Mentos Grape Mix

Stewart Alexander, the distributors of Mentos in Australia, timed the release of this new flavour to coincide with a new packaging format called 'Tear and Share'. It was originally limited to just the Grape Mix flavour, but has since rolled out in the Very Berry flavour combo. I wanted to pick one up for the blog but they were sold out, so I went with the traditional roll instead.

Gossip: new M&M's, new Pods and new Mentos!

Another month and the new releases just keep on rolling! There are some really exciting ones this time around, so read on and keep an eye on those shelves!

Mentos Tutti Frutti

Stewart Alexander seem to be upping the frequency of imported Mentos flavours here in Australia. Tutti Frutti is an international flavour that has been available overseas for some time, but only made the jump to our island mid-late last year.

Gossip: New Mars seasonal release, new Sour Patch gummis, and more!

I have new releases coming out of my ears! Let's jump right in.

Mentos Very Berry

Mentos seem to be developing a habit of mixing flavours for new releases, rather than producing something entirely new. Very Berry is a perfect example of this, combining existing flavours of strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant into a themed roll. (Remember Berry Blast? I can't remember the flavour combo used but I'm betting it's very similar to this release.)

Head after the jump to read more!

Gossip: Cadbury Dairy Milk Crackle and Mars Snickers Almond land on shelves, and Mentos Tutti Fruitti launched

First up: while travelling in rural WA a couple of weekends ago, I stumbled across one of Cadbury's five new Dairy Milk blocks: Crackle. (I laugh because it still hasn't arrived in my metro supermarkets yet!)

The block didn't survive the journey home so all I have is this wrapper, but I promise a review as soon as I can find another block!

While out on the same trip, I spotted a new Mentos flavour: Tutti Fruitti. Like many Mentos flavours, this one has been available internationally for some time, but seems to have only just made the jump here. I didn't have the chance to take a picture, so thanks to the internet for supplying.

Finally, Snickers Almond from Mars has begun to arrive on shelves. Again, this release isn't a world-exclusive; the US has been sitting on this flavour for years. Review coming soon!

Mentos Grape

Last month, Stewart Alezander, the distributors of internationally-owned brand Mentos, released a Woolworths-exclusive limited-edition flavour of the sweet chewy lollies. While not new to the rest of the world, Grape, to my knowledge, hasn't had its own single-flavour roll in Australia before.

Head after the jump to read more!

Gossip: New Cadbury Blocks Packaging, New Mentos, and Marvelous Creations Ice Cream!

First up, reader Haley has alerted me to the fact that Cadbury's popular Marvelous Creations range has branched out into the realm of ice cream. While it's not strictly a lolly product and thus won't be reviewed, I thought some readers might be interested in hearing about them! Let us know in the comments if you have tried them, and think the ice creams are better or worse than the chocolate blocks.

Staying with Cadbury, while out today I spotted that Cadbury is putting is 200-220g block range through yet another packaging overhaul. This time we're seeing the removal of the bold colour that currently takes up the bottom half of the front side, and the introduction of an art-inspired product name.

The new design also includes the sentence case version of the Dairy Milk logo that we first saw when the new packaging for the Bubbly blocks was introduced late last year. What do you think of the new design? (You can sort of see the old design of the Crunchie block in that picture.)

Finally, Mentos has issued another limited edition single-flavour roll of dragees in Grape. I'll have these reviewed soon!

See a new product on the shelves! Give us a yell by sending your gossip to lollyaddictaust@gmail.com

Mentos New Rainbow

Mentos have switched things up a bit by making some changes to one of their favourite products, the Rainbow roll. I'm not entirely sure if this will be a permanent change to this flavour, or if it is to be sold alongside as the seasonal release.

The package doesn't indicate it is a limited release, but that isn't usually a safe way to get that sort of information. We've seen 'Limited Edition' items get added to the regular lineup, so it can be hard to tell sometimes!

Normally, the Rainbow roll contains seven flavours: strawberry, pineapple, grape, cherry, raspberry, orange and watermelon. In the new roll, pineapple, cherry and watermelon have been subbed out for three new flavours: kiwi, cranberry, and yuzu, which is a small citrus fruit from Japan. Flavour of the fruit is described as being very tart and similar to grapefruit, with a tinge of mandarin. (Mentos have used this flavour before in their Aqua Kiss 3D Gum in Yuzu-Grapefruit-Orange flavour.) Having never tried a yuzu, I won't be able to comment on the realism of the flavour, but I'm curious to try it! Unfortunately the pack only contains two pieces of each flavour.

Strawberry is a light rosy pink colour. It is sweet with a floral flavour that doesn't point at any particular berry.

Apple is the darker green dragee in the pack. Mentos released a limited edition roll of Green Apple not long ago, which I enjoyed for its juicy, tart and refreshing flavour.

The 'purple' pieces are grape, though really they are more of a muted mauve colour. The flavour is along the lines of Hubba Bubba Grape - sweet and sugary with a strong faux grape taste.

