Is there anything better than candy? Yes! More candy! And that’s exactly what a candy buffet is…although there’s a bit more to it than that!
A candy buffet isn’t just a load of candy thrown together. It’s actually a purposefully designed and elegant display of lots of candy that you can have at whatever big social event you’re arranging.
But creating a candy buffet is a lot more complicated than you might think, as there are lots of different factors to consider.
Nevertheless, the most important feature of your candy buffet is, yes, that’s right, the CANDY!!
So today, we’re going to be talking about the best candy to use for your candy buffets.
Then, later on, we’ll talk a bit more about the logistics that go with creating a candy buffet.
So, there’s no time to waste; your social event is only around the corner. So let’s get started.
Contents
Best Candy For Candy Buffet
Right, let’s start with the fun stuff.
Obviously, the most important factor is that the candy you choose for your buffet tastes delicious and goes down as a treat with your guests.
So it’s important you get this right.
However, you can’t just throw together your favorite candies because they might not work well together in the buffet.
And you can’t just throw any old favorite candy onto the buffet table.
So we’re looking for specific types of candy here.
Before we get into the details of what makes a candy great for being used on a candy buffet, take a look at the list of my top 5 favorite candies for buffets.
Feel free to take any of these candies from the list to use in your own buffet.
If not, hopefully, these candies will inspire some ideas of your own.
Bear in mind that all of the candies on this top 5 list can be purchased in abundance from Amazon.com.
I buy all of my candy from Amazon because they offer great accessibility to bulk buying at money-saving rates.
Amazon is also very fast when it comes to delivery. It’s part of the reason they’ve become so successful.
Now, without further ado, here is my top 8 list of the best candies for candy buffets.
Milk Bottles
These were my favorites as a kid.
I could eat tons and tons of them. There’s just something about the chewy powdery textures of milk bottles.
They taste great, they’re easy to buy in bulk, and they’re white, so they’ll go with pretty much any other colored candy.
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Chewy Cherries/Strawberries
Did I say milk bottles were my favorite? I lied. They were my second favorite, I’ve realized.
Chewy cherries and strawberries are so, so, so good. In fact, if I were to choose my number 1 on this list, I’d probably say it’s these.
So chewy, so tasty, and so fitting for a candy buffet.
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Jolly Ranchers Lollipops
Who doesn’t love lollipops?
Some might say they’re an essential type of candy to have in your candy buffet. Jolly Ranchers are one of my favorite candy lines produced by Hershey’s.
Whether it be their lollipops or their regular hard candy, they come in plenty of delicious flavors, including Orange, Green Apple, Blue Raspberry, Pineapple, Cherry, Peach, Watermelon, Grape, Strawberry, Fruit Punch, Lemon, Golden Pineapple, Mango, and Lime.
You can bet that Jolly Ranchers’ lollipops will be a flavorsome hit at your candy buffet.
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Lindt Chocolate Truffles
The most luxurious brand on the list is from the Swiss chocolate maker Lindt. Their chocolate truffles are renowned around the world.
Small chocolate balls, creamy and tasty beyond imagination, are wrapped in colorful packaging that indicates whatever flavor they may be.
Lindt are master chocolate makers and have been leading the way since their founding in 1845.
If you want a candy that is going to stun your guests with excitement, Lindt’s Chocolate Truffles are the ones to stock up on.
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Hershey’s Kisses
We finish with another chocolate candy, and it is Hershey’s Kisses.
They’re bite-size delights wrapped in various colorful wrappings. They are gorgeous in flavor, perfectly sized for parties, and unique in their aesthetic.
Another great addition to any candy buffet.
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Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers Gummy Worms
Who doesn’t love sour gummies? Especially the worm variety!
The ones produced by Trolli are particularly delicious:
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SOUR POWER Berry Blue Candy Belts
Another candy for the sour heads out there.
These belts are fantastic and offer something a little different from the others recommended here today.
Belts are always good fun to eat, too, which is a nice added bonus!
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Airheads Mini Bars
Airheads are a classic candy that we all recognize and love.
They are also ideal, being small and sealed too. So if your guests don’t get around to eating their way through them; you’ll have some left over to enjoy long after the event!
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How Many Types Of Candy To Get For A Candy Buffet?
So that you offer your guests enough variety in terms of color, flavor, size, and texture, you should aim to get between 7 and 10 different types of candy for your candy buffet.
Now you’re going to have a lot of guests at your social gathering…we hope.
Each guest comes with a different set of taste buds. What am I getting at here? People like different things and vice versa. People like different candies.
So to ensure that you cater to everyone, you need to offer variety. That way, you can hope that everyone gets to enjoy a candy they like from the buffet.
