Swedish Fish as Fine Art

The beauty of a Swedish Fish has, perhaps, never been captured in as artistic a fashion as in Leanne Wildermuth's delectable oil painting of a lime flavored Swedish Fish. "Green Swedish Fish" is the sixth painting in Leanne's snack-themed "Eye Ate It" series, which also includes delicate renderings of favorites like the Sour Patch Kid and Green Jujyfruit.

Leanne also specializes in pet portraits and is giving away one free custom pet portrait each week of 2009. Just stop by her blog on Mondays and check out the "Call for Entries"!

Dr. Seuss Prophesies the Coming of the Blueberry Swedish Fish

"One fish, two fish; red fish, blue fish." For years, the true meaning behind Dr. Seuss' famous aquatic tale lay dormant, disguised as a charming, poetic story for children. Then, in 2007, Flickr user Cinnamon uploaded a beautiful photograph of assorted Swedish Fish in a cup, noting in her caption, "One fish, two fish, Red fish, and I don't have a blue fish". Little did she know that she had unlocked the secrets behind an ancient mystery--Dr. Seuss had indeed predicted the colors of the Swedish Fish assorted pack, where one fish (yellow) + two fish (green and orange) + the red fish equaled the four assorted flavors.

As one of the first (if not the first) to conceptualize the blueberry Swedish Fish, I held the key to deciphering the final piece of the puzzle. As we can see now, the blueberry Swedish Fish is the final step in the flavor-value progression. First, the yellow fish is the "one fish" because it is the least popular flavor. Next, green and orange are grouped as "two fish" (the orange fish is not explicitly depicted, as this would have made Seuss' secret too transparent) for being equally tasty above the yellow fish, while the red fish bests all three as the current flavor champion. Interestingly, Dr. Seuss has foretold that the blueberry Swedish Fish will be the most delicious flavor.

"Some fish are old, some fish are new. Some fish are red, some fish are blue." This is a chronological statement; "old" correlates with the red fish, while "new" correlates with the blue fish.

Dr. Seuss has spoken! Join the campaign now and play a vital role in the creation of the most delicious Swedish Fish ever!

Candy Sushi: Sushi Your Swedish Fish!

Swedish Fish were irresistible enough out of the bag, but fans of Clare Crespo's "dessert sushi" recipe from The Secret Life of Food have taken these delicious candies to a new level. Swedish Fish sushi--totally smooth, right? Now you too can learn the intricacies of candy sushi! Blogger Windell shows you how to sushi your Swedish Fish, along with other candy, in this article at EvilMadScientist.com.

An evening spent making candy sushi has now joined my list of unforgettable first dates, alongside eating romantic cereal by candlelight!

Join the Campaign with Exclusive Buttons!

My Custom RSS Buttons (right click and "save as...")

The campaign for blueberry Swedish Fish has begun! I've created the first wave of official, ultra-cool Swedish Fish Blue buttons, sized to the standard 80x15 for maximum compatibility. You'll also notice that my custom RSS feed buttons have been thrown in as well. Feel free to save them for your own use!

Now, you can show your love for Swedish Fish and join the quest for a new blueberry flavor at the same time! Simply choose your favorite flavor, copy the code, and paste it in your blog or profile. By using the code, your button will link back to this post so that others can get their own Swedish Fish Blue button. These are the first buttons I've ever designed--I hope you enjoy them and I appreciate your support!

Click once to automatically highlight the code, then copy it!

SFB Badge	<a href="http://swedishfishblue.blogspot.com/2009/03/join-campaign-exclusive-buttons.html"><img src="http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/loveqube/my%20web%20buttons/SFB.gif"></a>
Blueberry Fish	<a href="http://swedishfishblue.blogspot.com/2009/03/join-campaign-exclusive-buttons.html"><img src="http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/loveqube/my%20web%20buttons/blueberryfish.gif"></a>
Original Flavor	<a href="http://swedishfishblue.blogspot.com/2009/03/join-campaign-exclusive-buttons.html"><img src="http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/loveqube/my%20web%20buttons/originalfish.gif"></a>
Green Flavor	<a href="http://swedishfishblue.blogspot.com/2009/03/join-campaign-exclusive-buttons.html"><img src="http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/loveqube/my%20web%20buttons/greenfish.gif"></a>
Yellow Flavor	<a href="http://swedishfishblue.blogspot.com/2009/03/join-campaign-exclusive-buttons.html"><img src="http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/loveqube/my%20web%20buttons/yellowfish.gif"></a>
Orange Flavor	<a href="http://swedishfishblue.blogspot.com/2009/03/join-campaign-exclusive-buttons.html"><img src="http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/loveqube/my%20web%20buttons/orangefish.gif"></a>
Extinct Grape!	<a href="http://swedishfishblue.blogspot.com/2009/03/join-campaign-exclusive-buttons.html"><img src="http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/loveqube/my%20web%20buttons/grapefish.gif"></a>

If you've posted one of my Swedish Fish buttons on your site and you'd like me to stop by, please send an e-mail to me, Qupid, at this address.

When Swedish Fish Attack

Before today, I would have never thought it was possible to demonize Swedish Fish. To my surprise, I discovered the feat had been accomplished by none other than an accredited candy vendor in one of the least appealing sales pitches I have ever seen:

"These yummy fish swim upstream.... through saliva river! They would like to spawn in your tummy."