Orange is the easiest of the roll to identify. It has a mild, sweet orange flavour (think orange icy poles) that is unoffensive and refreshing. There's no citrus tang, but I'd still buy a whole roll of this flavour.

Kiwi is light green in colour. I don't know what sort of kiwi fruit the flavour creators at Mentos have been trying, because this is so far from right. The flavour is hard to describe, but it has a weird sort of tarty aspect to it that reminds me a little bit of lemonade. I wonder if there is mint in this piece because I get a little of that 'fresh mouth' feel afterwards. I don't know what it is, but it sure isn't kiwi fruit!

Cranberry is the final pink piece that has a bit of orange in its colour. The flavour on this is definitely sweet, but with some great tarty notes that got my mouth watering. I found these excellent, and a good representation of sweetened cranberries. Putting these in a roll with the other berry flavours would give the whole roll great dimension.

The yellow pieces are yuzu. The flavour is quite a bit like grapefruit, but toned down and sugared up. There's also a little bit of lemonade in there too. It's not very tart, but very refreshing. Even though I have no idea what a real yuzu tastes like, these are delicious.

Although it was let down by kiwi, I found the roll contained a good mix of flavours. I'd love to see both cranberry and yuzu combined into future Mentos mixes.

Score: 4 out of 5 stars.

Mentos are made in China and contains milk and glucose products.

Gossip: Mentos New Rainbow

Who has spotted the brand spankers Mentos New Rainbow roll about town? Kiwi, cranberry and yuzu (a citrus fruit from eastern Asia) are the three additions to the standard rainbow flavours. Will you be trying it?

Mentos Mystery II

Following on from Mentos Mystery back in 2012, there's another new Mentos release for 2013, aptly named Mentos Mystery II. Like the last Mystery pack, Mystery II is in a blue package, covered with rainbow question marks, and has pink foil. If you weren't looking closely you might pick it up thinking it was last year's packet, and get a surprise!

 
Here's last year's version, so you can see the similarities.

The dragees for Mystery II are a cream colour, lightly speckled with green and yellow. They have a faint gloss to them as well, but no scent that I can determine.  Biting in reveals a pinkish centre. It's much more pronounced in the photo than it is in real life.

The taste is at first a mild raspberry flavour, the kind of addition you might find in a muffin. At first I thought it was a generic berry flavour, but then I discovered a bit of tartness that suggested raspberry. Later as you chew through the piece, it develops a real creamy yoghurt flavour. It's rather warm and comforting So although my tastebuds aren't any type of connoisseur, I'm guessing this year's flavour is raspberry yoghurt.

(Last year I got caught out and didn't check the ingredients list for a hint of what the flavour would be. I was more diligent this year and found reconstituted fruit juices in the flavours of raspberry and strawberry, and yoghurt powder, buried in the list. So I think my guessing may be a bit closer to the mark than I was last year!)

I'm personally not a fan of yoghurt flavoured things, but in the grand scheme of confectionery flavours, this is a really average flavour to put in a Mystery packet. I wouldn't be surprised if it's an imported flavour from where yoghurt is more popular, such as Japan.

Score: 2 out of 5 stars.

Mentos are made in China and contains milk and glucose products.

Mentos Green Apple

Yet another limited edition Mentos flavour has hit the shelves in recent weeks. As I mentioned in my last Mentos LE review, the limited edition flavours are Mentos' dstributer, Stuart Alexander, testing the market - usually Woolies - for initial sales figures, before releasing it elsewhere.

Like the Strawberry roll from earlier this year, the Green Apple roll features one flavour from the Rainbow roll. Interestingly, the Rainbow roll in Europe differs from the one released in the US; the Euro version includes green apple, whereas the US version doesn't have green apple but instead has cherry.

The package is bright green and covered with images of, you guessed it: green apples. The foil is also lime green as well, a nice touch to make the package quite distinctive. The dragees themselves are a pale mottled green in colour (some were missing patches of colour), and standard Mentos size. They don't smell like anything, but biting the candy shells reveals a refreshing apple juice flavour: tart and sweet at the same time. They are very nice and juicy, and aren't that far in taste from a real green apple. I don't get any artificial flavour notes either. They are quite realistic, so you had better like apples!

I really enjoyed these as something different from my usual sweet-tooth cravings, and will probably pick up a roll to keep beside my desk.

5 out of 5 stars.

Gossip: New 'Mentos Mystery II' Release

Following on from the success of the first Mystery flavour last year, there will be a 'Mystery II' released shortly in both the piece and gum range. There will also be a competition like last time as well.

Have you seen this one around? Let me know! lollyaddictaust@gmail.com

Image courtesy Mentos Australia Facebook page.

Mentos Raspberry, and Limited Edition Strawberry

(I'm putting both of these in the same post because I'm lazy. Also, similar.)

Mentos needs no introduction (but I wrote one anyway when I reviewed the Mystery flavour). Recently, I've spotted two new flavours of Mentos dragees in supermarkets (mostly Woolworths), Raspberry, and the Limited Edition Strawberry.

