Stover Sugar Free Candy Nutritional Information

Clara and Russell Stover established Russell Stover Candies in 1923 in Denver, Colorado. called Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies for about the first 20 years of its existence, the company is best known for chocolate candy, although it also manufactures other products such as hard candy and handmade caramel apples. Russell Stover has 45 retail branches throughout Canada and the United States as of 2010, and its products are sold in more than 20 countries.

Sugar-Free Sweeteners

Russell Stover Candies manufactures both regular and sugar-free products. The sugar-free candies are made with one or more sugar substitutes, including the sugar alcohol maltitol, the generic artificial sweetener acesulfame potassium and the commercial artificial sweetener Splenda, which consists of the sweetening ingredients sucralose, dextrose and maltodextrin.

Types

Unlike many candy companies that offer only a limited number of alternatives to their regular sugar-filled products, Russell Stover makes a large variety of sugar-free candies. Chocolate selections are available in six main categories: caramels and chewies, coconut, creams and mints, nuts and peanut butter, solid chocolate and truffles, and toffee. In addition, the company makes sugar-free hard candy, jellies and gummies.

Non-Chocolate Candy Features

Russell Stover calculates serving sizes based on the number of individual pieces of candy, which usually ranges from three to seven pieces, equivalent to roughly 1.5 to 1.7 oz. Hard candies in flavors such as anise, butterscotch, cinnamon, root beer and strawberry are the lowest-calorie sugar-free products. The candies have about 40 total calories and no fat calories per serving. Since they consist of nothing more than maltitol, citric acid, coloring agents, and artificial and natural flavors, they also provide no nutrients other than about 17 g of carbohydrates in each serving.

Chocolate Candy Calories

Russell Stover's sugar-free candies made with chocolate are much higher in fat and total calories than the non-chocolate varieties. Lower-calorie chocolate products include caramel drops and coconut candy, which provide 160 total calories and approximately 95 calories from fat per serving. Higher-calorie chocolate products include toffee squares, which contain 210 total calories and 140 fat calories per serving. Products such as mint patties, pecan delights and truffles are mid-range, supplying about 185 total calories and 120 calories from fat per serving.

Chocolate Candy Nutrients

Russell Stover sugar-free chocolate candies contain many more ingredients than the candies made without chocolate. The additional ingredients include products such as cocoa butter, coconut, milk fat, oil and pecans, and they contribute to a higher nutrient content per serving. The nutrients in the sugar-free chocolate candies may include 5 to 25 mg of cholesterol, 1 to 4 g of dietary fiber, 2 to 3 g of protein, 7 to 9 g of saturated fat and 20 to 140 mg of sodium. Many of the sugar-free chocolate candies also supply the minerals calcium and iron and, occasionally, vitamins such as vitamin A. The minerals and vitamins typically range from 2 to 15 percent of the recommended daily amount for a diet of 2,000 calories.