American Liquorice Wholesale UK: The Retailer's Guide

National Licorice Day falls on 12 April each year — an American observance that's become a useful hook for confectionery retailers and content creators on both sides of the Atlantic. But beyond the calendar hook, American liquorice is a genuinely misunderstood category in UK imported confectionery, and one with real search demand from both consumers and trade buyers.

UK retailers who haven't stocked it often assume it's the same as British liquorice — the black, anise-flavoured confection associated with liquorice allsorts and Pontefract cakes. It isn't. American liquorice is a completely different product with a different flavour profile, a different format, and a different customer.

That misunderstanding is an opportunity. Customers who dislike British liquorice often love American liquorice, because the two products have almost nothing in common except the name. Getting the category right means understanding the distinction — and stocking the range that captures the growing UK search demand for 'american liquorice' and 'american licorice.'

American Liquorice vs British Liquorice: The Key Distinction

British liquorice means anise flavour — the distinctive, slightly medicinal flavour derived from the liquorice root. It's polarising: people either love it or strongly dislike it. That's the product most UK customers have in mind when they hear the word.

American liquorice refers to the format rather than the flavour. The dominant American liquorice brand — Red Vines — produces long, chewy, twisted candy in strawberry and other fruit flavours. No anise. No medicinal note. Red Vines Original Red Twists taste nothing like British liquorice, which is precisely why customers who claim to dislike liquorice often enjoy them.

There's an important nuance here: Red Vines Original Red Twists actually contain real liquorice root extract — the same ingredient that defines traditional black liquorice — which is more than can be said for many American liquorice-style products. But the dominant flavour is fruit, not anise, so the extract reads as depth rather than the flavour customers associate with British liquorice. For the full brand story, see our Red Vines guide.

Red Vines: The Range to Stock

Red Vines from the American Licorice Company is the brand to anchor any American liquorice section. Founded in 1914 and the origin of one of the most recognised products in American cinema snacking, Red Vines has built a following that's now extending into the UK market.

The Original Red Twists are the entry point — long, chewy, fruit-flavoured twists with a hollow centre that doubles as an improvised drinking straw, a genuine piece of American candy culture. The iconic resealable 1590g jar creates immediate visual impact on a shelf and works well as both a display piece and a high-volume retail format.

Beyond the red twists, Red Vines also produces Black Licorice — genuine traditional liquorice in the American style, softer and less intensely anise-flavoured than British black liquorice but recognisably in the same family. Sugar Free variants across both red and black fill a genuine gap for customers managing their sugar intake. Browse the full range on the Red Vines brand page — and for the full brand story, see our Red Vines guide.

Twizzlers Pull and Peel Cherry

Pull and Peel is Twizzlers' most distinctive format — a thick rope made of individually separable strands that you pull apart before eating. The interactive element makes it genuinely novel: customers who haven't seen it before almost always pick it up to look at it, which is half the work of a sell.

The Cherry Pull and Peel (172g) is the one Twizzlers format available from Sweet and Glory. It sits naturally alongside Red Vines as a complementary American chewy candy line — different format, different brand, same broad category. The pull-apart interaction is a strong social media content piece and a natural novelty line for shops that already carry Red Vines.

For Retailers: How to Display and Sell American Liquorice

Position it as a category, not a single product. 'American Liquorice' as a shelf label captures customers who've seen the category on social media or in American culture and are actively looking for it. A single product buried in a general candy section is easy to miss.

Lead with Red Vines Original Red Twists. This is the product most customers recognise and the most accessible entry point to the category. The 141g bag is the right impulse format. The 1590g jar creates visual impact if you have the shelf space.

The hollow centre is a selling point. Bite the ends off a Red Vine and it works briefly as a drinking straw. It sounds trivial but it's one of the most-referenced facts about the product in American culture — and telling a customer that their liquorice doubles as a straw is the kind of detail that triggers a purchase.

Stock both red and black. Customers who come looking for American liquorice split fairly evenly between red fruit-flavoured and traditional black. The Black Licorice 454g is a strong repeat purchase line for customers who find their preference.

Cross-sell with sour candy. American liquorice customers and sour candy customers overlap significantly. Position Red Vines near Warheads and Sour Patch Kids rather than isolated in a liquorice-only section. See our sour candy guide for the full category.

The Search Demand Is There

'American liquorice' and 'american licorice' are consistently searched terms in the UK — consumers who have seen the product in American films, TV shows, and social media content and want to find it here. 'Wholesale liquorice' and 'wholesale licorice' show consistent B2B demand from retailers looking to stock the category. This is a category where search demand exceeds current UK retail availability, which means it rewards early movers.

Stock American Liquorice Wholesale

Sweet and Glory stocks the full Red Vines wholesale range — Original Red Twists (141g and 1590g jar), Black Licorice (142g and 454g), Sugar Free Strawberry Twists, and Sugar Free Black Licorice Twists — alongside Twizzlers Pull and Peel Cherry. All available at wholesale prices, no minimum order, fast delivery from Manchester.

For more on building a complete American candy range, see our guides to the 20 most popular American sweets in the UK and our American candy wholesale buyer's guide.
Create a free account to browse and order, or contact us for advice on building your range.

No minimum order. Free first parcel on orders over £150 ex VAT (additional boxes £7.10 each). Free pallet delivery over £650 ex VAT. Dispatched from Manchester.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is American liquorice?
American liquorice typically refers to soft, chewy twisted candy in fruit flavours — particularly Red Vines, which produces strawberry-flavoured twists. Unlike British liquorice, the dominant flavour is fruit rather than anise. Red Vines Original Red Twists contain real liquorice root extract but taste primarily of fruit.

Is Red Vines available wholesale in the UK?
Yes. Sweet and Glory stocks the full Red Vines range at wholesale prices from Manchester — Original Red Twists (141g and 1590g jar), Black Licorice, and Sugar Free variants. No minimum order. Create a free account to order.

What's the difference between Red Vines and Twizzlers?
Red Vines Original Red Twists contain real liquorice root extract and have a softer, more pliable texture. They're the West Coast American favourite. Sweet and Glory stocks Red Vines across the full range, plus Twizzlers Pull and Peel Cherry — a distinctive pull-apart format not available elsewhere in the UK.

Is there a minimum order for wholesale liquorice?
No minimum order. Free first parcel on orders over £150 ex VAT (additional boxes £7.10 each). Free pallet delivery over £650 ex VAT. Dispatched from Manchester.

Related guides: Red Vines: American liquorice guide · Most popular American sweets UK · Best sour candy UK · American candy wholesale buyer's guide