The Candy Cane Ponies in the UK
The Candy Cane ponies were one of two scented sets for the UK and
Europe in 1990. Both sets had been previously released in North
America, and, in the UK and European release, both sets were
reduced from six characters down to four. But, unlike the other
set of Sweetberry
Ponies, the Candy Canes' UK release was a bit more complex.
In fact, they had two releases here - the regular issue, as
promoted in the catalogue above, which comprised an assortment of
four characters, and a Woolworths import release, in American
boxes, which included all six characters.
This was obviously a good thing for UK kids, because it meant that
more ponies were available. It was also a confusing thing for UK
kids, as it meant one of ponies in the set - Gingerbread - was
sold in the UK under two separate names.
The Candy Canes were characterised by their scented bodies and
their long ringlets of hair which alternated a colour with white
to give them the 'candy-cane' appearance. Second hand ponies have
often lost some or all of their curl, and messy haired Candy Cane
ponies are common. Some collectors do re-curl the hair, with
varied success - but getting the original 'candy stripes' takes
time and effort to achieve.
The Official UK release (also in Europe)
The official UK release of the Candy Cane Ponies featured the
four characters pictured at the top of the page - Caramel
Crunch, Gingerbread, Sugar Apple and Sugar Sweet. This meant a
set that included one unicorn, one pegasus and two earth ponies.
These were each sold in coral/pink boxes with patterned borders,
as per the style template for 1990. This box style was also used
across Europe, where boxes were mostly translated into the
relevant languages. Each pony was sold with a sweetie comb,
ribbon and ice cream themed hair clip. These accessories were
the same in the North American release.
Sugar Apple, Mint in UK Box
1990
Image from Aike
The Woolworths Import Release
The second release of Candy Cane Ponies into the UK came via
Woolworths, who promoted the set as a 'Store Exclusive', despite
the fact that four of the six characters were being sold in other
stores, probably around the same time.
Candy Cane Ponies were in stores in North America in 1989, meaning
that the import release was probably around 1990, at the same time
as the set was being sold anyway. This is hard to pin down,
however, as the US boxes were all marked with US release dates.
However, cards/boxes with UK Woolworths price tags have confirmed
that this was one of Woolworths' sets. I also have found Mint
Dreams here on the second-hand market.
As far as I know, only American (not Canadian) packaged ponies
were available here in any of Woolworths' releases.
Mint Dreams Mint in Box, USA, 1989
UK Import, circa 1990
Image from Shivhae
The US boxes were yellow, and completely different in style to
those from the UK 1990 release. They had drawings on the back,
rather than photographs, and included all six characters. The
boxes also labelled Gingerbread by her American name, "Molasses."
