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Mike and Ike is one of the longest-running American fruit-flavoured chewy candy brands, made by Just Born, Inc. since 1940. The company is family-owned, based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and is also the manufacturer behind Hot Tamales and the Easter brand Peeps. Mike and Ike has held its position as the United States' best-selling fruit-flavoured chewy candy for over seven decades, partly because the recipe has stayed largely unchanged across that time.
The origin of the name "Mike and Ike" is genuinely unknown. Just Born itself acknowledges this, treating it as part of the brand's mystery rather than trying to invent a backstory. The original product was a mixed-fruit candy in a small box, and the brand has since expanded into single-flavour packs and themed collections including Tropical Typhoon, Berry Blast, Jolly Joes and Mega Mix.
Changemaker is a US confectionery format term most UK shoppers won't have come across. It refers to a small, low-cost mini box designed to sit at the till of an American convenience store as an impulse buy, the kind of thing you'd grab with your loose change after paying for fuel. The 22g size is specifically engineered to hit a low price point in the US market while still delivering enough candy to feel like a meaningful snack rather than a sample.
The format is part of why Mike and Ike has survived as long as it has. While most candy categories have moved towards larger sharing bags and theatre boxes, the Changemaker format keeps a foothold in pocket-sized impulse purchase territory, which is also the format that works best for British buyers who want to try a US confectionery brand without committing to a £6 sharing pack.
Most American chewy candy brands either don't carry formal certification or use ingredients that exclude observant kosher and gluten-avoidant shoppers. Mike and Ike is different on both counts. The product carries OU kosher certification on US packaging, and the recipe is gluten-free as a core formulation rather than an afterthought, no wheat-based ingredients, no shared production lines that would compromise certification.
For UK shoppers with coeliac disease, Mike and Ike is one of a small handful of imported chewy candies that genuinely fits the brief without compromise. For shoppers keeping kosher, this is the same product Jewish-American families have been buying for generations. Both groups are underserved in the UK chewy candy aisle, and Mike and Ike fills the gap cleanly.
Mike and Ike is sold in the US in a wide range of flavour collections including the Original (mixed fruit), Tropical Typhoon (pineapple, mango, banana, passion fruit), Berry Blast (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry), and Jolly Joes (grape). We currently stock the single-flavour Cherry Changemaker because it has the strongest UK demand among British shoppers who already know cherry sweets, and because the single-flavour format avoids the "I only like two of the four" problem that comes with mixed boxes.
If you'd like us to add other Mike and Ike flavours to our range, contact our customer team and we'll assess demand for stocking them.
Mike and Ike Cherry contains soya (soybean oil) as its primary allergen. The full standard ingredient list, taken from the back of the imported 22g Changemaker box:
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Food Starch, less than 2% of: Citric Acid, Fumaric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Natural and Artificial Flavours, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Carnauba Wax, Confectioner's Glaze, Soybean Oil, Colours (Red 40, Red 3).
Per candy: approximately 7 calories, 0g fat, 1g sugar. The product is gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, tree-nut-free and egg-free. It is suitable for vegetarians but not vegan, because the confectioner's glaze (shellac) used to coat the candies is animal-derived (insect-derived).
Important warning required by UK food law: this product contains the colours Red 40 (E129) and Red 3 (E127), which under UK and retained EU regulations require the following statement: "May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." The warning is mandatory and we display it in line with UK legal requirements. Most American confectionery sold in the UK carries similar warnings due to the colour additives used in US production.
Coeliac and gluten-avoidant shoppers: the chewy candy aisle is one of the trickiest categories for genuine gluten-free options. Most American imports are either uncertified or use shared lines. Mike and Ike is gluten-free as a core formulation.
Shoppers keeping kosher: OU-certified American confectionery is rare in the UK import market. Mike and Ike is one of the cleanest options at this price point and format.
Cherry candy fans: if you grew up eating Tunes, cherry-flavoured Starburst or Tunnock's Snowballs, the cherry hit on Mike and Ike is more concentrated and more synthetic than UK domestic cherry sweets, but recognisable.
Pocket and pick-and-mix builders: the 22g format slots into a mixed American sweet basket alongside Laffy Taffy ropes, Sour Patch Kids or Nerds Theatre Boxes. One Changemaker is a single-serve portion rather than a sharing pack.
Returning travellers: if you've eaten Mike and Ike at a US convenience-store till and want the same product back home, this is the original Just Born import in the 22g format.
Mike and Ike Cherry Changemaker is stocked here in the standard 22g (0.78oz) mini box format imported from the USA. Build the basket past £20 across our snacks range for free UK delivery. Most shoppers buy several at a time as part of an American sweet selection rather than as a standalone purchase, given the small format. Orders placed before our daily cut-off ship the same working day.
Mike and Ike are American fruit-flavoured chewy candies, made by Just Born, Inc. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania since 1940. The candies are small, oblong, glossy-coated and slightly chewy, and are the United States' best-selling fruit-flavoured chewy candy. The standard format is a small "Changemaker" mini box weighing 22g, designed for impulse-buy purchase at the till. Each candy carries roughly 7 calories with no fat. The brand makes both single-flavour packs and mixed-flavour boxes.
Yes. Mike and Ike candies carry OU kosher certification on US packaging, including the Cherry Changemaker box. Just Born has held kosher certification on the brand for decades and treats it as a core part of the product's commercial positioning in the US market. Always check the back of the individual box for the most current certification details on the specific batch you are buying, as certifications can vary slightly between regional production runs.
Yes. Mike and Ike candies are gluten-free as a core recipe formulation. The ingredient list contains no wheat, barley, rye or other gluten-bearing grains, and the production lines are managed to maintain gluten-free integrity. This makes Mike and Ike one of a small number of mainstream American chewy candies suitable for coeliac-disease sufferers and gluten-avoidant shoppers without compromise. If formal gluten-free certification is required for medical reasons, contact Just Born directly to confirm batch-level compliance.
Mike and Ike are vegetarian but not vegan. The recipe does not contain gelatine, dairy, egg or meat-derived ingredients. However, the candies use a confectioner's glaze (shellac) to give them their glossy outer coating, and shellac is derived from the lac insect, which excludes the product from a strictly vegan diet. The base of the candy itself is plant-derived. If you need fully vegan sweets, contact our customer team for alternatives in our snacks range.
Not in the Cherry Changemaker single-flavour format we stock. UK supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose do not stock Mike and Ike as part of their standard ranges, although the mixed-flavour Original box appears occasionally as a seasonal or limited-time stock line in some retailers. The brand is part of the US import market, distributed through specialist American sweet retailers and online importers. The closest UK domestic chewy candy is Skittles or Starburst, but the texture and flavour profile is genuinely different.
Genuinely unknown. Just Born, the manufacturer, has officially stated that the origin of the name is a mystery, even within the company. Several theories exist (a 1920s Vaudeville comedy duo, two characters from an early 20th-century newspaper comic strip, or a generic pair of stock American first names representing "every man"), but none has been confirmed by Just Born. The brand has chosen to keep the mystery rather than retroactively invent a backstory.
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