Fruit snack
A fruit snack is a sweet confectionery snack food marketed to parents as a snack for children in the United States. Fruit snacks have been considered "gummy candies with healthy marketing". The main content is sugar, especially refined sugar derived from concentrated white grape juice and apple juice. Some fruit snacks have more sugar than gummy candies, and they usually have less protein. The main differences between gummy candies and fruit snacks are the marketing and advertising approaches, and the use of refined sugar extracted from tapioca or fruit juice in addition to, or sometimes instead of, refined  sugar extracted from sugar beets, corn, or sugarcane. Well-known manufacturers of chewy fruit snacks include Promotion In Motion (Welch's brand), Kellogg's, General Mills and Betty Crocker. Fruit snacks gained popularity from their convenience, candy-like taste, and marketing that positioned the product as being healthier than candy. Most are stored in disposable plastic packaging that does not need to be refrigerated; therefore, they can be taken virtually anywhere. However, they do have an expiration date. Fruit snacks vary in the amount of fruit content. Some, like Welch's, contain some fruit purees. Others only have trace amounts  of juice, in addition to sugar. Fruit leathers differ in that they have a different shape. The ingredients may be the same, or they may be made primarily from pureed, dried fruit and concentrated, high-sugar fruit juice. Nutrition. More than half the weight of the fruit snacks is simple sugars. They also contain an average of 12% water by weight, 25% starch, a small amount of fat, and a negligible amount of protein. The nutritional value or content of fruit snacks has long been contested. Much of the controversy surrounds the nutritional value (or possible lack thereof) in sugar , which is found in large amounts in some fruit snacks. Parents are advised to treat their children's consumption of fruit snacks the same way they would a candy or any other sugary snack food item. Price. As of 2015, fruit snacks generally cost two to five times the price of gummy bears. History. The first modern fruit snack was Joray Fruit Rolls, which were developed by confectioner Louis Shalhoub in the 1970s. It was used by backpackers as a lightweight, high-energy food rather than as healthful-sounding candy for children. The name "fruit snack" was first used in  1983 by General Mills, which they used to describe their version of Shalhoub's product, Fruit Roll-Ups, which contained far more sugar. By the mid-1980s, the fruit snack was a multimillion-dollar business. However, sales peaked in 2013 and declined over the next few years. Lawsuits. In some cases, manufactures of fruit snacks have faced class-action lawsuits over their marketing claims that fruit snacks are "healthy." Well-known brands. Betty Crocker via General Mills. General Mills, owner of Betty Crocker products, introduced the first Fruit Corners Fruit Roll-Ups in 1983 and then Fruit by the Foot. Fruit  Roll-Ups and Fruit by the Foot are packaged similarly, and the products are rolled around a material so the snack does not stick to itself. However, the two snacks differ with respect to taste, texture, and consistency. Fruit Gushers are fruit snacks in the shape of elongated hexagonal bipyramids, which made primarily from sugar and fruit juice, with small amounts of other ingredients. Introduced in 1991, they are produced by General Mills under the Betty Crocker brand name, and may be found in generic forms as well. Welch's. Among the many product types under the Welch's brand  are Welch's Fruit Snacks, which are manufactured and marketed under license by The Promotion In Motion Companies, Inc. Welch's Fruit Snacks are made with fruit purees, corn syrup, sugar, starch, and juices, among other ingredients. Other brands. Annie's Homegrown Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks, owned by General Mills, uses sugar refined from sweet cassava roots. Sunkist has manufactured and licensed several fruit snacks brands: