- Categories:
- Food & Beverage
- Tags:
- CandyComfort FoodSweet Food
- Where:
- United States
- Date change rule:
- Every July 18
- Holiday emoji:
- 🍋
National Sour Candy Day arrives every July 18, inviting candy lovers to embrace the exhilarating zing of their favorite tangy treats. From chewy ropes to hard candies, this day celebrates the bold flavors that make your taste buds tingle. Stock up on your favorites, try a new sour challenge, or share the pucker with friends!
Want to sponsor National Sour Candy Day? Learn how
Expected National Sour Candy Day Deals
While we await official 2027 promotions to drop, history shows that retailers and candy brands often roll out special deals for National Sour Candy Day. Look for discounts on popular sour brands like Warheads, Sour Patch Kids, and Trolli at major stores such as Target, Walmart, and CVS. Many convenience stores and specialty candy shops, including IT’SUGAR, also feature buy-one-get-one offers or limited-edition sour assortments. Online retailers like CandyStore.com are expected to have sales on bulk sour candy. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as July 18 approaches.
Platform Guide for National Sour Candy Day
TikTok
Tag @www.nationaltoday.com and use #NationalSourCandyDay. Film your reactions to trying the sourest candies, or create a ‘sour challenge’ video.
Tag @nationaltoday_ and use #SourCandyDay. Share vibrant photos of your favorite sour treats, or a reel of a DIY sour candy recipe.
Mention National Today (facebook.com/nationaltoday) and use #NationalSourCandyDay. Ask your community to vote on the sourest candy or share their childhood favorites.
National Sour Candy Day Hero
Food Scientists
History of National Sour Candy Day
All throughout history, people have enjoyed sour fruits and foods, but sour candy is a relatively new phenomenon, even when compared to regular candy. The NPR says this is because mass-produced candy did not have a great reputation when the industry first came about, in the 19th century. People were concerned about the unclean conditions in which they were made and the potentially harmful chemicals being used in the colorful sweets. For the most part, manufacturers did not stray into unknown territory to manufacture sour candies. There were a few exceptions, however. These manufacturers relied on acidic ingredients — most commonly, vinegar — to convert cane sugar to glucose, creating a sweet-tart combination.
Over the years, candy makers began to crave an increase in appeal. So they turned to the greatest opportunity they could find — Halloween. They ran Halloween-themed advertising that created a long-lasting association between this festival and candy. This association allowed candy makers to experiment with flavors not normally sold to the public, and the sour candy market officially took off. For example, Ferrara Pan Candy Company introduced a sour candy called the Atomic Fireball right around the time of the U.S. military’s first detonation of the hydrogen bomb. This candy — filled with capsaicin and cinnamaldehyde — would end up leaving the mouth numb.
By the end of the 19th century, the sour candy craze had spread all over the U.S. A contributing factor was the sour candy known as Warheads, by the Foreign Candy Company. Their founder, Peter De Yager, actually traveled throughout East Asia — ground zero for sour candy — to find the sourest variety of candy and he found it in Taiwan.
The American Licorice Company — who have their own sour candy line — founded National Sour Candy Day. They wanted to celebrate this sweet and they encourage more people to experience all the wonderful flavors of sour candy on this day.
National Sour Candy Day timeline
Mass-produced candy is looked upon with trepidation by most consumers and candy makers don't want to risk experimenting with tastes for fear of losing credibility.
Candy makers create ad campaigns that forever link candy to Halloween — doing this also allows them the freedom to slowly introduce new flavors and types of candy.
The Atomic Fireball leaves a tart taste, and the sour candy market slowly begins to erupt.
Lemonhead candy — which utilizes citric acid to mimic the sour flavor — is introduced and it is a hit.
Peter De Yager — founder of the Foreign Candy Co. — brings Warheads to U.S. shores from Thailand, which has a huge impact on the sour candy market.
The American Licorice Company establishes National Sour Candy Day.
How Businesses Can Celebrate National Sour Candy Day
Local businesses can embrace National Sour Candy Day by offering special promotions or themed products. Bakeries could create sour-flavored cupcakes or tarts. Restaurants might feature sour-inspired cocktails or mocktails, or offer a complimentary sour candy with each bill. Specialty candy shops could host a ‘sour challenge’ event or create curated sour candy bundles. Encourage customers to share their tangy experiences on social media using #NationalSourCandyDay.
National Sour Candy Day FAQs
When is National Sour Candy Day?
National Sour Candy Day 2026 falls on a Saturday, July 18. It’s the perfect weekend opportunity to indulge in your favorite tangy treats and share the pucker with friends.
What makes candy sour?
The sour sensation in candy comes primarily from food acids like citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, and fumaric acid. These acids stimulate taste receptors on the tongue, creating that characteristic puckering feeling. The type and concentration of acid determine the intensity of the sourness.
How popular is sour candy?
Sour candy enjoys significant popularity, especially among younger demographics, and consistently ranks as one of the top candy categories. Its unique flavor profile and the exhilarating sensation it provides make it a favorite for many seeking a bold taste experience.
What are the most popular sour candies?
Among the most popular sour candies are iconic brands like Warheads, known for their extreme sourness, and Sour Patch Kids, famous for their ‘sour then sweet’ profile. Other favorites include Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers, Sour Skittles, and various sour gummies from Haribo.
How To Celebrate National Sour Candy Day
Eat it
Give regular old candy a break on this day and try some sour delights. If you are already a fan, try out new flavors and combinations of sour candy. Choose between the Sour Punch candy range, the Atomic Fireball, or the Lemonhead. And why eat alone? Grab a bag of candy to share with friends and family.
Pucker up
One of the characteristics of sour candy is its ability to make anyone and everyone pucker their lips because of the taste. Try out the sourest flavor you can find and record your pucker. Hold a sour candy pucker competition with friends and see who makes the best pucker. The winner gets a giant bag of sour candy — of course!
Keep an eye out for special events
Previously, the founders of this day would celebrate by hosting special events. You can track the Sour Punch posts on their Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates. You can even create your own mini event online (or offline), with events like the 'Best Pucker' competition, the 'Sourest Candy Challenge', and more.
5 Fun Facts About Sour Candy
Different acids, different tastes
Candy makers carefully choose ingredients to make the perfect recipe as the different acids used in sour candy — citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, fumaric acid, etc. — all have different levels of sourness.
Beer and candy with the same taste?
Lactic acid, which is used in 'sour' beer, is the same ingredient used in some types of sour candy.
Sour candy for kids
Candy makers have increasingly been marketing sour or fruity candy to kids over the past 20 years.
Toilet-shaped sour candy
There is a type of sour candy — Sour Flush Candy Toilets — where the candy is a toilet plunger and you dip it into a plastic ‘toilet’ full of sour sugar.
Sour candy for a blocked salivary gland
Sour candy like Sour Skittles can be used to relieve blocked salivary glands — although it should be eaten in moderation.
Why We Love National Sour Candy Day
It might be evolution
The sour taste — usually associated with acids — is found in relatively few naturally occurring foods, like vitamin C. Evolutionary history shows we could not produce vitamin C and we had to source it from the environment. This could explain why humans like sour things — we are evolutionarily programmed to!
It helps cancer patients
Sour candy cannot be used as a treatment, of course, but it is a great help for patients undergoing cancer treatments. Many cancer medications and therapies, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy, cause severe changes in taste. Sucking on sour candies helps increase salivation and regulate taste.
It tickles our taste buds
Sweet is a known and predictable taste. Sour, on the other hand, not only makes our face work out, but it also tickles the heck out of our taste buds. We love this sensation.
Social Media Tips for National Sour Candy Day
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