Review: Sour Patch Kids Glow Ups Shine With Fruity Flavor

Gummy candy used to be quite predictable — consumers were in for a chewy candy that took some effort to unlock the juicy, fruity flavors inside. Then along came Sour Patch Kids, which took the simultaneously palate confusing and delighting concept of mouth puckering candy into the mainstream with tiny sweet and fruity figurines generously dusted in a crystalized sour powder.

Decades after getting the world used to sour candy in all kinds of flavors, the makers of Sour Patch Kids take candy to daring and potentially bizarre new heights once again. In March 2025, the line welcomed the addition of Sour Patch Kids Strawberry-Watermelon Glow Ups. One intriguing element: the mixture of go-good-together berry and melon flavors. But the other and most innovative thing about this style of Sour Patch Kids: they can glow. Here's everything there is to know about this next-level candy, including our assessment of how they taste and how they work.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Strawberry-Watermelon Glow Ups boast the same texture as proper, old-fashioned Sour Patch Kids in that they come across as an extra-strength gummy candy. They're easy to bite into, but harder, chewier, and stickier, in that they stick to the teeth quite readily. Every piece is of course coated in that rough, sandpapery texture that instantly dissolves into a sugary and sour smoothness.

So far, Sour Patch Kids Glow Ups are available in just one flavor, Strawberry-Watermelon, but it's really two flavors. Curiously, and making for a more adventurous flavor journey than expected, these candies don't taste like both fruits at the same time. Upon first bite, the Sour Patch Kids taste like strawberries (or at least strawberry candy). Then that flavor fades, and the watermelon candy punch of it all takes over. There's no discernible aftertaste, as can often happen with sour candy, but that's kind of the point of Sour Patch Kids. The overwhelming sourness should stick around for a few moments after the candy has passed one's lips. Oddly, these Sour Patch Kids Glow Ups aren't sour at all. Perhaps that would be one trick too many, to have glowing candy that also had a scientifically unique flavor profile. They don't taste bad, though — the flavors are deep and even bright, a prelude to the product's most noticeable selling point.

The latest Sour Patch Kids candies are giving "glow up" a new meaning, and literally. The addition of a safe, natural, and flavor-free turmeric extract makes what would otherwise be mild-mannered, festively but static colored Sour Patch Kids glow. The candy doesn't glow in the dark nor does it stay lit up like an edible glow stick — the turmeric-enabled particles shine brightly and boldly when Sour Patch Kids Strawberry-Watermelon Glow Ups are placed under a black light source. That can be a bulb or light purchased from a hardware store or found in a box of Halloween decorations. 

The candies are studded with little blood-red grains amidst a sea of pink candy lightly dusted in white, sourish sugar. But those bits don't glow — the shiny pieces don't pop unless they're under a black light. And just like that, Sour Patch Kids Glow Ups are awash in bright greenish-yellow specs of stardust, as advertised and depicted on the package, which is a true rarity. It's a fun gimmick that turns a simple candy into an activity, reminiscent of eating mint hard candy rings in the dark.

To account for customers without access to a black light, Sour Patch Kids released a Snapchat filter that replicates the candy's distinctive glow on a phone screen. The tech also enables the Sour Patch Kids on the Glow Ups package to dance and shine.

Sour Patch Kids Strawberry-Watermelon Glow Ups went on sale as an online-only exclusive on March 5, 2025, in advance of several big national retail chains planning to stock them later on in the month. They're sold in two iterations: 3.08-ounce and 6.7-ounce bags, and at the suggested retail prices of $1.24 and $2.98, respectively.

In reaching our all-encompassing assessment of Sour Patch Kids Strawberry-Watermelon Glow Ups, The Takeout examined and reported on the taste, texture, touch, appearance, and mouthfeel of the candy, both on its own merits and how its qualities measured up relative to those of the pre-existing Sour Patch Kids candy line. Through its outreach team, manufacturer Mondelez International sent The Takeout pre-retail release samples used for review purposes. The team also sent along a handheld, black light-enabled flashlight to ensure proper testing and photography of the glowing candy's purported ability to shine and glow.

Now, if you're more of a Swedish Fish fan than a Sour Patch sort of person, not to worry, you can look forward to a glowing version of that candy coming soon as well.