Goody Good Stuff Sweets Rock!

Today is Crevette’s birthday. Six years ago, my first baby was born at 6.10 a.m., changing our lives forever and turning our couple into a family. The second we laid eyes on him, we felt a wave of unconditional love for this tiny and fragile human being. Thinking back, I have to admit he was not that little (3.8kg). I struggled to fit him in his newborn vest and sleepsuit as we were about to leave the birth centre. As for the cotton hat, the midwife told me to take it off as it was way too small! He still looked so delicate and new…

The lovely people at Goody Good Stuff sent us a huge parcel of sweets to try, enjoy, review and take pictures with. I had told them my intention was to publish this post on Crevette’s birthday and they decided to surprise him.

My little man received a beautifully presented hamper full of sweets, a birthday card signed by each member of the team and a koala soft-toy. They even got their cute mascot Kobi to write a birthday message to my little man! Crevette was really touched by this thoughtful gesture and spontaneously got some card and started drafting an answer to Charlie’s team.

Crevette and Kobi are inseparable. The little koala is part of the family now and follows us everywhere.

When Jumpy had blood tests and prick tests for her allergies a few days after Kobi joined our family, Crevette let her have his Kobi for cuddles, which we thought was adorable.

About Goody Good Stuff Sweets
I had never heard of the brand and spotted the name ‘Goody Good Stuff’ on the list of exhibitors at the Allergy Show a few weeks ago. I had no idea what they were all about but my curiosity was aroused. Although it took me a while to find their stand, I was determined not to leave without finding more about them. You have to admit you get easily drawn to such a catchy name! Was I disappointed? Of course I was not! Crevette was also over the moon as by that point, he had had enough and just wanted to go home. I gave him £2 to spend on sweets for him and his sisters and he was delighted!

Goody Good Stuff was launched in 2010, taking ‘free from’ to a whole new level as the sweets contain no nasty stuff and are made with natural colours and flavours. The idea was to develop a perfect gummy treat that everyone could enjoy, including those with multiple allergies like my little girl. They are perfect for party bags or school events as they are free from common allergens such as gluten, dairy, egg, soya, gelatine and nuts. They are also fat free, vegetarian, vegan, halal and kosher. What more could you ask for?

Unlike most gummy sweets, these treats are basically plant-based rather than being made with animal bones or tissues (hello gelatine!). It took some very clever (and determined) people fifteen years to develop the food technology to replace gelatine with a more natural alternative.

What we Thought

We tried nine types of Goody Good Stuff sweets and here are our thoughts or first impressions. First of all, let me tell you: they smell divine!
– Summer Peaches are my absolute favourites. They are colourful, bursting with flavour with a great soft texture. No need to say they are highly addictive and we had to have “just one more”.
– “I love Cola Breeze!” That is all Crevette had to say. They are similar to your usual cola bottle sweets, but are less chewy which makes them much nicer in my view.
– We were not won over by the unusual flavours of Tropical Fruit. My friend Aimee thought they had a bit of a perfume aftertaste and Crevette did not like “the taste at the end”. Beanie and Jumpy ate them without a complaint!
– The Sour Fruit Salad was Aimee’s number one, with its range of acidulated fruity flavours.
– The teeny round Strawberry Cream sweets taste nice and Jumpy really enjoyed them.
– The Koala Gummy Bears are quite simply fun, as you probably noticed if you follow me on Instagram.They are the winners in the ‘outstanding’ category for us.
– Sour Koala Gummy Bears: “They’re fizzy!” (Crevette).
– Cheery Cherries: “om nom nom” (Crevette). I am not normally a fan of cherry sweets, but these are different… in a good way!
– Sour Cheery Cherries are zingy, and according to Crevette, our chief taster, “They’re so yum!”

Goody Good Stuff sweets look like ‘normal’ sweets. Their texture and taste, however, are much more refined than your usual mass-produced sweets. They are moreish and feel like homemade treats. I am much happier giving these to my children than I would be with sweets full of preservatives, artificial colours and gelatine.

I am not on a restricted diet. I am not vegan, vegetarian or watching anything I eat. The fact these sweets are completely safe for my allergic toddler is incredibly reassuring. Their being free from fat or artificial stuff is an added bonus. You know what? They taste much better than sweets I am used to eating and I do not think I could go back.

I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to sweets but my little man has the irritating habit of saving his sweets for later. I know I should be a good mum and just walk away from the sweets but I simply cannot. I had his last packet of Strawberry Cream tiny gems last night after everyone had gone to bed, and I confessed to it this morning. He did not mind, bless him!

What we Did

We take things seriously in this house. Here is what we did besides all our tasting sessions. Disclaimer: the following activities were purely for the purpose of a well-informed review, not motivated by greed or sweetie addiction.

– We went creative and made up a little story with miniature Star Wars characters using Koala Gummy Bears as Ewoks. More on that later this week. We then proceeded to eat the entire packet (again, just to make sure the taste was still right).

– On the last day of school, we had an impromptu play date at home and the children made sweetie bracelets as the mums were having yet another tasting session. My brilliant idea to string sweeties together ended up being a very sticky affair and the kids’ creations were not remotely practical to eat. We still had fun making them!

– We also enjoyed the Goody Good sweeties whilst in the paddling pool, or in my case, by the side of the paddling pool reading a good book.

Have a Goody Good Day everyone!

Disclosure:
– We were sent the following for the purpose of this review: birthday card for Crevette, a hamper for his birthday (6 full-size packets of sweets and 4 small ones), a Kobi teddy, 6 full-size packs of sweets, 3 small ones, 2 Party Mix Multi Bags (the latter for Jumpy’s ‘free from’ birthday party in October).
– No payment was received for this post and all opinions and photos are my own.