10 New Mars Candies Are Hitting Shelves in 2026—And I’ve Got Your Sneak Peek

• What It Is: fruit-flavored gummies in strawberry, pineapple, blue raspberry, pear and lemon

LIFE SAVERS are one of those candies that we all know exists, but don’t normally eat. TBH, I think I’ve had more of the hard mints in my day than gummies. So, I was psyched to try this colorful assortment, and I loved that each gummy maintained the signature LIFE SAVER ring despite being shaped like different fruits. I adored the texture—think the softest, easiest-to-chew gummy bear you’ve ever had—but the flavors didn’t really hit the nail on the head. I was most excited for the pear one, but it fell flat for me.

• What It Is: fruit-flavored gummies in watermelon, blue raspberry, lime, pink punch and grape

Again, the texture was flawlessly soft, chewy and forgiving. But the flavors didn’t really represent what they were meant to. That said, I liked the blue raspberry and lime varieties best, so this one ranked above the Fruit Rings in my book.

• What It Is: cherry-flavored mix of milk and dark candy-coated chocolates

It’s 2025, so of course it seems like there’s a new type of M&M’S everywhere you turn…and it’s probably true. This cherry-kissed mix of milk and dark chocolate candies would fit the bill for Valentine’s Day. I also loved the oxblood-like shade of red (it’s basically the hue of my go-to nail polish). However, I thought the cherry flavor was too faint for how it was billed, although both the chocolate and cherry notes were undeniable.

• What It Is: berry gum that changes from sour to sweet

Remember 5 Gum? In 2007, you were the coolest middle schooler around if you had a pack in your pocket (which no doubt had a too-long wallet chain hanging out of it to boot). Evolution refers to the gum’s flavor-changing powers: It goes from sour to sweet as you chew. While I didn’t exactly get berry from it, I appreciated the acidity of the gum and that it didn’t fade after five seconds of noshing. The gum was also stretchy and soft instead of hard to chew.

• What It Is: lemon-flavored candy-coated white chocolates

White chocolate stans, this one’s for you. These sunny Mars candies reminded me of the discontinued Girl Scouts Lemon Coolers, which were lemon-flavored, wedge-shaped cookies generously coated in confectioners’ sugar. They were more robustly flavored than the cherry M&M’S, and somehow had an extra-crispy crunch to them, almost like crisped rice. 

• What It Is: caramel-flavored cookie balls in chocolatey coating

These are dangerously poppable and boast a malted milk ball-like texture. While the flavor certainly gave Twix, I found myself missing the actual caramel. Perhaps a caramel filling in the center or between the center and chocolate coating would detract from the cookie’s crispness, but it didn’t feel like a real Twix candy without it. That said, these were still more delicious than half of the other options.

• What It Is: chewy lemon, watermelon, strawberry, mango and raspberry candies with spicy-sour coating

As a food editor who’s all too aware of what’s trending, it’s easy to feel like we’ve reached peak swicy. (I’ve lamented to my editor countless times, does *everything* need to be spicy nowadays?!) But these were way more enjoyable than expected, albeit intimidating. I loved the mango one most, as it reminded me of one of my favorite snacks, fresh mango dusted in Tajín. The heat was a steady medium, but the acidity of the coating and the sweet gummy rounded it out nicely.

• What It Is: caramel and peanut bar coated in milk chocolate

Speaking of trends, something about this candy bar’s branding makes me feel like it’s made for the protein-focused consumer who wants a treat that’ll actually hold them over between meals. It came packed with extra peanuts and caramel, resulting in an impressively thick, sticky pull in each bite, as well as bonus crunch. However, I found myself missing the nougat, which was nixed to accommodate more of the two other fillings.

• What It Is: sour fruit chews in green apple, strawberry, blue raspberry and watermelon

They’re juicy! They’re chewy! Most importantly, they’re *actually* sour. I had to Google it to make sure I wasn’t imagining it, but Sour Starbursts were totally a thing in the early aughts before they were discontinued in the 2010s. Now that sour is the fastest-growing flavor in the fruity-chewy category, according to Mars, they’re back with a mouth-puckering vengeance. The apple was exactly as I remember it. It wasn’t quite as sour as, say, Warheads or Cry Baby candy, but it packed a punch that sour fans will adore.

• What It Is: cinnamon-flavored, peanut butter-filled milk chocolates candies

You know how creamy and smooth the inside of a peanut butter M&M is? Now imagine it infused with all the cinnamon-sugar splendor of a snickerdoodle. This is what my top new Mars candy brings to the table. The signature crisp of the candy coating cracked with minimal effort, allowing me to savor the rich, nutty center I already love, along with subtly warm-spiced flair.