Fact Check: Hidden Valley Ranch Unveils Candy Corn-Flavored Ranch Dressing?
Claim:
Condiment manufacturer Hidden Valley Ranch produced a limited edition candy corn-flavored ranch dressing.
Rating:
There are certain food products we've been asked about at Snopes that — thank God — only exist in people's imaginations. Among those are Spam Oreos, Gerber Big Mac and Fries Baby Food, Garlic Coca-Cola, and Squeez Bacon, a "fully cooked 100% bacon paste that could be squeezed from a tube."
The latest "no way that exists" food item query to hit our inbox concerned whether a packaged "candy corn-flavored ranch dressing" really exists. As we looked into it, we found that internet users had been chattering about the alleged product since at least September 2021.
Who's ready for Candy Corn Ranch Dressing pic.twitter.com/Lzqx0TkaWT
— James Yellis (@ssgcav) September 18, 2021
The claim certainly seems outlandish, but if we've learned nothing else as fact-checkers, it's that "outlandish" and "real" are not mutually exclusive. Take a similar-sounding product, Turkey Dinner Candy Corn, for example. It really exists — or, at least, did exist for a couple of years, when it was manufactured and sold by Brach's. Here's someone who actually took the trouble to review the product:
I bought a bag of this #brachsturkeydinnercandycorn a while back and have been saving them for #nationalspookymonth. I'm a #registereddietitian and this is my honest review as a nutrition professional. Ahem. 1/18 pic.twitter.com/HosFqhL0Px
— Mom of No Rank (@momofnorank) October 7, 2021
Alas, this proved not to be the case with candy corn-flavored ranch dressing. We learned that the official Hidden Valley Ranch Twitter account had responded as follows to a query from a user in 2021:
Thanks for your inquiry, and we're happy to shed some light on your question. While we don't have a Limited Edition Candy Corn Ranch, we hope you'll check out our other family flavor icons. Check them out here https://t.co/QZ7ViacogU. Happy dunking, dipping and drizzling. - Alex
— Hidden Valley Ranch (@HVRanch) September 15, 2021
The claim that candy corn-flavored ranch dressing exists is therefore false.
Sources:
Evon, Dan. "Food For Naught." Snopes, 13 July 2015, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mcdonalds-gerber-baby-food/.
Evon, Dan. "Spam Oreos? Another Fake Flavor Goes Viral." Snopes, 29 May 2015, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/spam-oreos/.
Kasprak, Alex. "Is 'Squeez Bacon' a Real Product?" Snopes, 2 Feb. 2021, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/squeez-bacon-liquid/.
Lee, Jessica. "Yes, 'Turkey Dinner Candy Corn' Is a Real Thing." Snopes, 25 Sept. 2021, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/turkey-dinner-candy-corn/.
Mikkelson, David. "Does Photo Show Garlic-Flavored Coca-Cola?" Snopes, 14 Feb. 2015, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coca-cola-garlic/.
