You Probably Haven't Heard Of The Actual Best Fruit Snack Brand

Either you remember finding them in your lunchbox, or you remember packing them for your kids, but everyone has a fond memory or two with fruit snacks. There have been many iterations over the years, ranging from the wacky and wild (and a few discontinued fruit snacks we'd love to bring back) to the totally underrated. We here at Tasting Table sat down to rank 14 fruit snack brands from worst to best and, despite a few that surprised us, our winner is a brand you probably haven't heard of.

We found Black Forest Juicy Burst berry medley fruit-flavored snacks to be the very best of the best, not only because of their interesting consistency and size but also their unique and genuine flavors. Compared to many other brands on our list, Black Forest's juicy filling was nowhere near as artificial or synthetic tasting, instead providing a delightful burst of fruity tartness with every gummy we popped into our mouth. They were more similar texture-wise to a candy than a stereotypical fruit snack, making its higher price point worth the extra cash.

The Black Forest brand is owned by Ferrara Candy Company, which you may recognize as the owners of SweeTarts, Laffy Taffy, and Nerds, among others. The now Chicago-based company gets its name from the real Black Forest in Germany, once imported to the U.S. by a high school teacher from Germany until it was purchased by Ferrara in 1998. The company's mission, according to its website, is to "take a thoughtful approach to ensure our ingredients and products give [customers] the most deliciously fruity experience." Black Forest is big on sourcing high-quality ingredients, primarily using dyes and colors from plant-based sources and fruit juice in its products. This is significant, given that "made with real fruit" doesn't mean what you think for fruit snacks.

Besides earning the title of USDA-Certified organic, Black Forest is passionate about sustainability and recycling its products, encouraging customers to find a recycling location to dispose of the plastic containing its products. The brand's fruit snacks may be our favorite, but it also makes gummy bears, gummy worms, and a variety of fruit strips, all with the same high-quality ingredients. You don't have to hop on a flight to Germany to find a pack, either, since you can pick up a whole box at your local Target, Walmart, or even a drugstore.