The imaginative people at "CandyWarehouse.com", operating out of Irwindale, California, are the proud authors of this gem. See the quote in its original context here. Perhaps someone at Candy Warehouse has watched the movie "Alien" one too many times. Thankfully, Swedish Fish are just so delicious that I'll be able to continue eating them without picturing my stomach being grossly violated as a breeding ground. Nice one, Candy Warehouse!

Cadbury's Initial Response

Given that I didn't send a very lengthy message, my inquiry as to whether Cadbury had ever considered a blueberry Swedish Fish received a suitably quaint and uninformative response. Perhaps my question delved into confidential territory. Or, maybe it's just the kind of generic reply you would expect from a customer service department:

"February 23, 2009

Dear Mr. Pitre:

Thank you for contacting us with a suggestion you feel may be of interest to us. We always appreciate it when our customers are loyal enough to share their ideas and suggestions with us.

We enjoy hearing from you and are especially pleased to learn of your satisfaction. We will pass on your compliments to both our marketing department and our research and development department so they can be made aware of the great job they are doing!

We hope you continue to enjoy Swedish Fish products.

Sincerely,

Consumer Relations"

I'm undecided as to whether the response is meaningful in any way. The thought of my compliments being passed on to anyone at Cadbury seems unrealistic. "Hey Bob, guess what? We've just discovered another consumer that loves our Swedish Fish!" Big deal, right? A behemoth like Cadbury thinks in terms of sales and potential sales, not the sentiments of a random consumer. However, being the number one candy confectioner in the world, one would think they'd at least have a clever way to interface with their customers--to involve them in the future of Swedish Fish. Confectioner Masterfoods, in the UK, had the right idea:



Consumers of the multi-flavored candy "Revels" were able to participate in an online game called Revels Eviction, in which each player could sentence their least favorite flavor to a variety of unfortunate demises. Data collected from the online game determined that coffee was the most unwanted flavor, so, for a limited time, coffee flavored Revels were replaced with strawberry Revels. If only it were that simple with Swedish Fish! Why is it that the consumer, being the foundation of any business, seems to have such a limited say?

The Voice of the Consumer

Swedish Fish Blue is about more than just candy. In our efforts to push this delicious new flavor beyond the realm of dreams and into stores worldwide, we'll find a crucial underlying question: just how powerful is the voice of the consumer? In the last few decades, we have witnessed the loss of many incredible snacks. Flavors that were undeniably scrumptious and addictive vanished inexplicably, leaving us with nothing but nostalgia. For many of us, our favorite candies, chips, cookies and crackers were more than just a guilty pleasure; they were elements of our favorite memories.

Take, for example, "For the Love of Fig Newtons", where childhood recollections of the once moist and succulent Fig Newton (now dry and tasteless) drive a man to discover whether any fig cookie can recreate the taste he once knew. Others have lamented the mysterious disappearance of the grape Swedish Fish, shown here.

Why do these beloved snacks often disappear and otherwise diminish in quality? Whatever the reason, it is time for the voice of the consumer to be heard and respected. Why shouldn't we be able to purchase the snacks we really want? If our collective voice is loud enough--if we are visible enough as a consumer group--perhaps we will be among the first to see a candy created by the power of popular demand. This is the ultimate goal of Swedish Fish Blue.

Readers, which of your favorite snacks are no longer in production? Let's reminisce in the comments section!

And So It Begins...

The most recent words out of my mouth were, "I can't believe I'm doing this." The idea of devoting myself so wholeheartedly to this concept completely unnerves me, just like the first day of school always did; a mix of excitement and fear. On a whim, I've dreamt up the notion of a blueberry-flavored Swedish fish. Now I'm asking friends and strangers alike for their serious opinion on the idea. How random is that? It's been a while since I've experienced such uncertainty, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, isn't uncertainty what makes a story exciting?

So, here we are at the beginning of Swedish Fish Blue. What you may be wondering is, "How does a person become so infatuated with the thought of a candy?" Well, as broke as I've been, I find the thought of most foods tantalizing. I could easily write a long list of the snacks I've been missing, but, for some reason, Swedish Fish dominate my mind as if it were an imaginary aquarium. There really is no substitute for Swedish Fish. Even the most avid Swedish Fish lovers have trouble describing the unique taste. Nothing else compares! If I'm making Swedish Fish sound like a rare delicacy, maybe it's because they're just that good!

In the 1970s, the Swedish Fish left their home in Sweden with confectioner Malaco and made their way to North America. Since their debut, Swedish Fish have become a legendary candy--their modern confectioner, Cadbury, claims that 7,000 metric tons of Swedish Fish are produced each year!

The original flavor is obviously a smash hit, but after all this time, I'm ready for something new--something blue--and not just blue raspberry flavored, but blueberry! I'm not sure how blueberries got mixed up in this. All I know is that from the moment I envisioned that beautiful deep blue Swedish Fish, I've been able to breathe in the blueberry scent and taste the mouthwatering flavor.

My first step in making blueberry Swedish Fish a reality is to gather together as many like-minded Swedish Fish lovers as possible! If you'd like to accompany me on this adventure, please follow this blog!