Tiffani Faison's Favorite Candy Is A Childhood Classic

Tiffani Faison, James Beard Award-winning chef and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate, has created some of the hottest places to eat and drink in Boston. This includes Bubble Bath, a Champagne and wine bar; Sweet Cheeks, a barbecue joint; and Dive Bar, a seafood restaurant. With such playful names — and equally playful menus — it may be no surprise that Faison's favorite indulgence is a vibrant childhood throwback: Haribo gummies (a less controversial choice than other celebrity chefs' favorite snacks). Although Haribo is most closely associated with gummy bears, Faison revealed to Boston Magazine that her favorite Haribo products are actually Twin Cherries, Happy Colas, and Berries (which she called "Red & Black Raspberries").

You may be familiar with these candies, but you don't know them like Faison does. Faison's father was in the military. She moved around quite a bit throughout her childhood, but she was born in Germany, where she developed her love for the German-made sweets. However, the Haribo gummies sold in the United States differ from their European counterparts, so Faison finds herself stocking up on her favorites when she travels overseas. This may seem like a guilty pleasure, but the biggest difference between the European and American Haribo products are the use of artificial flavors and food dyes. The ingredients for German Haribo candies may be longer, but that's because they're flavored with fruit juice concentrates rather than the vague "artificial and natural flavors" of American Haribo.   

Although Haribo might be a household name and one of Germany's major culinary claims to fame (in addition to mouthwatering pork dishes), you may not realize how vast this company is. Established in 1920, Haribo now operates 16 production facilities (the company's first U.S. factory opened in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in 2023), and consumers can find its popular candies in over 120 countries. What's more, Haribo produces more than 1,000 products worldwide, with some sold exclusively in certain areas; there's a good chance you haven't even heard of most of them, unless you're a Haribo superfan.

For its 100th anniversary, Haribo developed a Passport Mix showcasing some favorite global flavors, including two of Faison's favorites: Happy Cola and Twin Cherries. Berries didn't make the Passport Mix, which is a shame since they're covered in tiny, crunchy balls that give them a unique texture among many of the other gummy products. We're glad to see Happy Cola on the list, though. In a world seemingly dominated by fruit-flavored candy, soda-flavored offerings can be real standouts: A search for "soda candy" on a wholesaler candy website results in a handful of products while a search for "fruit-flavored candy" returns hundreds of results. This makes it even more tragic that Betty Crocker's Sodalicious gummies are a thing of the past.