The Candy You (Probably) Won’t Get to Try
On the sadness of the pseudo-snack—produced not to be eaten but to be talked about
A car stopped at a red light, next to a line of people that snaked around the block. The kid in the passenger seat rolled down the window and shouted the obvious question: “What’s this for?” He got a quick reply, if not a full explanation: “It’s the mustard Skittles, man!”
This week, to promote its new, limited-edition flavor—a collaboration with French’s mustard—Skittles turned candy into an event in downtown Washington, D.C. Hashtags, Instagram-ready backdrops, a cornhole-like game named Tang Toss, a general air of manufactured whimsy: It was all there. Some people walking by gazed upon the scene with expressions of curiosity and confusion and pity. Some, shrugging, joined the line.
I was one of