Ice Breakers (candy)
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Ice Breakers is a sugar-free brand of gum and disc-shaped mint candy currently made by Hershey. Ice Breakers are sold in the United States, Canada and Asia.
History[edit]
They were first produced by Nabisco in 1996, then acquired by Hershey in 2000. They come in several flavors, including peppermint, wintergreen, cinnamon, the new iced-tea, fruit sours (made up of a mixture of 4 sour flavors: pink lemonade, apple, tangerine, and watermelon), berry sours (a mix of 3 flavors: originally, berry splash, strawberry and raspberry lemonade; as of mid-2010, green apple, watermelon, and tangerine), and tropical sours (a mix of flavors: tangerine passion, lime coconut, peach fruit, and mango margarita). The candies are generally white in color and speckled with other colors to indicate their flavor. These candies are sugar-free, instead using Sorbitol as a sweetener. When consumed in large amounts, such as eating a whole tin in one sitting, it has been found that this artificial sweetener causes a profound laxative effect in many people.
Ice Breakers mints are sold in round cases, approximately 3 in (7.6 cm) in diameter and .6 in (2 cm) in height. These cases were originally made of a drawn steel bottom and an injection molded top with two hinged plastic flaps, a larger one labeled "To Share" and a smaller one "Not To Share". Their design was changed in mid-2006 to be made entirely out of plastic, while switching the labels for the flaps (small flap labeled "To Share" and large flap labeled "Not to Share") to make sense from a hygiene perspective. In 2015, the labels from the flap were changed, again. The small flap labeled "ONE" and the large flap labeled "MANY." All cases depict the fruit flavor contained inside.
There was also a type of Ice Breaker mint named "Liquid Ice". Manufactured in Japan, they are small, spherical gel pellets that, as they melt in your mouth, secrete a flavoured mint oil. The Liquid Ice candies are often criticized for having a somewhat bitter flavor due to its use of Neotame as a sweetener. They were discontinued after a year due to lackluster sales.
Another mint that was created under the Ice Breakers label was Pacs, breath mint strips formed into envelopes and filled with a powdered breath mint candy inside which released as the envelopes dissolved in the mouth. Pacs drew heavy criticism and negative press due to the Pacs' resemblance to drug packets. They were promptly discontinued after a few months of release.
In 2008, the new Ice Breakers brand chewing gum was debuted: Ice Breakers Ice Cubes. Ice Cubes come in several flavors: peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, bubble gum, lemon, Dragonfruit Freeze, Sours (four flavors: pink lemonade, apple, watermelon, and tangerine), Berry Sours, Watermelon, Kiwi and Raspberry Sorbet. These are mint soft gum cubes, dusted with Xylitol, which gives an initial feeling of flavored mint sugar cubes. In March 2011, IceBreakers added Frost to their line of products, with peppermint and winter cool flavors. These have a stronger mint flavor, and are milled to show off shimmering coarse flavor crystals.
In 2014, Ice Breakers launched their new line of mints, called Cool Blasts Chews. These mints come in a variety of flavors and rapidly dissolve once chewed. The design of the packaging is a small plastic tray-like container that opens from the side to reveal the mints.
