Better Sour, a sour candy startup founded by lifelong best friends from Hawai'i, has announced its new Passion Fruit Sour Gummy Stars, a collaboration with Disney celebrating the release of Walt Disney Animation Studios' Moana 2, the theatrical sequel to the original film, only in theaters on November 27.
Launched in 2023 by Bella Hughes and Semira Nikou, who were born and raised in the Hawaiian Islands, Better Sour's gummy candy features tart fruit flavors from around the world. Better Sour is currently available in more than 1,800 retail locations, and by the end of 2024 will be in more than 3,000. Key new retailers who will begin carrying Better Sour's new passion fruit gummy candy featuring Moana 2 characters include Sprouts, Publix, WHSmith banners, Hawaiian Airlines, 7-Eleven Hawai'i, Foodland, KTA, and Longs Drugs.
To celebrate this milestone collaboration, Better Sour will host an exclusive launch party on Friday, November 22 in Honolulu's historic Chinatown. The event will feature partnerships with prominent Hawaiian businesses and cultural organizations including FLUX, The Current of Hawaii, NMG Network, Hawaiian Host Group, Native Books, and the Asato Family Shop. The celebration will showcase the intersection of local flavors, culture, and Disney's storytelling magic.
The new Passion Fruit Sour Gummy Stars made its national television debut on Good Morning America today. Additionally, residents in select cities including Honolulu, Tampa, Palm Beach/Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orlando can look out for specially wrapped Better Sour x Moana 2 trucks featuring the new passion fruit gummies rolling through their cities.
"As a WBENC certified women-owned business, and with Bella and I being from Hawai'i, we're particularly thrilled about this collaboration with Disney because Moana is such a great fit for us. Moana is an inspiring role model for girls and women everywhere," says Semira Nikou, CEO and co-founder. "We love that she is a strong female lead, and her island roots, strength, and tenacity resonate with us. The timing of this launch is also perfect, given the excitement around the release of Moana 2, which coincides with the building momentum around our brand."
Moana 2 rolls into theaters nationwide on November 27 and has already set a record as Disney's most-watched trailer for an animated film. Moana was the most streamed movie across all platforms in 2023, per Nielsen.
"Our new flavor comes in tangy passion fruit, known as liliko'i in Hawai'i and is one of our absolute favorite fruits of all time. For a startup that's less than two years old in retail, this is a huge win, and the timing is perfect as we ended 2023 in around only 100 doors and within 12 months have had a 30x growth in door count, with over 1,600 of these new doors in Q4 launching our new passion fruit SKU," finishes Nikou.
In addition to being available in select retailers, Better Sour's new SKU will be available on Amazon. Additional retailers will be announced in 2025.
