Twizzlers Vs. Red Vines

Like many conflicts before it, the licorice war is not without its casualties. Families have been torn apart. Divorces have been filed. Friendships have been lost. The line in the sand has been drawn, and this line you do not cross. At Pulse, we have been in the trenches at the battle of the licorice. Both sides have fought bravely, but there can be only one victor. We enlisted your help to determine a champion. l All of you who assisted in this effort should be proud of what you’ve done. I nearly shed a tear. For clarity’s sake, when we say “licorice” we’re not talking about “real” licorice, we’re talking about the classic red twist type of licorice. The kind you get at the concession stands before going into a movie. The type that we grant the title of licorice despite it being a lie. During our rigorously scientific approach, we discovered there are basically two kinds of people: Twizzler people and Red Vines people. In an Instagram poll conducted by Pulse, out of 43 responses, 77% preferred Red Vines, and 23% preferred Twizzlers. During an in-person survey conducted by our staff, we took great care to carefully record participants’ preferences.

Out of 62 responses, 72% preferred Red Vines, and 28% preferred Twizzlers. But what makes a Twizzler a Twizzler or a Red Vine a Red Vine? And why do we prefer one over the other? We asked and you answered. When asked to detail their preferences, participants noted flavor, texture, sweetness, appearance, color and even shininess. Interestingly, many noted flavor as a key factor in their preference, but when asked to name the flavor, they couldn’t. According to the American Licorice Company, Red Vines used to be raspberry flavored, until the 1950s, but now the candy company doesn’t specify what flavors they use in the current formula. According to Hershey’s, the maker of Twizzlers, they offer a variety of flavors, with strawberry-flavored twists being their most popular. Participants in Pulse’s in-person survey who preferred Red Vines listed a softer texture, more sweetness, a unique “red” flavor, nostalgia, memories of childhood or movie theaters and brand loyalty as factors in their preference. Participants who didn’t like Red Vines most commonly referred to the candy’s soft texture as “grainy” or “clay-like,” and some considered them too sweet. Those who preferred Twizzlers noted a smooth texture, cherry flavor, level of shininess and appearance as factors in their preference. Participants who didn’t like Twizzlers said they were “waxy” or “plasticky” and lacked flavor. Only a handful of participants liked both Red Vines and Twizzlers, with most participants showing a strong preference for one or the other. Even fewer participants couldn’t tell the difference between the two. We won’t tell you what we prefer here at Pulse, we’re just here to report the facts. We asked and CWU answered. Now it’s up to you to fight the good fight. Red Vines or Twizzlers? The choice is yours.

story by Wayne Gray and Jake Hassebrock design by Makayla Zayic