Most of the Nerds are not vegan because they contain carmine which is derived from crushed cochineal insects. From a nutritional perspective, The Willy Wonka Candy Nerds are loaded with sugar considering that its three top ingredients are sugar, dextrose, and malic acid.
You would say that these same ingredients are common to most if not all candies, however, the main ingredients in Nerds are sugar pellets covered by artificial colors. These candies are further glazed with thick layers of carnauba wax that make them have a gloss texture to provide a faux feeling of ‘hard to bite’. The other ingredients in this candy such as corn syrup, carnauba wax, artificial coloring, and flavors, form less than two percent of the final product.
The process of making the Nerds candies involves making layers of sugar crystals which are coated over and over again with more sugar till it reaches the desired size. Their processors are specially designed to spin barrels of containers containing sugar crystal until the Nerds are formed. The flavoring is done last in a different barrel.
Nerds come in a variety of tastes and colors with the most popular one being the grape and strawberry flavors often sold side by side in a combo pack. The company often combines sour and sweet flavors in one box, while at times these boxes can contain extreme flavors of sweet and sour flavors.
If keeping off too much sugar appeals to you, try eating the original fruits such as grapes or strawberries in their natural state instead of the sugar-coated flavored version.