Sour Strips
Sour Strips is a US-based sour candy brand founded in 2019, offering 14 flavored extreme-sour candy strips, Bites, and Party Bags through DTC and major retailers including Target, Walmart, H-E-B, and Star Stop, and acquired by The Hershey Company in 2024.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersStafford, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Sour Strips does
Sour Strips is a Stafford, United States–based sour candy brand founded in 2019 by Maxx Chewning. The company's core product is a single unified SKU line — sour candy strips coated with an extreme sour coating — offered in 14 distinct flavors (including Appleberry, Blue Raspberry, Cotton Candy, Doubleberry, Dreamberry, Green Apple, Lemonberry, Melonade, Pink Lemonade, Rainbow, Strawberry, Tropical Mango, Watermelon, and Wild Cherry), with vegetarian-friendly formulation and resealable packaging. The product line has been extended into two alternative formats: Sour Strips Bites (single-serve) and Sour Strips Party Bags (bulk packaging for sharing occasions).
The company generates revenue through a combination of direct-to-consumer e-commerce (sourstrips.com and Hershey's branded shop) and multi-channel retail distribution across mass, regional grocery, and convenience channels, including Target, Walmart, H-E-B, and Star Stop. Its customer base is horizontal, targeting general candy consumers with a focus on Gen Z and younger millennials who value bold flavor intensity and distinctive brand identity — supported by an "angry fruit" mascot visual system and community-building through social media marketing.
Sour Strips was acquired by The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) in 2024, transitioning the brand from an independent direct-to-consumer startup into a portfolio brand within a major publicly traded confectioner. Post-acquisition, Sour Strips retains its brand identity and product positioning while gaining access to Hershey's distribution infrastructure. Founder Maxx Chewning transitioned out of the company upon the acquisition. The brand is privately held, operates with 11-50 employees, and does not publicly disclose revenue.
Sour Strips firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sour Strips
- Legal name
- Sour Strips
- Website
- https://shop.sourstrips.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sour Strips is a US-based sour candy brand founded in 2019, offering 14 flavored extreme-sour candy strips, Bites, and Party Bags through DTC and major retailers including Target, Walmart, H-E-B, and Star Stop, and acquired by The Hershey Company in 2024.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Sour Strips is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stafford
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Sour Strips business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Direct-to-Consumer Candy Sales: Online sales through sourstrips.com website and Hershey's branded shop, selling sour candy strips and party bags directly to consumers.
- Retail Distribution Sales: Sales through retail partners including Target, Walmart, H-E-B, and convenience stores. Products sold in resealable bags at various retail locations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual flavor strips |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels3 records
Sour Strips product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sour Strips manufactures and sells sour candy strips with an extreme sour coating, available in 14 distinct flavors (Appleberry, Blue Raspberry, Cotton Candy, Doubleberry, Dreamberry, Green Apple, Lemonberry, Melonade, Pink Lemonade, Rainbow, Strawberry, Tropical Mango, Watermelon, and Wild Cherry). The brand also offers bite-sized Sour Strips Bites and bulk Party Bags. Products are sold direct-to-consumer online via sourstrips.com and Hershey's branded shop, and through national retail chains and convenience stores in the United States.
Product overview
Sour Strips is a sour candy brand offering a single unified product line in multiple flavor variations. The core product is a sour candy strip with an extreme sour coating available in 14 distinct flavors (Appleberry, Blue Raspberry, Cotton Candy, Doubleberry, Dreamberry, Green Apple, Lemonberry, Melonade, Pink Lemonade, Rainbow, Strawberry, Tropical Mango, Watermelon, Wild Cherry). The product line is also offered in two alternative formats: Bites (smaller bite-sized pieces) and Party Bags (bulk quantities). The brand emphasizes intense sourness, vegetarian-friendly formulation, and resealable packaging. The brand was acquired by The Hershey Company in 2024.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sour Strips (Appleberry) Two-flavor combined sour candy strip combining apple and berry flavors with an extreme sour coating; targeted at general sour candy consumers seeking intense fruit flavors.
- Sour Strips (Blue Raspberry) Blue raspberry flavored sour candy strip with intense flavor and sour coating, likely to turn tongue blue; for general sour candy consumers.
- Sour Strips (Cotton Candy) Cotton candy flavored sour strip combining sweet carnival flavor with sour intensity; targeted at general candy consumers.
- Sour Strips (Doubleberry) Combined berry flavor sour strip featuring two berry varieties in one product with extreme sour coating.
- Sour Strips (Dreamberry) Dreamberry flavored sour strip with extreme sour coating and distinctive flavor profile; targeted at general sour candy consumers.
- Sour Strips (Green Apple) Green apple flavored sour candy strip known for extreme sourness with mouth-watering flavor.
- Sour Strips (Lemonberry) Combined lemon and berry flavored sour strip delivering a mix of sweet and sour taste with extreme sour coating.
- Sour Strips (Melonade) Melonade flavored sour strip offering a tropical fruit taste with sour coating.
