China Candy: What’s a Frutips?

中文版(Chinese Version)

Imagine my joy when I saw one of my childhood favorites sitting on a shelf in Dong Guan. Also known as the Black Currant Pastilles, Nestle’s Fruittips Frutips is a candy many of us have fond memories of. Sharing them with our siblings, compromising the enamel on our susceptible baby teeth, those were the good days. I had this tube with me for a couple of days, and realized it was kinda different, so I bought another tube of it in Hong Kong when I dropped in for a weekend.

The packaging for one were different. The Mainland version had a big sunny face on it and the background was different colored.

The shapes of the actual candies were also different with the Mainland version using a flat cylindrical form, while the Hong Kong version using a molded fruit shape that looked more like a lemon than a currant.

The sugar crystals were of a different quality. You can probably see from the pictures that the Mainland version uses a fine crushed sugar, while the Hong Kong version uses larger crystals.

More telling were the differences in ingredients:

China Version: Fruit Juices not less than 2.5%
Hong Kong Version: Fruit Juices not less than 25%

I can’t remember what the price differences were, but I don’t recall it justifying a 10x difference in this key ingredient. That would be like buying a wedding band with a plastic crystal in China while selling the same one with a diamond in Hong Kong. Remarkable what those creative people at Nestle come up with. The thing is, the two candies actually tasted quite similar. The subjects whom I scientifically taste tested this on (Gwen and I) didn’t notice the difference unless the candies were had within the same sitting. As a testament of its success, I brought the Mainland version to work one day, and they were devoured quickly by my co-workers. Problem solved!

China Candy: The Assassination of Doraemon

中文版(Chinese Version)

There’s a SPAR supermarket (the European chain) close to my hotel in China. That’s where I usually go for my fix of beef jerky, biscuits, fruit, and cheap stationary. It’s also my main source for sugar intake while in China. This time, the sugar came in the form of a Sugar Encrusted Marshmallow Doraemon Lollypop. Just typing that brought me closer to diabetes.

Doraemon is actually quite popular in China. It’s touched the hearts of many children through the countless official and unauthorized goods. This particular incarnation of Doraemon was just staring straight at me at the checkout counter with that sly wink in its eye. The packaging looked all official, so I decided to try it out. The Marshmallow body was nice and soft, the icing bits were crisp and light . I had two big bites, but I couldn’t really stand the intensity of the sweetness, so I wrapped him up, and sent him on his way.

P.S. There were no gadgets in his stomach. What a scam.