Sunkist Fruit Gems Discontinued: Saying Goodbye to a Bar and Bat Mitzvah Tradition

If you’ve been to enough Bar and Bat Mitzvah services, you’ve probably seen this tradition. At some point during the service, candy gets thrown at the Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebrant as a way of literally showering them with sweetness.

For years, whenever parents have asked me what candy they should buy for this tradition, I’ve always recommended Sunkist Fruit Gems. They’re soft, colorful, individually wrapped, kosher, and most importantly, they’re not going to hurt anyone when Grandma gets a little too enthusiastic with her throw.

So I was pretty surprised to learn that Sunkist Fruit Gems have been discontinued.

According to eJewishPhilanthropy, Ferrara Candy Company discontinued Fruit Gems as of May 1, 2026, citing insufficient consumer demand. I’m not sure who they surveyed, but apparently it wasn’t enough synagogue gift shops, Bar Mitzvah moms, rabbis, or Jewish grandparents.

Fruit Gems have actually been around for more than 70 years. They were introduced in 1955 by the Los Angeles-based Ben Myerson Candy Company, and the Sunkist name became connected with them in the 1960s. Over the years, ownership changed hands several times, eventually landing with Ferrara after its acquisition of Jelly Belly.

Somewhere along the way, Fruit Gems became one of those unofficial Jewish foods that nobody really planned on becoming a Jewish food.

They were especially popular for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, but they also showed up at aufrufs, Purim celebrations, synagogue fundraisers and all kinds of Jewish communal events. According to the eJewishPhilanthropy article, one candy wholesaler reported selling more than 1,000 pounds of Fruit Gems in the past year alone. That doesn’t sound like insufficient demand to me.

One of my favorite Sunkist Fruit Gems stories happened at a Bar Mitzvah I officiated in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The ceremony was outside at a beautiful rented VRBO home, and as usual, we gave the guests Fruit Gems to throw at the Bar Mitzvah boy. What I didn’t realize was that directly behind me was a hot tub. Apparently, not everyone had great aim. A bunch of the Fruit Gems landed in the water and eventually got sucked into the hot tub filter. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t what the VRBO owner had in mind when they advertised the property as Bar Mitzvah friendly. It remains a good reminder that when you shower a Bar Mitzvah boy with sweetness, it’s always a good idea to check what’s behind him first.

Of course, throwing candy at a Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebrant is not exactly an ancient Jewish tradition from Mount Sinai. But these little customs become part of our Jewish memories. Years later, people may not remember every prayer from the service, but they remember being surrounded by family and friends, getting called to the Torah, hearing everyone sing “Siman Tov U’Mazel Tov,” and having handfuls of candy flying toward their head.

That is part of what makes a simcha a simcha. I officiate Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies all over the country, and I’ve probably recommended Sunkist Fruit Gems to hundreds of families over the years. I’ll now have to find a new candy to recommend, preferably something soft, kosher, individually wrapped, and aerodynamic enough to make it from the third row without causing an injury.

The tradition will obviously continue. Jewish families have managed to adapt to slightly bigger challenges over the past few thousand years, so I’m confident we’ll figure this one out too.

Still, I’m going to miss seeing those familiar colorful Fruit Gems at Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations. They helped make a lot of Jewish simchas just a little bit sweeter.