All The Candy You Should Try At Five Below

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Once upon a time, the Dollar Tree was everyone's go-to spot for the coolest and best-priced candy. But that was before Five Below came along, or more accurately, before the internet discovered the candy treasure trove that is the retailer equivalent of the kid in school with the best lunch box snacks. Seriously, the brand's primary market is teenagers, so selling the latest products on the cheap is the whole deal. The candies are wacky and on-trend -- we're not talking about the ordinary items included in Five Below's 10 for $1 "sugar rush" deal. Instead, we're referring to the interesting and borderline unhinged snacks that all the kids (and kids at heart) are eating these days.

If you aren't in the know about the candy Five Below offers beyond its signature sugar rush palooza, fear not. We have compiled a list of the candies (and their prices, which vary by store and are accurate as of September 2023) you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to try. You'll want to keep in mind that while all of these candies are fun, not all of them are necessarily delicious. Many have earned their place on our list by sheer coolness alone. Intrigued? Good. Scared? Even better. Japanese sweets, edible notebook paper, and more, here is our selection of the must-try candy at Five Below.

Read more: The Most Unique Chip Flavors Ever To Grace Store Shelves

Caplico Candies

Caplico candy is everything you expect from a Japanese treat: delicious, unique, and heart-wrenchingly adorable. This brand's whole concept is to be the candy version of everyone's favorite summer dessert: ice cream. How is that possible, you may ask? Caplico treats are made with either bubble chocolate or sponge cake, both of which give the desserts a signature light and airy ice cream-like consistency. While these treats are a mainstay for afternoon snack-attacks in Japan, in America you can usually only buy this brand's specialty candy on a deliver-to-you basis from the likes of Walmart and Amazon — but  Five Below carries three of Caplico's unique flavors in-store.

At the retailer, you'll find Caplico's mini strawberry-chocolate snacks (which are shaped like tiny chocolate-covered strawberries) and white chocolate stars (do we even have to tell you what these treats look like?) for $2.75 a pop with 12 pieces per container. Both of these Japanese-born treats have received rave reviews online.

However, the pièce de résistance of the Caplico snacks at Five Below are the mini cones. These treats may look like little ice cream cones, but they are actually vanilla wafers stuffed with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry sponge cake. Costing $5 for a 10-cone pack, reviewers report the filling dissolves on your tongue like real ice cream. Immaculately themed and uniquely tasty, we suggest you don't torture yourself by deliberating over which of these treats you should buy. Save yourself the heartache and get them all.

Icee Candy

Even if you think you've tried every Icee product under the sun, including the limited edition TMNT drink flavor and the questionable mermaid-flavored Icee tube, you have not yet completed your Icee-product-tasting journey until you've headed to Five Below. For what, you ask? What else than three different Icee-themed candies, we answer.

Truly the stuff childhood dreams are made of, you can start your Icee snack tour with the cherry Icee spray candy. This treat looks and tastes like a tiny, overfilled, cherry Icee. Keeping this fun snack in good company is the Icee blue raspberry squeeze candy, which is something of a juicy drop-pop-Icee crossbreed. Finishing off the Icee candy mayhem is the Icee lollipop powder snack, complete with a lollipop stick facing upward to look like a candy straw. All of these sweet Icee-themed candies are $2 at Five Below.

If you're the type of fan who ran to the grocery store when Icee released the coolest cereal in town, you'll definitely want to add the chain's other Icee products to your shopping bag, like the Icee scented lip balm and cosmetics set.

Botan Rice Candy

Rice candy is a beloved Japanese snack that has been satisfying the country's sweet tooth for a little over 90 years. In the same way that Hershey's is the king of chocolate in the U.S., Botan Rice candy is the definitive rice candy company in Japan. The brand claims its take on the signature treat has a chewy mouthfeel and a bright lemon and orange taste. Those who've actually tried these snacks report that the description checks out, likening these sweets to soft lemon drops with a citrus tang.

But the edible rice paper wrapper is really what the fuss is all about. Even though it looks plastic (and quite frankly, toxic), once it interacts with your mouth it will melt on your tongue. At only $0.75 at Five Below, everyone should experience this snack at least once, if nothing else than to say they have. Plus, each candy has poster-worthy traditional Japanese art packaging and comes with free stickers.

