Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Swedish Fish Trident Layers Gum - Gift

Swedish Fish Trident Layers Gum - Gift
Okay, time to get back into the swing of things. I have a ton of posts related to the Summer Fancy Food Show coming up, but my brain (and legs) are basically pudding. It'll take me a day or two to recover and collect my thoughts. In the meantime, let's get back into the normal review routine.

This was one of the candy items I mentioned in the "Desperately Seeking" segment of Candyology101. I really wanted to try this chewing gum, and I had been looking for it everywhere, but I just couldn't find it. Right before I left for NY there was a pretty strong storm here in NJ (some argue it was a tornado) and a lot of people lost power. My bosses went out after the storm to grab some lighters and candles, and when they saw this gum, they bought it for me. (Thank you!)

Trident's design team really does make the best of the limited amount of space on these packages. (Like the beautiful designs that were on the Jelly Bean version.) There's so much going on here! We have the classic Swedish Fish logo with a primary color scheme, a few fish, and some scales. All of those elements are condensed into a package that's roughly the size of a business card. Sure, it's a novelty item, but the design team really did put a lot of thought and effort into this. It's not just a logo slapped onto a package to make sales.


When the packaging is opened/unfolded, you get this beautiful pop of color inside. Although the colors aren't exactly complimentary, they contrast nicely against one another, and the fish scales echo the whole Swedish Fish theme from the front of the package. I just love these colors!

As for the gum itself, when you open the package you immediately smell that classic red Swedish Fish aroma. I've always thought it was lingonberry, like the juices and sweets you can buy at Ikea, but apparently it's never been confirmed. Even though the classic fish might be a bit of a flavor-mystery, this gum smells just it!


Out of it's wrapper, the gum has two red layers and a yellow one. Now, what makes this layered gum different from all the other Trident Layers gums I've reviewed is that this has specks in it.The image on the packaging doesn't show any red specks, so at first I was a little worried that something was wrong with my pack, but being the foodie dare-devil I am, I ate it anyway.

I was looking for this gum for so long that I made myself think that this was going to be amazing... but it isn't. What a bummer! Like a lot of novelty foods, it's not bad, but it doesn't deliver like I had hoped it would.


The flavoring starts out slowly, with that licorice-like red berry flavoring that Swedish Fish are known for, then it gets very slightly tangier from the lemon-layer that is softer, messier, and tastes like lemonade, but all of it quickly fades into artificial sweetener and nothingness. A little bit of that red berry flavoring lingers in the background as you chew, but less than 10 minutes into this gum it's lost nearly all of it's appeal and 90% of it's flavor. It's an okay product, and it's pleasant while it lasts, but it doesn't pack the punch I was hoping for.

If you want something that is a bit more intense and more Swedish Fish like, try the Sour Patch Kids red-berry gum from Stride. It sounds sour, but it's actually really sweet and it had a strong "red berry" flavoring. I love the packaging, and I love Swedish Fish, but I want more bang for my buck..
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3 comments:

  1. I agree. It needs to be more stronger and longer lasting. I wonder why they couldn't use the actual Swedish fish flavoring that the candy company uses. Get rid of the lemon layer (why they need to add that?)

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  2. Terrible Gum! It falls short on almost every aspect.

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    1. I had such high hopes for this, but the red Sourpatch Kids gum is way more Swedish-fish-like.

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