Red Vines is a brand of

red licorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ) is a confection usually flavoured and coloured black with the extract of the roots of the liquorice plant ''Glycyrrhiza glabra''. A wide variety of liquorice sweets are produced arou ...

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies ( Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, ...

manufactured in

Union City, California Union City is a city in the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County, California, United States, located approximately south of Oakland, from San Francisco, and north of San Jose. Incorporated in 1959, combining the communities of Alva ...

by the

American Licorice Company American Licorice Company is an American candy manufacturer founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1914, and headquartered in La Porte, Indiana."Candy"; ''Modern Marvels''; History (U.S. TV channel), History Channel; 2006; Viewed July 15, 2010. The compan ...

. Red Vines Original Red Twists are also sometimes referred to as red licorice despite containing no licorice. The original Red Vines were cherry-flavored, but in 1952, with a slight formula change, the Red Vines Original Red Twist flavor was introduced.

Development

The American Licorice Company introduced raspberry-flavored vines in the 1920s. In the 1950s, the name was changed to Red Vines and the companies branding was reimagined around this identity, with "Original Red" eventually overtaking licorice as the most popular flavor. In the Union City factory, wheat flour,

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften ...

citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOC(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in t ...

, flavoring, and

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...

blended in vats then poured into barrels and cooled for 24 hours, after which it is extruded through a machine that forms the final candy. The factory can produce up to 1,000,000 pounds per week.

Twizzlers rivalry

Red Vines and similar candy

Twizzlers Twizzlers is the product of Y&S Candies, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Twizzlers were first produced in 1929 by Young and Smylie, as the company was then called. The licorice company was founded in 1845, making it one of the oldest confectio ...

have a perceived rivalry such as displayed in the ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, f ...

'' episode " Ben's Parents" in which characters are divided over which is better and whether families from different sides of the question can appropriately marry.Parks and Recreation Review: Twizzlers vs. Red Vines
by Lisa Palmer. ''TV Fanatic''. November 9, 2012. Accessed March 26, 2021. According to the

brand manager A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

of Red Vines, "The taste and the texture are very different and the rivalry between Twizzlers and Red Vines is very fan-driven. The rivalry is imilar tothe

Montagues William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles fo ...

and

Capulets William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles fo ...

. It's existed for so long that people forget how it started utit's not driven by either company." He speculates that the rivalry is essentially regional as Red Vines are more popular in the West and the Great Lakes region "but brand awareness tends to drop off once you go east of Denver" while Twizzlers, being "headquartered in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

" trends stronger there and in the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a radio station in Co. Wicklow, Ireland * East Coast Swing, a f ...

and

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

August 2012 recall

In August 2012 the

California Department of Public Health The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is the state department responsible for public health in California. It is a subdivision of the California Health and Human Services Agency. It enforces some of the laws in the California Health ...

announced a recall of one lot of Red Vines' black licorice candy due to

lead contamination Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertil ...

. Only the one-pound packages marked "Best Before 020413" were recalled. Testing found that candy in the contaminated lot had as much as 0.33 parts per million of lead resulting in up to 13.2 micrograms of lead per serving. This was more than double the limit of 6.0 micrograms of lead per day from all dietary sources for children under 6 years old.

In popular culture

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

science-fiction drama television series ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

'' frequently refers to Red Vines throughout its five-season run, as it is the preferred candy of the character Doctor Walter Bishop. In the season 2 premiere, "

A New Day in the Old Town "A New Day in the Old Town" is the season premiere and first episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series ''Fringe'', and the 21st episode overall. It was co-written by J. J. Abrams and Akiva Goldsman, w ...

", he is even seen eating Red Vines while conducting an autopsy. After the TV series was renewed for a fourth season on March 24, 2011, co-star Josh Jackson publicly stated his appreciation of ''

'' fans for sending Red Vines to Fox in an effort to campaign for a renewal. Red Vines makes an appearance in

Wayne's World 2 ''Wayne's World 2'' is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Stephen Surjik and starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a public-access television cable television show in Aurora, Illinois. The film is the sequel to '' Wayne's World'' ...

. Garth has a Red Vine dispenser in his car. Red Vines were airdropped into 89th Academy Awards ceremony by host

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

. Red Vines is mentioned in an

SNL Digital Short An ''SNL'' Digital Short is one in a series of comedic and often musical video shorts created for NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. The origin of the Digital Short brand is credited to staff writer Adam McKay, who created content for the show in c ...

from 2005. In the music video " Lazy Sunday",

Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2005 ...

raps: "

Mr. Pibb Pibb Xtra is a reformulation of Mr. Pibb (sometimes styled as Mr. PiBB), a soft drink created and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. It has several variants. As of 2020, it is sold in bottles, cans, and two-liter bottles, and is available in mo ...

and Red Vines equals crazy delicious." Red Vines are frequently mentioned in Team StarKid's 2010 musical, A Very Potter Sequel, as they are the preferred snack of Ron Weasley. This was later referenced in 2011, when Joey Richter and Joe Walker, two actors from the musical, performed a series of tests on the Red Vines official YouTube channel, to see what Red Vines could and couldn't do. Red Vines is also the name of an

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

song from her 1999 album ''

Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo ''Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo'' is the third album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released on May 2, 2000. Mann's record label, Geffen Records, refused to release it, feeling it contained no hit singles; in respo ...

''. The chorus talks about "...Cigarettes and Red Vines," as something to occupy one's time while helplessly watching other events. In the ''

'' episode " Ben's Parents," the characters are divided over whether Red Vines are superior to

. In an episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', it is revealed that Lisa likes Red Vines. In the TV series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', the character Captain Donald Cragen is frequently seen eating Red Vines and a large tub of the candy can be viewed on his office desk at various points. Red Vines will often substitute as a straw in a soda pop at the movies.

References

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External links