Meiji Hello Panda Cookies

Alright, we know the Caplico candy was cute, but next up on our list is a brand that (dare we say) might just sell the cutest sweets at Five Below. Even this dessert's name is sweet: Meiji Hello Panda cookies. These snacks consist of crispy vanilla wafers that come filled with a variety of crème flavors. Most importantly, Hello Panda cookies are shaped like tiny panda heads, and every piece has an image printed on it of a panda doing a fun little panda activity.

At Five Below, you can buy a pack of every variety of the snack: strawberry, vanilla, caramel, and chocolate. Depending on the flavor, they are sold in different sizes, ranging from 2.2 to 7 ounces, from $1.50 to $5. Whatever you choose, get more because these panda cookies taste amazing. According to one Amazon reviewer, the little panda snacks with their combination of a crunchy, cracker-like exterior and soft interior make for a treat that is "unlike anything" they've ever experienced before.

Chick-O-Stick

In the 1950s, some folks in Texas decided they wanted to make a treat like no other, so they rolled together peanut butter, toasted coconut, and caramel syrup and called their creation the most appetizing thing you can think of: chicken bones. They eventually changed the candy's name to Chick-O-Stick which was a little more palatable for consumers. As an important candy history artifact that lies in the heart of Five Below's candy section, these treats are delicious.

Chick-O-Sticks taste like an intensely nutty flavored toffee and have a great chewy mouthfeel. Many people compare them to Butterfingers sans the chocolate. A single bar of these treats only costs $0.50 at Five Below — which is good, because you may actually want to stock up on them. Not only are the ingredients much simpler and a lot less chemical-based than most candy bars, but hikers have been known to carry these snacks because of their durability.

Meiji Chocorooms

Calling all cottagecore queens and self-proclaimed witches, if you're obsessed with all things mushroom, Meiji Chocorooms are the snack you've been looking for. Made by the same brand that churns out those adorable aforementioned Hello Panda snacks, this cute little treat made its debut in the 1970s and was one of the first themed chocolates in Japan. Its fun concept and great taste have made it a popular snack in the country to this day -- and at Five Below.

Costing $5 per 5-ounce package, Meiji Chocorooms are just what they sound like: chocolate snacks that look like mushrooms. Each tiny edible fungus has a vanilla cookie stem and both a dark and milk chocolate mushroom top. While simple sounding, Amazon reviewers report these snacks have mastered their straightforward formula. Many report Chocorooms offer a perfect balance of crispy biscuit and sweet chocolate, making them incredibly addicting.

Of course, their format also makes them the perfect snack for picnics or summer tea parties. If you just like the look of mushrooms and not the taste of them, Meiji has clarified that this product is both artificial-color and mushroom-free.

Sow Good Freeze Dried Candy

This brand is perhaps the magnum opus of Five Below's candy selection: Sow Good Candy. Remember how everyone and their mom was gushing over freeze-dried candy on TikTok a few months back? This is one of the companies that was fueling the madness. And perhaps rightfully so since novelty aside, it's a pretty interesting candy concept.

These snacks come in three varieties: rainbow bites (which are basically freeze-dried Skittles), crunchy worms, and crunchy bears. Each of these treats goes for $5 a pop, which is about a dollar less than you can get them for at Target. But are they good? Well ... maybe? Most people seem to agree that the not-Skittles-Skittles have a great taste. However, feedback on the brand's other products is pretty mixed.

Some report the gummy worms have a slimy after-taste (which, to be fair, is appropriate), while others insist they are a delicious treat that resembles Sour Captain Crunch mixed with Fruit Loops. In a similarly divided vein, while one reviewer reported the gummy bears tasted like a day-old Cheetos-Jolly Rancher hybrid, another foodie said the freeze-dried snacks were so delicious they were forced to rethink their previously negative opinion of gummy bears. The truth is out there. You just need to snag these unique treats and find out for yourself.

Fun Works Edible Paper Candy

Forget invisible ink pens and head to Five Below to get your hands on this crafty-meets-foodie ... snack? Abomination? We're honestly not sure how to describe Fun Works Edible Paper candy. "Write on paper, then eat the paper!" proclaims the packaging. Each of these $4 sets of edible pages comes with a red strawberry gel pen and only five paper servings, so you're going to want to write with intention here. Notice we didn't mention the paper's flavor -- well, that's because it doesn't have one.

