What's Happening
Applied Nutrition has launched pre-availability for their new Sour Patch Kids flavors of its ABE pre-workout in the US. Three authentic editions are were announced, Sour Patch Kids Blue Razz, Redberry, and Watermelon, each in candy-themed packaging and priced at $39.99 direct.
The flavors are the pre-workout piece of a broader collaboration. Applied first confirmed the Sour Patch Kids partnership earlier this summer, and it has since expanded across the ABE lineup, including the ready-to-drink ABE energy drink and the brand's Hydration+ electrolyte product, which arrived at GNC in Redberry and Blue Razz at $12.99 for a box of seven stick packs.
The formula underneath the candy branding is the standard ABE build, unchanged: 350mg of caffeine, 6g of citrulline malate, and 3g of beta-alanine per serving, alongside a focus and performance stack that includes Zynamite, Dynamine, VitaCholine, and Senactiv. It is sugar-free with a fully disclosed label and no proprietary blends. The Sour Patch Kids editions deliver the sour-then-sweet candy taste on top of that existing formula.
Why It Matters
This is a licensed, authentic collaboration rather than a flavor knockoff, which is the whole point. The deal runs through Mondelez International, the owner of Sour Patch Kids, and also covers Swedish Fish, giving Applied the actual candy branding rather than a "blue razz" approximation. In a pre-workout market where flavor is the primary way brands differentiate an increasingly commoditized formula, owning a real candy license is a genuine competitive edge.
The retail muscle behind it is the bigger story. The Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish range is rolling into roughly 2,200 Walmart stores and 1,300 GNC corporate locations starting this month, a level of physical distribution that most performance supplement brands never reach. Nostalgic candy branding is exactly the kind of hook that earns mainstream shelf space and pulls in shoppers who would walk past a conventional tub of pre-workout.
One thing for buyers to keep in mind: the candy flavor does not change the stimulant load. At 350mg of caffeine per serving, ABE remains a high-stim product despite packaging that looks like a bag of sweets, which is worth flagging given how approachable the branding makes it look.
Bigger Picture
Applied Nutrition, a UK company publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange, has made candy and beverage licensing a core growth strategy, with prior collaborations including Tang, Chiquita, and ICEE. The Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish deal extends that playbook into two of the biggest names in American candy, and it lands alongside a major operational push into North America: the company recently acquired a US manufacturing facility in Buffalo, New York, to produce domestically rather than shipping from the UK.
Taken together, the moves signal a serious bid for the US market from a brand that built its name in Europe, where ABE is one of the best-selling pre-workouts. Licensed nostalgia flavors are the marketing spearhead, and domestic manufacturing plus big-box retail distribution are the infrastructure meant to turn that attention into volume.
The broader trend is the continued blurring of the line between the candy aisle and the supplement aisle. From protein sodas to gummy-flavored everything, functional brands keep borrowing the equity of beloved treats, betting that taste and nostalgia, not ingredient panels, are what actually drive trial in a crowded category.
Sources
Applied Nutrition plc (investor announcement) - https://www.appliednutritionplc.com/us-manufacturing-acquisition-trading-update/