But you also need variety to mix up the color scheme of your buffet.
You don’t just want your candies to all be one color, but at the same time, you don’t want to have colors that don’t match the present in your buffet.
Nevertheless, variety is key to an excellent guest-satisfying candy buffet.
I would advise you to offer no less than 7 different types of candies in your candy buffet.
If you can offer more, that’s great too. I would suggest that you don’t exceed 10 different types of candy.
Too many options could bamboozle your guests! And we wouldn’t want that, would we? That’s the job of the alcohol you’ve stocked up on.
You should also aim to add 7-10 candy types that differ in terms of flavor, size, and texture.
Once you have these 7-10 candies, then you’re good to go.
But probably at this point, in your mind, another question arises…
How Much Candy To Get For A Candy Buffet?
You should aim to buy ¼ to ½ of a pound of candy per guest attending your party.
The second worst-case scenario is that you buy too much candy. If you do that, then you’ll be left with loads of candy to deal with afterward.
Which, let’s be honest, isn’t the end of the world because I’m sure a candy-lover like you can get rid of a spare load of candy somehow…
But the worst-case scenario is that you don’t buy enough candy. If you do this, then your candy buffet is going to run out quickly.
The result is that guests might not be satisfied as they don’t get to stuff their faces with enough candy. Some guests might not even get any candy at all.
Tough Karen! It’s survival of the fittest for this candy buffet.
Sorry, I got a bit distracted there.
Where were we? Oh yes! How much candy exactly should you get for the buffet?
So I would advise you to get between a ¼ to ½ pound of candy per guest.
¼ if your guests are normal. ½ if your guests are candy addicts.
Going by the ¼ pound of candy per guest measurement, you would need 25 pounds of candy for every 100 guests you have at your party.
If you’re doing ½ a pound of candy per guest, then it will be 50 pounds of candy for every 100 guests.
From here, I’m sure you can do the maths to calculate how much candy will be needed to cater for the total headcount at your party.
Some guests might consume less or none at all. Some guests might even consume more (you know who you are).
But by aiming for the numbers I have suggested, this will ensure that no matter what your guest’s appetites are on the night, everyone will get an opportunity to get their fair share of delicious candy from the buffet.
Other Suggestions When Having A Candy Buffet
As I’ve said earlier, making a candy buffet requires a bit of work.
You need to combine your logical thinking and your creative skills to produce something aesthetically pleasing, congruent with the rest of the party’s theme, delicious, practical, and accessible.
So here are a few further tips to help you out!
Don’t Forget Jars/Containers
You need jars and containers to hold the candy in. You can’t just leave all the candy on a table.
Not only will that be unhygienic, but it will also look messy.
Make sure you buy the most appropriate-sized jars and containers for your buffet.
If you buy jars and containers that are too big, when you put the candy in, there’ll be too much free space. This means your buffet won’t look as good.
You want your jars and containers to be as full as possible.
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Don’t Forget Scoops
Remember hygiene, folks. We can’t just have everyone stuffing their hands into candy jars now, can we?
Instead, provide your guests with scoops so that they can extract the candy from the jars without touching or putting germs on the sweets.
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Don’t Forget Bags
The scoops are useless unless they have somewhere to put the candy.
And that should be inside paper bags so that your guests have something to eat the candy out of, and they can also take it home with them at the end of the evening.
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Watch Out For Allergies
Some of your guests might have allergies. Some of the candies in your buffet might contain ingredients that cause allergic reactions.
So just make sure you’re aware of any allergies your guests might have, and then change your candy buffet accordingly.
If you want to be super considerate, then you could label each jar to inform guests what the ingredients are in each candy.
Consider Location
Two things here. The first is where you decide to put the candy buffet at the party.
Keep it away from sunlight and warmth so that none of the candies melt or stick to each other.
The second thing to consider is where you live, for example, if you live somewhere where it’s really hot.
This should influence the type of candies you buy for your buffet.
So you should probably avoid chocolates if you live in chocolate-melting conditions.
Finally
Alright, there we have it! All the information you need to help you get the best candy for your candy buffet.
Lots of things to consider.
But trust me, it’s worth it.
Not for the smile on your guests’ faces…
…but for when you, yourself, get to enjoy your fabulous candy buffet creation.
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Hello, I’m Matthew, a candy expert and enthusiast with over a decade of experience in the candy industry. My passion for candy started at a very young age. Since then, I have worked in numerous, large candy stores, and have been fortunate enough to try out hundreds of brands of candies, different types and flavors. In addition to my work, I enjoy sharing my extensive knowledge with others, and decided to create Candy Lovers Emporium in order to do so. My mission is to make the world a sweeter place, one candy at a time.