JoyRide – The Candy
The company JoyRide founded by Tyler Merrick is a candy company bringing innovation that the industry hasn’t seen at such a success yet. Merrick aimed to create a plant-based candy without the genetically modified organism (GMO’s) and high sugar amounts that your normal candies would have. Ryan Trahan, a YouTuber with 23.5 million subscribers, wanted the same vision for candy as he himself has a “sweet tooth”. In 2022, Merrick and Trahan partnered together to make Joyride a reality.
Since then, the co-founders have exploded JoyRide into a national icon in the candy section of retailers like Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and 7-11’s. On their official JoyRide website the main ingredient of JoyRide that gives it the candy its never-forgetting sweetness is allulose. Allulose is a plant-based, non-artificial sweetener found in foods we consume. This key ingredient is what makes JoyRide different from other candies that have attempted low/zero sugar candies. Allulose actually makes the candy taste like candy.
Today, JoyRide offers a variety of different products. From signature staples like its watermelon wedges and blue raspberry strips, to new releases like its Idaho Potato Wedges (Yes, it’s a gummy, not a chip.) The Idaho Potato Wedge candy is inspired by Idaho’s famous potato, but its official fruit flavor is flavored with huckleberry. The idea originated from Trahan’s Youtube Challenge to have whichever state has the most people hold a JoyRide product and post a picture to Instagram within 24 hours can have its own custom candy and, alas, Idaho won.
This gives a great representation of Trahan as an entrepreneur using his platform to grow something that he loves. Trahan was able to combine his love for YouTube/content creation and healthy candy to make a product & business that flourishes through the platform he created.
Since then, the co-founders have exploded JoyRide into a national icon in the candy section of retailers like Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and 7-11’s. On their official JoyRide website the main ingredient of JoyRide that gives it the candy its never-forgetting sweetness is allulose. Allulose is a plant-based, non-artificial sweetener found in foods we consume. This key ingredient is what makes JoyRide different from other candies that have attempted low/zero sugar candies. Allulose actually makes the candy taste like candy.
Today, JoyRide offers a variety of different products. From signature staples like its watermelon wedges and blue raspberry strips, to new releases like its Idaho Potato Wedges (Yes, it’s a gummy, not a chip.) The Idaho Potato Wedge candy is inspired by Idaho’s famous potato, but its official fruit flavor is flavored with huckleberry. The idea originated from Trahan’s Youtube Challenge to have whichever state has the most people hold a JoyRide product and post a picture to Instagram within 24 hours can have its own custom candy and, alas, Idaho won.
This gives a great representation of Trahan as an entrepreneur using his platform to grow something that he loves. Trahan was able to combine his love for YouTube/content creation and healthy candy to make a product & business that flourishes through the platform he created.
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I love Ryan Trahan!!!! His journey through his social media platforms is so incredible to see. It was also so fun to see his JoyRide idea come to fruition. I love the push for healthier candy too! JoyRide is so popular now and I’m so happy it’s getting the recognition it deserves!
I would love to see some of this candy sometime, and maybe buy some! The potato wedges seem to be a particularly interesting candy, probably not something I would have ever thought of, much less one with huckleberries as its flavor.
As a candy enjoyer this is something I can definitely get behind. I think this product/idea is a great one because he saw the problem of loving candy but knowing it was bad for you and creating a way to responsibly enjoy it.
I love that Merrick and Trahan were able to take something that they both loved and turn it into something healthy. Their ability to see a gap in the market for a candy like this is probably what made them so successful. This is very innovative and they have created space for themselves to grow this even more.
Ryan Trahan has the best videos and his candy is actually great! I think it’s really interesting how JoyRide combined healthier ingredients and actually still taste good. I also like how Ryan Trahan was able to find a way to make more revenue by making his candy.
It is great how Tyler Merrick was able to connect with Youtuber Ryan Trahan to promote his candy. I like how many different varieties of candies are produced and I really want to try them! I do like a healthy candy every once in a while, and I am sure will help with sales.