Have You Tried The Funniest Christmas Candy Of The Season?

Let’s get the backstory behind these silly Caesar Salad candy canes from the brilliant and twisted creative team at Archie McPhee in Seattle.

All hail, Caesar!

That’s right, candy canes that taste like a classic Caesar and why would anyone want to go there? Because at this thriving Seattle-based novelty company, giggle/gag-inducing candy canes are an annual tradition. What else would you expect from a company whose motto is: We Make Weird!

“Every year, we come out with three flavors,” David Wahl, vice president of creative services said in a recent phone interview.

A brisket flavored candy cane and one that tastes like butter are also on this year’s winning lineup, with the Caesar leading the pack as the best seller so far.

When asked to describe how it tastes, Wahl waxed poetic about the classic flavors of that beloved salad. And yes, he said: “You can even pick up a little bit of anchovy.”

Mmmmm or ewwww? You decide.

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In the beginning

Founder Mark Pahlow launched this joke-centric juggernaut by selling stuff at his home in Los Angeles in the 1980s. When it took off, he moved to Seattle in order to secure more space.

Turns out, consumers couldn’t get enough goofy rubber chickens, silly Sasquatch stuff, bacon air fresheners and finger puppets shaped like hands and various critters. High fives on all that, though there are likely cynics shaking their noggins. Do we really need more stuff?

Pahlow penned a book wondering the very thing. Its title: Who Would Buy This? Click here to read the introduction to the book.

He remains very hands on as part of the creative team that comes up with a steady stream of entertaining products including those wacky candy canes. The rest of the crew is comprised of Wahl, Shana Iverson, Scott King, Angela Collier and Steve Quenell. Santa’s helpers who stuff stockings around the globe thank you.

Already chewing on candy cane flavors for 2023

The creative team has already started discussing what’s going to go over big for next year. “That’s all top secret,” Wahl said when asked for a sneak preview.

The funny and ultimately too-funky flavors that did not make the cut include sauerkraut and squid. Yeah, no.

In the many years the candy cane project has been kicking around, there’s one flavor that towers above all others when it comes to nailing the authentic taste of the featured dish. “The rotisserie chicken tasted just like rotisserie chicken,” he said, laughing.

Hard pass, we’ll stick with the Caesar.

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