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Warheads Juniors Extreme Sour packaging (Australian), showing one of each of the five flavors of candy.

Warheads, also known as Mega Warheads, are a brand of sour candy manufactured by Impact Confections. The candy was invented in Taiwan in 1975 and was first imported to the United States by The Foreign Candy Company in 1993. For a while, "hot" versions of the candy were also available but proved to be less popular. They are currently distributed in the United States by Impact Confections and in Australia by Funtastic Limited. They proved to be very popular, especially with children; in 1999, Warheads were referred to as a "$40 million brand." ^[1] Impact Confections acquired the brand in 2004. They are used at the candy exhibit at the Health Center in Houston.

Warheads derive their strong sour flavor primarily from malic acid which is applied as a coating to the outside of the small, hard candies. The intense sour flavor fades after about 20 to 50 seconds. The hard candy itself contains the somewhat less sour ascorbic acid and citric acid.

Warheads are marketed to children as an "extreme" candy. The name "Warhead" comes from the notion that the sour taste of the candies is akin to a real warhead going off in one's mouth, and the brand's mascot, Wally Warhead, is depicted as a boy with puckered lips and a small mushroom cloud eminating from the top of his head. A driving force behind the candy's popularity were informal competitions among schoolchildren to determine who could withstand eating the largest number of Warheads at once.^[2]

A warning is now included on Warheads packaging, as follows:

Warheads are currently available in the following varieties:

• Extreme Sour
• Extreme Sour Juniors
• Double Drops
• Sour Gummy Grubs
• Sour Ooze Chewz
• Super Sour Drops
• Super Sour Spray Candy
• Super Fizz
• Super Sour Strips

Warheads are only available in sour flavors. Warheads also originally had hot flavors, as well as sour, but these were shortly discontinued due to the lack of sales compared to the sour brands.

Sour flavors, which are still manufactured and sold, include:

• Sour Green Apple
• Sour Black Cherry
• Sour Blue Raspberry
• Sour Lemon
• Sour Watermelon

Hot flavors included:

• Hot Grape
• Hot Cherry

• Official website

1. ^ Frauenfelder, Mark. Gross National Product, Wired, June 1999.
2. ^ Buckley, J. Taylor. Warheads candy sets taste, sales explosion, USA Today, June 11, 1997. pg. 03.B
3. ^ Warheads Juniors Extreme Sour, Australian packaging.