For those not in the know, the limited edition Mentos are basically a test product. That's usually while you'll only see them in one store/chain - the distributors, Stuart Alexander, are testing the market. If it sells well, the flavour is usually rolled out to other chains and stores. If it flops, well, you won't ever see it again. (Recent examples include Watermelon (spotted at Woolworths a few years ago) and Cola.)

Only the Strawberry roll here is Limited Edition; it's possible that the Raspberry went through as LE and I missed it on the shelves. I've been informed by my Stuart Alexander rep that the Strawberry flavour is the same as that found in the Fruit and Rainbow rolls. It's just a solid roll of one flavour, as is the Raspberry (also a flavour from the Rainbow roll, and probably Berry Blast as well).

Despite the bold red packaging, the strawberry dragees are a soft baby pink colour, very lightly speckled with white. The interior is also white. The pack and the lollies are scentless, and the flavour is sweet and mild. It's quite a soft, artificial flavour, and pleasant to the taste. It doesn't taste anywhere near real strawberries, though - it's more of a strawberry ice cream kind of flavour. There is 2.5% reconstriuted strawberry juice in here.

The raspberry Mentos are packaged in a bright, dark pink packaging, complete with pictures of (pink) raspberries. Unlike the strawberry flavour, these dragees are also bright pink, enough that they clearly match the packaging. There's a faint white speckle to the hard outer shell, and they have no scent. The centre is also white. Surprisingly, the flavour on these is quite strong. I don't know that I would peg it as specifically raspberry over generic berry flavour, but there are some warm, jammy notes in there that are tasty and fresh. There's none of the tang that I would have expected from something that was more natural tasting, despite this roll also containing 2.5% raspberry juice. As it's more stronger, I enjoy this one more as a lolly than the strawberry roll, which felt more like a mint with his gentle flavour.

For the curious, the raspberry roll contains colour 120 while the strawberry roll does not (it contains colour 162). I only mention this as colour 120 has been in the news lately, with regards to the Starbucks Strawberries and Cream Frappe.

Gossip: Mentos Mystery and Strawberry, and $25k Promotion

The current Mentos release, Mystery, is now in limited-edition status, with all replenishment stocks sold out. My Stuart Alexander rep has also revealed the flavour of the Mystery roll (not the gum): it's not lemonade as many of us thought, but grapefruit! Geniuses amongst us might have had the bright idea to check out the ingredients list, where grapefruit is listed third. Oh well!

I've also heard that the next Mentos flavour to be released is Strawberry. Strawberry is one of the flavours available in the Rainbow and Fruit rolls, so if you've ever wanted a roll of just strawberry, then your wish has come true! The roll is set to be released early next year.

The last of my gossip on the Mentos products is linked to the $25,000 prize promotion Stuart Alexander is currently running. The promoter is aware that some stores still have stock on hand from last year, which is branded with last year's $25k promotion. If you have purchased a promotional Mentos roll and have found you've picked up older stock (last year's promotional stock has a best before date of 2013), you can still use the roll to enter this year's competition. Just visit the promo website, or call the number on the roll and attempt to enter, and you will automatically be sent a roll branded with this year's promotion, which you can then use to enter the competition. So pretty much a free roll of Mentos - sweet! Let me know if you attempt this - I've love to know how you go.

Mentos Roll Mystery

Mentos is a worldwide brand, available in places like the US to Japan and just about everywhere in between. The Mentos chew was introduced to the world in the plain mint flavour in 1948 in the Netherlands. Like with Kit Kat, Mentos rolls often end up with cultural version; flavours that are available overseas often aren't marketed here. (A recent exception to this is the Mocktails (Pina Colada and Mojito) roll, which is also available in the US).

Mentos are distributed in Australia by Stuart Alexander, the same brand that brings us Chupa Chups and Wether's Original, plus lots of other products. Last month, they brought us a market first by producing a Mentos roll (and the Mentos 3D sugarfree gum) with mystery flavours. As I speculated earlier at the Accredited Trade Show in July, there are two different flavours - one for the gum and one for the roll. (I do know what flavour the gum is, but have been sworn to secrecy. Sorry guys!)

The common theme in packaging between the gum and the roll is royal blue, with a rainbow highlight and question mark. The foil at the ends of the roll is royal blue too. Inside, we have the Mentos pieces. Each piece is consistent in size, and is just shy of 2cm wide and 1cm tall. These pieces are a light cream in colour, with a semi-gloss, hard outer shell surrounding a cream interior. They have no scent that I can tell.

As soon as the piece is in my mouth, I get a mild citrus taste - there's no definite flavour, but it's in the citrus family. Chewing the piece brings out a strong but not sour lemon note. There's a little bit of sweetness there too, but the whole piece is refreshing and interesting. I do believe the mystery flavour is lemonade!

It's quite a nice chew. One or two would be enough refresh your mouth after a meal. The chew is stiff at first but softens as the shell dissolves, and the entire piece, depending on how fast you chew is gone in a couple of minutes. I'm not a big Mentos person in general, but these are pleasant, and I'll have no trouble finishing the roll.