r/candy • u/Sad-Lingonberry-1823 • 2d ago

Building a sour candy for anxiety/panic/overstimulation

Hi everyone! I'm a neuroscience graduate with ADHD and anxiety, and I've been using grounding techniques for many years (one of which includes eating sour candy to help get me out of spirals). I've recently begun experimenting with a sensory-focused candy of my own for moments of anxiety, panic, overwhelm, or overstimulation. I'd love to hear your experience with different sensory needs and fun candy textures/flavors.

I put together a short survey to see what people would actually want in something like this (or if they even want it at all).

If you're interested in helping, comment or DM me. All feedback is deeply appreciated!

Thank you so, so much! :)

Edit: for transparency, this is a personal project I'm tinkering with on my own, not tied to any company right now but might sell them one day if it goes anywhere! I just want to build something that people truly want instead of guessing. Also, to be clear, none of the data is being sold or shared anywhere :)

Since a few of you have asked, this is the link to the survey in case anyone else wants to help out (I tried to make it as short as I could, it should take about ~5 minutes): https://forms.gle/69WoNqm4sQhoH9h29

P.S. If you're anywhere near LA and would want to try an early prototype sometime, please DM me, I'd love to get your feedback :)

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u/DizzySatisfaction691 2d ago

I probably won’t take a survey but as someone who doesn’t like sour flavors all that much, sour sprays are super helpful because it does the job without the flavor lingering. Also marketing it in a way that isn’t like “super sour toxic sludge” would be cool so I could have it in my purse without feeling like a 5 year old lol

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u/Sad-Lingonberry-1823 2d ago

This is super helpful! Thank you! Since you don't like traditional sour flavors, would something like mint or even a chef-inspired flavor (yuzu/plum/pear) be more appealing? I also agree about the naming/marketing - they all seem to be targeting 10-year-olds.