more than reproducing an old package.
!e team researches original formulas,
manufacturing methods, trademarks,
packaging and, most importantly, how
the candy actually tasted.
Retro Sours became one of its biggest
challenges. With the original formula
gone, Iconic Candy spent roughly two
years developing the product, creating
about 30 versions of each "avor and
By Frankie Wynnewood
The
Candy We
Remember
C
HI
E
F
O
P
E
R
AT
I
N
G
O
F
F
I
C
E
R
&
FI
N
A
N
CI
A
L
O
F
FI
C
E
R
,
J
O
R
D
A
N
&
KI
M
W
I
E
S
E
N
