Click Here to see Elliott Lure ET with Reese’s Pieces

Unfortunately, Universal Studios refused to show Mars the complete script. As a result, Mars declined the opportunity. Oops!

This didn’t deter Universal for long. The studio knocked on Hershey’s door soon after actually pursuing Hershey Kisses for the scene. Instead, Hershey’s came back and suggested their newest creation as a much better fit – an M&M alike candy they named Reese’s Pieces.

“E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” went on to be a cultural touchstone and sales of Reese’s Pieces (now billed as “E.T.’s favorite candy”) skyrocketed 65% almost immediately upon release of the film.The movie has since been re-released twice. First in 1985 and again in 2000. Each time, Reese’s Pieces sales surge. What a hit!

At Sweet Factory Candy Boutique we’re active in our community. When it came time to start marketing the Boutique, we decided we’d try something a little different. Something that would allow us to promote the arts and be creative with the candy we sell.

Our first idea that we fell for was a concept to create a one-of-a-kind candy “couture” dress. We’d heard about the creations Kyle Nylund of www.kylenylund.com had created in the past and we knew we’d found a match.

Kyle came to our 17th Ave location and we worked together to decide on the best materials. Do we design the dress from wrappers? How feasible is this endeavor? Floral Gums and Cola Balls won’t last long and chocolate would just melt! Finally, we decided on Rock Candy. It’s bright, festive, interesting and tasty and was a hit with the crowd.

I’m not going to tell you how many boxes of rock candy it took to create the dress right now but I will say, it was more than 30 hours of crushing then glueing each crystal by hand to the undercarriage of the garment.

The dress was debuted at the Rihanna concert in Calgary this past Saturday and was well-received. Let’s just say, there are a lot of people in our city who tried to sneak a taste.

The candy dress will be out and about at other events in the city this month. For more pictures take a look at our Instagram feed – sweetfactorycandy or follow us on Twitter @sweetfactory17

Kids go crazy for them. Maybe because they sparkle but probably because the flavour lasts long and they look like they’re from the future or serve a higher purpose other than pure taste satisfaction. Which is important too. It’s the little things in life, right?

Cola Balls come in a few different sizes, depending on how serious you are with your jaw-breaker addiction. For amateurs, I’d recommend the pint sized itty-bitty balls but for true candy fiends, go for the grand.

Parents and creatives love Cola Balls. They’re a great candy for cake and cupcake decoration. Or just for the sake of art. I’d rather look at Cola-Ball art than noodle art.

Supposedly the Dutch created this cool treat. You can have a taste of Holland and of cola without ever having to leave Calgary. Come down to the shop in Mount Royal and we’ll give you a sample taste. Warning. You’re going to want to try some and buy some.

I find there are two kinds of people in the world. Those who love chocolate and those who must be undead. Seriously, how can you not LOVE the heck out of chocolate? Milk. Dark. White. Sign me up. Then the group over at Sweet Factory Candy Boutique in Calgary introduced me to Chocolate Covered Gummi-Bears and I had to re-think my entire philosophy on life.

Have you tried them yet? Reports are mixed on how and when the Bears originated. My guess is multiple people thought up the idea at about the same time. Geniuses everywhere! It doesn’t seem like a far stretch. Gummi Bears are delicious; chocolate is glorious – they definitely go together.

According to my peers at the Sweet Factory Candy Boutique, they think the treat might have gathered a good following in Sweden. These bears are always white or clear and covered with swiss chocolate unlike the Haribo bears out of Germany that are much more colorful.

Personally, my favorite way to eat them is cold. Fun fact: Gummi Bears don’t actually freeze well. Or at least the tastiest brands don’t. I don’t know about the knock-off bears you can find at dollar stores but the quality Gummi Bears just get nice and chilled and a little more “chewy” in texture. It’s tasty! And the coolness is refreshing in the summer or spring or whenever you need an icy treat.

Drop by the store and take a bag home with you today or check out.

Sweet Factory Candy Boutique is one of few locations in Calgary caring the controversial sweets. High-five for us! You can drop in and get your fix.

The history behind floral gums is pretty cool too. There’s only one factory on the planet that has the secret recipe to pump these treats out and they burned down. All the way down. For years there were no floral gums. It was like the public was teased with their awesomeness and when the factory finally rebuilt and opened their doors for the second time, the anticipation had the UK mesmerized. This candy was selling fast!

Eventually, floral gum candy bust out of England and made its way through the Commonwealth and eventually right here to Calgary just for you try. Come have a taste of this delicious candy. Soap-schmope!