- Sour Strips (Pink Lemonade) Pink lemonade flavored sour candy strip combining citrus sourness with sweet undertones.
- Sour Strips (Rainbow) Multi-colored sour strip offering a variety of flavors in one product for a colorful tasting experience.
- Sour Strips (Strawberry) Strawberry flavored sour strip with burst of initial flavor followed by a sour kick at the end.
- Sour Strips (Tropical Mango) Tropical mango flavored sour candy strip delivering tropical fruit explosion with sour coating.
- Sour Strips (Watermelon) Watermelon flavored sour strip delivering the taste of watermelon without seeds, with sour coating.
- Sour Strips (Wild Cherry) Wild cherry flavored sour candy strip featuring intense sour and wild cherry flavor combination.
- Sour Strips Bites Bite-sized version of sour candy in select flavors (Rainbow, Blue Raspberry) for convenient on-the-go snacking.
- Sour Strips Party Bags Larger quantity bulk packaging of sour strips in select flavors (Blue Raspberry, Rainbow, Strawberry) for parties and gatherings.
Companies that use Sour Strips
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Sour Strips technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sour Strips partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- The Hershey CompanycoreThe Hershey Company acquired Sour Strips in 2024, acquiring the brand founded by Maxx Chewning in 2019. The acquisition provided Sour Strips with access to Hershey's extensive retail distribution network and operational resources while maintaining the brand's distinctive identity and product quality. Maxx Chewning transitioned the brand from direct-to-consumer startup to established confectionery brand.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Sour Strips competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sour Patch Kids: Sour Patch Kids is the category-leading sour candy brand owned by Mondelez International, offering chewy sour-then-sweet candy across multiple formats (original, kids, watermelons, etc.). It is the most direct competitive comparable to Sour Strips in the sour candy strips/gummies segment.
- Warheads: Warheads is an extreme-sour candy brand, now owned by The Hershey Company following the 2024 acquisition of its parent. It is directly comparable to Sour Strips in positioning around extreme/intense sourness and overlapping retail channels.
- Trolli: Trolli is a leading sour gummy candy brand owned by Südzucker/Mars, known for sour worms, gummy candies, and novelty shapes. It directly competes with Sour Strips in the sour candy segment with a similar youth-targeted positioning.
- Airheads: Airheads is a non-chocolate chewy candy brand owned by Perfetti Van Melle, available in taffy-style strips and bite formats. Comparable to Sour Strips as a strip-format fruity candy with broad retail distribution across mass and convenience channels.
- Toxic Waste: Toxic Waste is an extreme-sour candy brand now owned by Mars, Inc. It competes directly with Sour Strips on the extreme-sour positioning and targets similar youth and thrill-seeking consumer segments.
- Sour Punch: Sour Punch is a sour candy brand (twists, bites, straws) owned by American Sweets / Swiss Products. It is directly comparable to Sour Strips as a fruit-flavored sour strip candy with broad mass-channel distribution.
- Nerds: Nerds is a granular sour-and-sweet candy brand owned by Ferrara Candy Company. It is comparable as a fruit-forward, intensely-flavored small-format confection with broad retail distribution and strong youth appeal.
- SweeTarts: SweeTarts is a fruit-shaped, sweet-and-sour candy brand owned by Ferrara Candy Company. It is comparable to Sour Strips as a multi-flavor sour candy line sold in similar retail channels and targeting similar consumers.
Broad incumbents
- Haribo: Haribo is a global gummy and confectionery powerhouse offering sour and traditional gummies. Comparable as a broad incumbent in fruit-flavored chewy candy, with overlapping channels and consumer segments but a much larger portfolio.
- Skittles: Skittles is a fruit-flavored chewy candy owned by Mars, Inc., with a Sour Skittles extension. Comparable as a broad incumbent in fruit-flavored chewy candy targeting similar Gen Z / younger millennial consumers via bold brand marketing.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sour Strips social profiles
Digital presenceSour Strips financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sour Strips leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Sour Strips funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sour Strips M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sour Strips
What does Sour Strips do?
Sour Strips manufactures and sells sour candy strips with an extreme sour coating, available in 14 distinct flavors (Appleberry, Blue Raspberry, Cotton Candy, Doubleberry, Dreamberry, Green Apple, Lemonberry, Melonade, Pink Lemonade, Rainbow, Strawberry, Tropical Mango, Watermelon, and Wild Cherry). The brand also offers bite-sized Sour Strips Bites and bulk Party Bags. Products are sold direct-to-consumer online via sourstrips.com and Hershey's branded shop, and through national retail chains and convenience stores in the United States.
Is Sour Strips a public or private company?
Sour Strips is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Sour Strips founded?
Sour Strips was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sour Strips based?
Sour Strips is headquartered in Stafford, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sour Strips make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Direct-to-Consumer Candy Sales are the primary driver. The others are retail Distribution Sales.
Who are Sour Strips's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sour Patch Kids, Warheads, Trolli, Airheads, Toxic Waste, Sour Punch, Nerds and SweeTarts. Broad incumbents are Haribo and Skittles.
Does Sour Strips have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sour Strips.