Hitters
Hitters, also known as Big Hitters in Anglei, is a brand of malted milk balls covered in a chocolate coat produced by the Phoenix Trade Union. The candy is typically sold in a jar of 20-30, but containers sold in convenience stores may be plastic tubes with eight. Hitters are the most popular candy in their home country of Caldera, and are widely portrayed in the media to be a sophisticated candy to eat, enjoyed by rich upper class. Some conservative groups have labeled the candy as not being Gothic enough, but the Phoenix Trade Union claims that the candy is the most Gothic possible, which is branded on Calderan containers.
 | |
| Product type | Confectionary |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Phoenix Trade Union |
| Country | Caldera |
| Introduced | December 15, 1939 |
| Markets | Global |
| Tagline | "The first malted balls" (worldwide) "The most Gothic candy" (Caldera) "The biggest hitters in the game" (Anglei) |
History
The origin of the first malted milk ball is disputed, but the Phoenix Trade Union claims that their research and development branch created the first malted milk ball in 1937. The candy hit the markets two years later as individual balls that could be purchased for 1 cent each.
In the 1960s, the Phoenix Trade Union partnered with 4 factories to begin producing Hitters en masse. Using cellophane wrapping, Hitters were sold in packages of five, resulting in a temporary nickname of "fivesomes". In 1976, the Phoenix Trade Union noticed an interest in the candy by several service industries, including hospitals, DMVs, dentists, and even car dealerships. In general, any service with a waiting area would provide containers of Hitters for those waiting, so the Phoenix Trade Union decided to capitalize on this massive market by producing Hitters in glass jars. The glass jars are sizable and able to be opened and resealed easily with a rubber top, making jars of Hitters one of the most common containers in Caldera.
In 2000, the Phoenix Trade Union introduced Small Hitters. This new brand was similar to normal Hitters but would come in a small plastic bag containing up to 40 balls about 25% the size of normal Hitters. This brand did not ever become popular in Caldera, but did become popular in Anglei, where extra flavors such as strawberry and vanilla were introduced in 2006, and marshmallow was introduced in 2009. Other flavors were introduced but discontinued due to a lack of popularity. These flavors included blueberry (2006-2009), orange cream (2009-2016), and peanut butter (2007-2014).
In 2016, the Phoenix Trade Union produced a limited time vanilla flavor for Hitters as a stunt to make Small Hitters more popular. The new flavor was incredibly popular in Anglei, where vanilla Hitters remained in production for another year, but the flavor was discontinued elsewhere.
Controversy
Some brands dispute the Phoenix Trade Union's claim that the malted milk ball was invented by them, or in Caldera at all. Evidence suggests that Ænglish brand Tear did indeed sell malted milk balls in 1929, 8 years before Hitters were invented, but the Phoenix Trade Union bought the company 1947 and claims that the chocolate balls were not made with malted milk but instead a form of "toasted milk".
Conservative Calderan groups deny the response of the Phoenix Trade Union, and claim that the candy was obviously invented in Anglei, thus making it not Gothic, and thus not worthy of consumption. This resulted in a large enough drop in sales that the Phoenix Trade Union launched an advertising campaign solely in Caldera where they discussed the history of Hitters, and why they are the most Gothic candy in the market. Calderan packages of Hitters still say "The most Gothic candy", as a remnant of the half decade long campaign.
Ingredients
Listed in decreasing order by weight: sugar, malted milk, cocoa, glucose syrup (sources include wheat), barley malt extract, cocoa mass, vegetable fat, emulsifiers (soy lecithin, 492), wheat gluten, raising agents (501, 500), salt, natural flavor (vanilla extract), and pectin.