30 Days of Candy is a subscription box that sends “30 unique, individually packaged, expertly curated, deliciously indulgent, and portion controlled candies every month, all centered around a fun theme.”
Unlike many subscriptions that send the same monthly shipment to all subscribers, 30 Days of Candy sends their boxes in a particular sequence. This means that if you sign up for a new subscription your subscription will begin with Box #1- "Around the world in 30 sweets! 30 candies from 30 countries."
This is a review of Box #4.
This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: 30 Days of Candy
The Cost: $29.95 + $5.95 shipping
The Products: 30 individually packaged packs of candy
Ships to: US and Canada (Canadian shipping is $21.70.)
Each box from 30 Days of Candy has a different theme. The theme for Box #4 is “candy from behind the Iron Curtain: 30 candies from Eastern Europe.”
Since this box includes 30 different packs (a lot!), I’ve selected a few packs to feature at the start of the review and have listed the rest at the bottom.
Red Riding Hood
The first thing I realized when I started poking through this box is that Eastern European candy is quite a bit different than American Candy. Eastern European candy makers don’t seem to follow the popular American marketing strategy of creating a unique, off the wall name (like Gobstoppers, Twizzlers, or Sugar Babies) and then creating a campaign to raise awareness about it. Many of the candies in this box take their names from popular fairy tales (like this one), historical events, and even ballets. Even more interesting is that it’s not uncommon for different companies to produce similar candies with the same name. (You’ll see that there’s another Red Riding Hood candy listed below from a different confectioner.) 30 Days of Candy points out that this is like if every US candy company made it’s own Snickers bar!
Kara Kum
Kara Kum candy is named after a desert in Turkmenistan and memorializes a big government project from the 1900’s. “In 1954, the USSR undertook a massive water pipeline project, the Kara Kum Canal, to bring irrigation to this arid region. Quite a few Soviet-era confectioners proudly celebrated the project with a branded candy.” Kara Kum candies are tasty chocolate pralines. They’re one of my favorite discoveries in this box, and I love the camels on the packaging.
Bird’s Milk
Bird’s Milk is another candy that’s inspired by a fairy tale. (A Slavic one, this time.) It’s a chocolate covered marshmallow and, unsurprisingly, quite similar to the other candy in this box with the same name.
Belochka
Belochka means squirrel in Russian, and I love the cute packing of this treat. The chocolate covered candy is similar to Kara Kum and many others in the box, and it’s pretty clear that this is a popular type of candy in Eastern Europe. There are a few caramel and fruit candies in this shipment (Mini Fruit Pikolos are small fruity hard candies, for example, and Snow is a creamy hard candy with caramel), but it seems the majority of the items in this box have a chocolate base.
Here’s a list of the other candies included in this box:
Alenka or Alyonka
Batonchiki
Bird’s Milk
Black Currant
Burunduchok
Choconilla
Eshkina Korovka
Galaretki
Golden Marzipan
Goose Feet
In Giants Land
Kara Kum
Korivka Fudge
Lakomka Cocoa
Laima’s Serenade
Lobster Tails
Mini Fruit Pikolos
Mint Bon Bon
Nastena Slastena
Red Poppy
Red Poppy
Red Riding Hood
Slivki Lenivki
Snow (Snezhok)
Snow (Snezhok)
Spring Jellies
BONUS!- Citrus Fancy
As a bonus, 30 Days of Candy included a few Citrus Fancy candies for subscribers to try. They point out that the orange, lemon, and lime flavor will be familiar to American palates but that it’s quite an unusual candy for the Eastern European market.
30 Days of Candy also included a card revealing the theme for Box #5. It’s a curator’s choice box! The theme will be: “a few of my favorite things: My personal favorite candies from 30 different candy companies.”
Verdict: I really enjoy 30 Days of Candy, and I think this box’s theme is a lot of fun. All of the candies in this box are new to me, and it’s great that I get to sample lots of new treats while learning some interesting facts about Eastern European candy culture. I like that 30 Days of Candy sends candy in pre-portioned packs, and I enjoy picking out a pack or two to snack on each evening. In terms of value, the cost breaks down to $1.20 per pack. I think this is a really fun concept for a candy box, and I can’t wait to keep trying new snacks as I work my way through the box this month.
What do you think about this box from 30 Days of Candy? Are you a fan of Eastern European candy?
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