In honor of National Licorice Day I’d to introduce you to:

Easter and Halloween may be the holidays for candy, but if you have a real sweet tooth, you want candy year round. I recently received RedVines and GrapeVines Licorice to try and introduced my pallet to a new candy- Grapevines AND Redvines- which are licorice twists. Similar to a candy you may be familiar with (Twizzlers) these long twists are original red and grape flavoring (and in my opinion a little softer than the popular Twizzlers candy, which I like). They’re extra chewy, so I can easily let my two-year old grandson eat them without the fear of issues with his baby teeth. PLUS these fat free treats are perfect for those looking for a healthier snack. My signature approach is to bite a chunk off the top and bottom of the twist and use it as a straw in soda. The Grapevine happens to pair perfectly with Foxon Park grape soda!

Do be careful because you can eat the whole pack during one sitting. Yes, it happened!

Where can you find Grapevines and Redvines near you? Click here to search!

What exactly is National Licorice Day? It’s the day that candy enthusiasts everywhere have full permission to enjoy their favorite licorice.

Five Top Licorice Fun Facts:

• More than 30,000 tons of Red Vines® are made each year—or more than 400,000 miles of licorice—enough to wrap around the Earth more than 16 times!
• In 2011, U.S. licorice sales topped $359 million, a 6.56 percent increase from the year before. It is part of the non-chocolate candy market, which had total sales of $6.87 billion.
• Black licorice is 50 times sweeter than sugar, and derives its botanical name from the Greek words meaning “sweet root.”
• Celebrities love Red Vines! Ryan Gosling, Snoop Dogg, Joshua Jackson, Jennette McCurdy and Magic Johnson are all fans of the classic licorice brand. Betty White even credits them with keeping her 91 years young.
• American Licorice Company has been producing in the San Francisco Bay Area for 33 years, and its Union City, Calif., factory values process before automation: The old press that delivers the dough to the first floor is still there, the second floor cook room has large kettles that fill the dough into the old large spiral ovens before being checked for quality and packaged. It also has production facilities in La Porte, Ind.

What’s your favorite candy?

American Licorice has brought happiness to consumers with their Red Vines®, Snaps®, Sour Punch®, Super Ropes® and Natural Vines® candy.