Global Food Field Guide

What's in Your Candy?

Nine of the world's favourite gummies and sugar candies, broken down by ingredient. Spoiler: it's mostly sugar, glucose syrup and a rainbow of dyes.

Verified June 2026 • Read the wrapper for the final word — recipes change

● Listed explicitly on the label ● Present but grouped under a generic term × Not listed ? Not documented in reviewed sources

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

Ingredient	🇩🇪 Haribo Goldbears Haribo · DE	🇺🇸 Skittles Original Mars Wrigley · US	🇺🇸 Starburst Fruit Chews Mars Wrigley · US	🇺🇸 Sour Patch Kids Mondelez · US	🇺🇸 Swedish Fish Mondelez · US	🇺🇸 Jolly Rancher (hard) Hershey · US	🇺🇸 Twizzlers Twists Hershey · US	🇺🇸 Nerds Ferrara · US	🇺🇸 Trolli Gummy Worms Ferrara · US
Shared base — what nearly all contain
Sugar	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Glucose / corn syrup	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Citric acid	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Natural & artificial flavours	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Other sweeteners
Invert sugar	×	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	×
Dextrose	●	×	×	×	×	×	×	●	×
Gelling & texture agents
Gelatin (pork)	●	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	●
Modified corn / food starch	×	×	×	●	●	×	×	●	×
Acids
Malic acid	×	●	●	●	×	●	×	●	●
Lactic acid	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	●
Oils & glazing agents
Palm / palm kernel oil	×	●	●	×	×	×	●	×	×
Carnauba wax	×	●	×	×	●	×	×	×	×
Beeswax	●	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×
Other vegetable oil (sunflower / coconut)	●	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	●
Colours — US synthetic dyes vs EU plant-based
Artificial colours (US formula)	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Red 40 (Allura Red)	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Yellow 5 (Tartrazine)	●	●	●	●	×	●	×	●	●
Blue 1 (Brilliant Blue)	●	●	●	●	×	●	×	●	×
Plant / fruit-based colours (EU version)	●	●	×	×	×	×	×	×	×

So which is the least healthy?

Ranked per 100g so the sweets are comparable (serving sizes range from a 15g spoon of Nerds to a 58g pack of Starburst). The honest answer: there is no winner — every one of these is between 40% and 90% sugar by weight, with essentially zero protein, fibre or anything else.

Sugar per 100g

Nerds

93 g Most sugar

Skittles

76 g

Sour Patch Kids

65 g

Swedish Fish

62 g

Jolly Rancher

61 g

Starburst

56 g

Trolli Gummy Worms

52 g

Haribo Goldbears

46 g

Twizzlers

42 g Lowest

Calories per 100g

Starburst

409 Most calories

Skittles

405

Nerds

400

Jolly Rancher

389

Sour Patch Kids

375

Twizzlers

356

Haribo Goldbears

343

Swedish Fish

340

Trolli Gummy Worms

310 Lowest

Nerds are basically sugar in pellet form — about 93g of sugar per 100g, with sugar, corn syrup and dextrose as the entire recipe.Twizzlers look 'lighter' on sugar (42g/100g) only because they're padded with wheat flour — they still pack ~356 cal/100g and add palm oil.A single 58g pack of Starburst delivers 33g of sugar and 240 calories — roughly two-thirds of an adult's entire daily free-sugar limit (WHO: ~50g).

There's no 'healthy' choice here, but Nerds are the closest thing to eating spoonfuls of pure sugar — ~93g per 100g and nothing else of value. Starburst are the most calorie-dense and the worst offender on fat, adding hydrogenated palm kernel oil plus pork gelatin and four synthetic dyes. If a 'least bad' exists it's a hair-splitting call between Haribo and Twizzlers — and both are still ~90% sugar and refined carbs.

Gelatin vs vegan: Haribo Goldbears, Starburst (US) and Trolli gummy worms contain pork gelatin. Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers and Nerds are gelatin-free — though Haribo uses beeswax and some Swedish Fish use carnauba/beeswax glaze, so 'gelatin-free' isn't always 'fully vegan'.

US vs UK/EU colours: US versions lean on synthetic dyes (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1). For the European market, Mars and Haribo reformulate with plant- and fruit-based colours (e.g. paprika, black carrot) — so the exact same brand can have a very different ingredient list depending on where you buy it.

Per serving vs per 100g: serving sizes are tiny and inconsistent (a 15g spoon of Nerds vs a 58g pack of Starburst), and almost nobody eats just one serving — we rank per 100g so the candies are actually comparable.

Figures reflect standard US retail formulations on labels as of June 2026; EU/UK versions and sugar-free 'zero' lines differ. Sugar and calorie values are from official brand pages, SmartLabel and Open Food Facts and are rounded.

Sources

Ingredient formulations, allergen statements and product sizes change over time and between manufacturing facilities. This infographic reflects published lists reviewed in June 2026 and is for general interest only. For allergy, dietary or regulatory decisions, always read the wrapper of the specific product in your hand.