Chupa Chup Fairy Floss Bubble Gum

Lollypops are a little bit of a niche product that doesn't get a lot of attention in the Australian confectionery market. Aside from Starburst Sucks, Chupa Chups don't really have any real competitors, and for goo reason. There isn't a whole lot that you can do with a lollypop, except play with flavours a little. So imagine my surprise when I spotted the new Chupa Chups Fairy Floss Bubble Gum on the shelf recently.

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To be fair, this product has little to do with Chupa Chup's flagship products except the name. It's not a lollypop - it doesn't even come on a stick. What it is is a foil bag of a soft fairy floss-like product. (Remember Power Poppers Fairy Floss Popping Candy from a couple of years back?)

The red foil package features the Chupa Chup logo across the front, complete with 'fancy representation of the product' (their words, not mine) in an illustration of a boy eating ink fairy floss, and then blowing a bubble. The back is similar, including an ingredients list and nutrition panel as well. The floss is well-packed and firm, but fluffs out when played with. It has a very strong, sweet strawberry scent that hovers between bubble gum and strawberry milk. It's all very artificial, unsurprisingly. The floss is not gritty or sticky to the touch, but wet fingers are not a good idea.

The flavour is similar to the scent, but not as strong. A small piece melts quickly on the tongue, with the thinner strands dissolving and the rest solidifying in just a few seconds. Chewing forces the change even more quickly. It turns into a thin gum that can be built up by adding extra pieces of floss. The initial flavour becomes a little less sweet and more like bubblegum, but unfortunately has a very short life. In less than five minutes of continuous chewing, the flavour has lessened considerably, along with the sweetness, and the texture becomes stiff, and the more stiff the chew, the weaker the ability to stretch and produce satisfying bubbles. I did manage to blow a couple of reasonable size (e.g. a child's fist) at this stage of the chew, but most were small and holey. There's a delicate plate between lightly chewed and stiff that is the perfect spot for blowing bubbles, but I was never able to blow one as big as my head (as in the picture). I think the key is to have a larger piece rather than a small one; with a bigger piece I was able to satisfactorily snap and pop bubbles for closer to 15 minutes.

The package says this is one serve, but there's so much floss you could easily get five or more gum 'pieces' out of it. Just package in a zip-lock bag and I think short-term storage will be okay.

A fascinating product in the quick change from floss to gum, and produces a not-terrible bubble gum.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 jelly beans

Chupa Chups Fairy Floss Bubble Gum is made in China by Perfetti  Van Melle Confectionery. It contains glucose syrup, and products made from soy.