The 130-year-old Cherry Blossom candy is dead, and this N.L. artist is paying homage to its legacy

First it was mustard pickles. Now, another Canadian convenience store staple is flying off the shelves forever: the Cherry Blossom candy, a fruit-filled chocolate dome that one Newfoundland artist is immortalizing in a new project.

The Hershey chocolate treat has been produced in Montreal since 1890, and is normally found by the cash register of rural general stores. The company confirmed it stopped producing the candy this month. 

Classic as it may be, the Cherry Blossom is a divisive candy. Some love it, some hate it, but the bright yellow packaging with its cross-section of the treat is an iconic image — and it’s one that Pasadena artist Kate Fudge is reproducing in her work.

Fudge is an illustrator who sells art depicting Newfoundland and Labrador’s favourite treats.

The candy holds special family memories for her, she told CBC Radio’s Weekend AM.

“Twenty-odd years ago my grandfather would bring me to the corner store in Corner Brook, Mr. Wilson’s, and he would always pick up two Cherry Blossoms,” she said. “One for me and one for him.”

Those memories are why Fudge decided to make an illustrated print of the treat. She said it was a big seller when she first started producing it in 2019, but demand has picked up since news broke of the candy’s demise.

“Everyone seems to have the same kind of thing, like, their grandparents or their parents loved it,” said Fudge.

The artist said customers have been requesting stickers, cards, and other products with the design so they can commemorate that nostalgia. 

Fudge said she plans on stocking up on Cherry Blossoms while she still can.

“I have one here now and I’m gonna freeze it,” she said.

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