Dear misterjenkins,
I'm quite sure I've identified the candy you crave and found a way to
order it, despite the fact that I couldn't get in touch with the
Helsinki candy store. Their address is apparently the following.
Karkkipussi
The Candy Store International Oy
Ormusmäentie 4
00700 Helsinki
tel.: ++358 +9 350 85 042
data sheet on Karkkipussi Candy Store (in Finnish)
http://217.78.204.22/franchising/jasenet/karkkip/karkkip.htm
The phone number given on that page is meant for people dialing within
Finland, but I've worked out their international phone number using
other sources.
358 9 350 85 042
Finland Country Code & Phone Finland Area Codes
http://www.countrycodes.com/areacodes/call_finland.htm
Read the number like so: 358 is the country code; 9 is the city code;
the last eight digits are the local number. I've called several times
at various hours, but they have yet to answer the phone.
I did, however, get in touch with a candy store in Tampere.
Yahoo! Travel: Tampere, Finland: Karkkipussi
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2878035-karkkipussi_tampere-i
I conversed by phone with the owner, who speaks very good English and
told me the following facts. Karkkipussi is not two words but one, and
it is the Finnish word for the conical paper bag in which Nordic
sweets are traditionally sold. It is also the name of a national chain
of candy stores that was quite popular in decades past but in recent
years has run into financial trouble. The Karkkipussi corporation
filed for bankruptcy protection a few years ago, which may explain
their unwillingness to answer the phone. The head company is
supposedly still around in some shadowy form, but my informant, who
once purchased a Karkkipussi franchise, no longer deals with them,
preferring to sell his own line of hand-made chocolates.
That's the bad news, but the good news is that you can order gummy
teeth and all kinds of other gummy specialties online. I am familiar
with European confectionery myself, having spent several years in
Vienna, and it's always been my understanding that gummy candies were
invented in Germany. To this day, German companies are the foremost
innovators and exporters in the field. The Finnish candy-store owner
agreed with me that the gummy candies he had sold under his
Karkkipussi franchise were mostly of German provenance.
The largest gummy-candy manufacturers in Germany are Haribo and
Katjes. Here are a pair of German-language web pages that display
Haribo's bestselling wares in packaged and bulk form.
Haribo: bestselling packaged candy
http://www.haribo.com/planet/de/info/main/marken/haribo.html#Beutelware
Haribo: bestselling bulk candy
http://www.haribo.com/planet/de/info/main/marken/stueckartikel.html#stueck
Katjes has a page in English showing their line of fruit-flavored gummy candies.
Katjes: Fruit Gum
http://katjes.com/english/produkte/produkte_katjes_fruchtgu.htm
I suspect you'll recognize among these pages some of the candy you saw
in Helsinki. Gummy teeth are conspicuously absent, but I'll get to
that in a moment. I should first tell you that I've seen a few
distinctive Haribo and Katjes products sold in North America, such as
the cola bottles and the sour peaches, but they're generally packaged
and distributed under an American brand name. On the other hand, I've
also seen them in the original packaging, imported straight from
Germany, at better grocery stores.
A good online source is GermanDeli, which sells a wide variety of
gummy candies in quantities large and small.
GermanDeli: Gummi Candies
http://www.germandeli.com/sweets-gummitreats.html
GermanDeli: Haribo Gummi Candies
http://www.germandeli.com/hargumcan.html
GermanDeli: Katjes Gummi Candies
http://www.germandeli.com/katgumcanger.html
My mouth watered as I scrolled through GermanDeli's photos, many of
which brought back memories of my youth. I'm especially nostalgic for
Haribo Frogs (half foam, half green gummy) and Haribo Twin-Cherries
(green and red gummy). And of course the little cola bottles, in both
sweet and sour variants. Katjes makes the fabulous Sour Currants,
which are very sour and very fruity. There are American equivalents to
each of these, but one Katjes product I haven't been able to find at
all are the Yoghurt Gums, which are delicately flavored pastel sweets
with a consistency halfway between gummy bears and marshmallows.
As for gummy teeth, you can order a six-pound bag for $19.50 from an American firm.
CandyWarehouse: Gummi Vampire Teeth
http://store.candywarehouse.com/gumteet3kgba.html
ditto, magnified photo
http://store1.yimg.com/I/candywarehouse_1808_221728383
The picture indicates that these are imported from Turkey. It's
possible that they're manufactured there under a German license, given
the many other instances of licensed foreign production of German
candies.
If you want to try a smaller quantity, similar gummy teeth are
available in a one-pound bag for $3.99 from a Virginia firm. I haven't
been able to find out where these are made, since their phone line is
perpetually busy.
A Candy Fix: Gummi Teeth
http://acandyfix.safeshopper.com/12/68.htm?115
Thank you for posing this interesting question. If you find my answer
incomplete or inaccurate in any way, please post a clarification so
that I have a chance to meet your needs before you assign a rating.
Cheers,
leapinglizard
Search Queries:
karkkipussi [finnish-language search on Google Finland]
://www.google.fi/search?hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&q=karkkipussi&lr=lang_fi
finland area code
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&q=finland+area+code
german candy
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&q=german+candy
gummy teeth
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&q=gummy+teeth
german gummy teeth
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=german+gummy+teeth |