According to consumers, eating this paper "treat" is one of the strangest human experiences you can have with food. Initially, this candy is crunchy, for lack of a better descriptor. However, once you bite into it, it dissolves in your mouth. Luckily, the strawberry pen has a lot of flavor going for it to offset the absence of taste from the paper. Is Fun Works Edible Paper candy absolutely wacky? For sure. But it's still fun to try and the perfect snack for birthday parties and Christmas stockings.

Gummy Sets

Alright. Here's an experiment for you. Picture a food item, any food item. Odds are there is a gummy version of it at Five Below. Stop laughing, we are as serious. Mac & cheese? A gummy-fied version of Kraft's classic box is on the store's shelves for $4. Sushi? Yes, and for the same price. Lunchables pepperoni pizza kit? Oscar Mayer bacon? Both are available for a dollar more.

Heck, even non-food favorites have turned to the gummy side. Have you been longing to get a taste of your favorite Squishmallow in gummy form? Now you can devour a gummy unicorn, cat, and owl Squishmallow for the low price of $2 and an apology to the stuffies on your bed.

If you're wondering with trepidation what these amazingly detailed gummies taste like, don't fret. Five Below isn't quite as unhinged as other brands. All of its gummy sets, including the ones that look like meat, are flavored with your typical multi-fruit assortment. In fact, most reviewers report the gummy sets mostly taste the same — vaguely fruit-like. Regardless, these treats are undeniably nostalgic (you can even assemble the gummy Lunchables like real Lunchables with crackers, ham, cheese, and all) and just plain fun.

Dunkin' Chocolates

Chocolates inspired by Dunkin's signature donuts? We're pretty sure we can speak for foodies everywhere when we say we are thankful for this mad scientist creation and grateful for the fact they are sold at Five Below. The quirky retailer has the brand's jelly donut chocolates available on its shelves year-round for a measly $1.50 — when they're not sold out, that is. Each package comes with two donut-shaped white chocolate treats, and those who have witnessed (and tasted) this dessert's deliciously awesome powers report they are creamy with a thick, sweet raspberry filling fit for a donut.

If you try these snacks and find you like them more than Dunkin's actual donuts, be sure to be on the lookout for the seasonal Dunkin' Box O' Chocolates, which comes with 12 adorably packaged Dunkin' Donut-inspired treats with the company's Boston Kreme, brownie batter, and chocolate creme flavors. These boxes (which come in a container that looks like a Dunkin' to-go donut box) cost $5 at Five Below and have been known to appear around Easter and the winter holidays.

Pocky

Voted the number one sweet snack of 2021 by Cosmopolitan magazine, if you don't like Pocky we fully believe a trip to Five Below will change your mind. While the retailer carries your usual run-of-the-mill flavors, we're not here to talk about boring old strawberry or chocolate Pocky. We're here to talk about the good stuff.

At Five Below, you'll find matcha, chocolate banana, and almond-crush flavored Pocky. On top of those permanent, often-sold-out treats, the retailer is also known to sell limited-edition flavors like mint ice cream. All of these snacks go for $3.25 per two-pack, so it won't cost you much to become a Pocky convert. No, we will not lay off. While some of the snacks at Five Below are just there for the novelty factor, Pocky is genuinely delicious.

The matcha variety was described by one Amazon reviewer as a "fabulous treat," that was "not overwhelming savory or sweet." Meanwhile, the almond flavor has a reportedly perfect balance of chocolate and nuts, and one TikToker succinctly and lovingly describes the chocolate banana Pocky as "bussin." Promise us you won't give up on Pocky until you've tried these flavors.

Cow Tales

First sold in the early '80s, Cow Tales candy was deliberately spelled "tale" instead of "tail" because the company was afraid people would think it was made with actual cow parts. Instead, this treat is composed of a long, caramel, stick filled to the brim with a sweet cream middle -- a combo so delicious that a bunch of Americans urged a British TikToker to give the snack a go. The influencer's verdict? "Stunning."

So adored is this non-cow all-caramel treat that another TikTok user (in light of the brand recently releasing several new flavors) has even created a video begging the company to produce a gluten-free version of the product. Many commenters shared the influencer's passion for the candy, one exclaiming, "Cow Tales, Listen to this man!' The bad news is that if you want a gluten-free version of this snack, it still hasn't happened. But if you don't have a gluten allergy, you can enjoy this creamy caramel dessert for a mere $0.50 at Five Below.

Read the original article on Mashed.