Sweets

Joyride Put Sour Candy in a Candy Cane Tube and Called It Christmas

October 30, 2026 • 1 min read • Moe Train Eats

A red bag of Joyride Sour Santa Smacks chewy fruit gummies with red and green elf-shaped candies on the front — Sour elves in a red bag at 70 percent less sugar. Santa never stood a chance.Photo: Joyride

Christmas candy usually plays it safe. Joyride went the other way and made Santa sour.

The brand's 2026 holiday collection has four limited edition bags and tubes, and every one of them leans sour. Sour Santa Smacks lead the pack, elf-shaped chewy gummies in Winter White Grape and Christmas Cranberry, with 70 percent less sugar than the leading brands, according to Joyride. The bag is bright red and the little elves on the front look way too happy for candy that's about to pucker your whole face.

Candy that brags about less sugar usually tastes like a lecture.
Moe Train

Sour Polar Cherry Strips go even harder on the sugar cut, 80 percent less, with a tart cherry chew. Frosted Polar Bears are the sweet break in the lineup, bear-shaped gummies with a frosted coating in Grape, Blue Raspberry, and Cherry. Then there are the Sour Jolly Zips, crunchy shell candies with a chewy center in Tangy Lime and Cherry Berry, sold inside a plastic candy cane built for a stocking.

Joyride says the whole run skips artificial sweeteners and synthetic colors and packs in prebiotic fiber. You can find them at Target, Publix, Kroger, Albertsons, H-E-B, and 7-Eleven while the holiday run lasts.

Candy that brags about less sugar usually tastes like a lecture. This stuff at least shows up dressed like it wants to party.