Is This Really Georgia's Favorite Candy?

ATLANTA, GA — Halloween is almost upon us and, many minds are turning to thoughts of our favorite sugary treats.

In anticipation of folks loading up on sweets to take care of their neighborhood trick-or-treaters, online candy seller CandyStore.com has released a list of the most popular candies in every state. Arizona, it turns out, loves Snickers. Florida likes Skittles and California is fond of M&Ms.

And then, there's Georgia.

According to the site, the most popular candy in the Peach State is ... Swedish Fish.

So, here's the thing ... in a quick chat among Patch staffers from Georgia, none of us had even heard of Swedish Fish, which is a chewy, gummy-style candy that's been around in the United States since the 1950s. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app)

Expanding that out to an incredibly unscientific poll of Georgians (OK, I asked my Facebook friends) resulted in a mixed bag at best.

A couple of Georgia folks said they love them. More said they're not fans, or that they'd heard of the candy, but never given it a try. And a hearty portion of folks who responded said that they had no clue Swedish Fish aren't... you know ... fish that swim around in Sweden.

"You are right to doubt," wrote one Georgia native and lifelong resident. "I've never heard of Swedish Fish and I've lived in Georgia my entire life."

"How is that possible?" wrote another. "I've never seen a single person eat Swedish Fish. There must be a whole sub-culture of people watching NCIS and eating Swedish Fish in hiding."

Apparently, we're missing something. Because CandyStore says it has sold a whopping 130,647 pounds of Swedish Fish in Georgia. For the record, Hershey Kisses are the state's second-most popular candy, according to the site, and Jolly Ranchers come in third.

The company says that's based on 10 years of sales data, looking particularly at the months leading up to Halloween. CandyStore sells a lot of its candy in bulk to distributors, so that may be a factor here.

According to a "brief history" of Swedish Fish by Mental Floss, the candies belong to a family of treats called "wine gum" that are popular in Europe. In the '50s, Swedish confectionary company Malaco introduced them in North America. The fish-shaped candies, which are traditionally red and come in a berry flavor, were created specifically for the North American market.

In the U.S., Swedish Fish are owned by candy company Cadbury.

So, what do you think, Georgia folks? Are we missing out on a treat we'd love? Is there one guy somewhere in Georgia buying these things by the ton? Let us know what you think in the comments section, or on social media.

Photo courtesy SwedishFish.com