This summer I travelled to Europe and came back with a duffel bag full of sweets. Some great, some crap, a lot in the middle. But one that captured the hearts and minds of the entire family was the UK version of Starburst, the ubiquitous chewy treats no one loves.

Reason #1 that these are better than our U.S. version: The Flavors

In America, Starburst are notorious for sucking. Literally, people are offended by the orange, lemon, and cherry. They claim the strawberry to be “best”, but…in my opinion the lemon is the best and the rest are meh. The point is that the flavors are literally as base and boring as they come.

In the UK though, they match your strawberry and orange. Then though, they do a lemon/lime combo, and as their fourth flavor, they go with the UK favorite blackcurrant. Hands down, no contest, this is a better flavor assortment.

Reason #2 that these are better than our U.S. version: The Ingredients

I’m not gonna go into what the U.S. version contain, I don’t have the time. But I can tel you that the UK version doesn’t include any artificial colors or flavors. Additionally, the UK version doesn’t contain gelatin, so they’re vegan. Right there, the door is opened for many more people to enjoy them, all without the disgusting artificial colors and flavors we eat every day over here.

Reason #3 that these are better than our U.S. version: The wrapper

Dig this. You can just eat the UK Starburst, wrapper & all. Before you say it, I know that the U.S. version is made with wax paper and therefore non toxic, but it’s not meant to be eaten. Is the UK version meant to be eaten? Not sure, but it certainly dissolves WAY quicker, and honestly is kinda fun to eat.

Bonus Reason: because there’s no artificial colors or flavors in the UK Starburst, odds are that means that they harden up quicker than the U.S. version which never seem to stale properly.

Regardless, Starburst are never gonna be tops on my candy list. When I do eat them though, they’re going to be the UK version. After all, Starburst were invented in the UK, originally called “Opal Fruits”. I’m not sure which name is worse, but I AM sure of which version is better.