“Unhinged.” Walgreens Is Really ALL IN on the Peelable Candy Now

By Leigh Caldwell Leave a Comment

If you’ve wandered down the candy aisle at Walgreens in the past year, you might have noticed the rise of peelable gummies. They went viral last year in fun flavors like banana and mango — the kind of quirky, gimmicky candy you can imagine a kid peeling apart with sticky fingers before popping it in their mouth.

You know this went into my cart immediately.

Well, Walgreens has decided to keep the trend rolling… and maybe push it off a cliff.

On a recent trip to a Walgreens in Florida, I spotted a display of peelable gummies in all kinds of flavors: lychee, kiwi, cotton candy, pumpkin (because of course), and — the one that made me stop in my tracks — sweet potato.

Three small bags for $5. Naturally, I had to try the sweet potato.

Here’s the thing: I love candy. Nerds Gummy Clusters could honestly be the key to my heart. But I’ve never fully understood the point of peeling a gummy. You eat the peel and the inside anyway, so why slow things down? Plus, I’m not a fan of getting my hands all over candy before eating it. Usually I skip the peel step entirely.

Sweet potato in gummy form? Ummm, we’re taking this a little too far.

The sweet potato gummies looked pretty enough — purple on the outside, orange on the inside, giving them a trendy ube vibe. But the moment I opened the bag, I knew I was in trouble. The smell? Like Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole… if it had been made in a chemistry lab.

The taste confirmed my fears. Imagine brown sugar, cinnamon, and sweet potato flavoring — but artificial in a way that even pumpkin spice haters would find excessive — layered onto a chewy gummy texture. It just didn’t work.

Speaking of pumpkin, I tried that one too. Same problem: overly artificial fall spice plus gummy chew equals no thanks. Some flavors just don’t belong in gummy form, and for me, sweet potato is at the top of that list.

And gummy pumpkin?

Walgreens, I see what you’re doing here — riding the wave of a viral candy trend. But this? This is not it. Stick to the fruity peelables, and leave Thanksgiving flavors to pie where they belong.

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Have you tried any — ahem — unusual gummy candy flavors? Tell me about it in the comments below!