The Global Snack Empire That Owns Sour Patch Kids You Probably Aren't Aware Of

It's not uncommon for major brands to own several of your favorite food items. For instance, The Campbell's Company is the proud owner of Prego and Rao's pasta sauces, as well as Goldfish Crackers and several other products gained through its acquisition of Sovos in 2023. The candy aisle also has its own heavy hitters, including the brand behind Sour Patch Kids, one of Chowhound's best-ranked Halloween candies. The sour then sweet candies have had many owners over the years and at the time of writing are owned by Mondelēz International, making them a sister brand to grocery staples like Cadbury chocolate and Halls cough drops. Admittedly, Mondelēz International may not sound like a household name, but many of its brands are kitchen staples. 

When Kraft split, Kraft Foods Inc. retained the company's North American grocery footprint, while Mondelēz International took over snacks and confections. Mondelēz owns 42 brands, and chances are, you already have several of them in your pantry.  Oreo, for example, came through Kraft's 2000 purchase of Nabisco. That same acquisition also included Chips Ahoy, Honey Maid Graham Crackers, Ritz Crackers, Triscuit, and Wheat Thins. Mondelēz also owns Halls, which was sold to Cadbury in 2002, and BelVita, originally acquired by Kraft in 2007. More recently, Mondelēz acquired Clif Bar in 2022 for $2.9 billion, aiming to grow the energy bar's reach and value.

Sour Patch Kids was first created in Canada during the 1970s by Frank Galatolie. Originally, the candy was shaped like martians as a nod to the popularity of all things outer space. The candy, then known as Mars Men, was immensely popular, gaining enough fame to cross over to the U.S. in the 1980s when it was renamed Sour Patch Kids. Over the next few years, the rights to the candy shifted among owners: First from Jaret International to Cadbury-Adams when the company acquired Jaret International, then to Kraft Foods, where it ultimately landed with Mondelēz International in 2012.

It's worth mentioning that while Mondelēz owns Cadbury through the Kraft deal, Hershey's actually holds a license to produce Cadbury chocolates in the United States. This overlap adds another layer to Sour Patch Kids' already complex history and ties it even more closely to other big candy names like Reese's, Kit-Kat, and Mounds. Ultimately, the winding story behind Sour Patch Kids and Mondelēz just makes for sweeter conversation — especially while enjoying Sour Patch Kid-infused tequila.