Sunkist Fruit Gems, Staple Candy of Bar Mitzvah Tradition, Are Discontinued

For generations of bar and bat mitzvahs, there was one final step before a 12- or 13-year-old boy or girl completed the rite of becoming a Jewish adult.It did not come from reading the Torah or receiving a blessing.It came as a storm of Sunkist Fruit Gems, plastic-wrapped candy jellies in a rainbow of colors, were lobbed at the young person by relatives, friends and congregants after all the praying was done.“That was what was thrown at me, that was what was thrown at my father; it’s tradition,” said Mitchell Cohen, who runs his family’s candy store, Economy Candy, in New York City.Ah, tradition.Sunkist Fruit Gems are being discontinued by Ferrara, a Chicago-based candy company that also owns Jelly Belly, Brachs and Nerds.

The company attributed the sunset of the molar-mashing candies to a relaunch of the Jelly Belly brand.“A careful reduction of the number of products including the licensed Sunkist Fruit Gems allowed us to better focus on our commitment to consumer demands and driving innovation,” Ferrara said in a statement on Friday.The news, which was reported Thursday by eJewishPhilanthropy, was greeted with much dismay by Mr.Cohen and anyone who has ever ducked a hail of candies while standing at a sanctuary’s bimah.

A majority of the Sunkist Fruit Gems sold by Economy Candy are bought “to be pelted at bar and bat mitzvah boys and girls,” Mr.Cohen said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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