Mystery sticker on candy packaging

March 29, 2010 4:44 AM

What does this "sleepy level" sticker on my candy mean?

I recently got a gift package from my sister (currently residing in South Korea, recently on holiday in Cambodia and Thailand). It contained this pack of tamarind candies which had a peculiar sticker on it: a pajama(?)-clad figure with a "sleepy level" scale beside it.

Does anyone know what this means? I imagine it could be something like those drug warnings that say "do not operate heavy machinery", or in this case "do not give to kids who are supposed to go to sleep"; but is that some kind of standardized scale? Is it like those "heat level" thermometers you often find on hot sauces? Or is it something completely different?

posted by PontifexPrimus to food & drink (7 answers total)

It seems plausible that it's an indicator of how spicy the candy might be. This is just a guess, though! Mexico has tamarind candy and also has very spicy chile candy, and I could imagine that there could be a similar range in SE Asia. Spicy food "wakes" your senses, so maybe that's where the sleepy scale came from.
posted by belau at 5:55 AM on March 29, 2010

Maybe the sticker is meant to tie in with advertisements that suggest other brands of candy are boring (and so cause sleepiness), while this brand of tamarind candy is exciting (and so has a low 'sleepy rating')? It's a bit of a long bow to draw in English, but maybe it's more straightforward in Thai.
posted by embrangled at 6:59 AM on March 29, 2010

So JeedJard, the company that makes the candy, has a Thai Facebook page, with some kind of comment about "sleepy level" they posted on their wall. When I fed it into Language Tools, I got this, which may or may not be edifying - I interpret it as saying that the tamarind candies will wake you up, and candies of a different sleepy level should be selected based on how tired you are, but that's maybe a bit of a stretch:

Hi, this Saturday afternoon นะ help. ใครที่ต้องทำงานวันนี้แล้วเกิดอาการง่วงจน Who must work today and lethargic symptoms. ตาจะปิด อย่าลืมหยิบมะขามจี๊ดจ๊าดมาช่วยแก้ง่วงนะค Do not forget to take the eye off the Jamaican tamarind vinegar to help resolve นะ c lethargic. ะ ง่วงน้อย ง่วงมาก หรือง่วงสุดๆให้สังเกตตามสติ๊กเกอร์ Sleepy Level ที่มีตัว "Z" บ่งบอกระดับการแก้ง่วงของมะขามจี๊ดจ๊าดติด ะ sleepy little more lethargic or sleepy to notice the other end Sleepy Level sticker with a "Z" indicates a level of solving the sleepy little tamarind Jacobsen card installed. อยู่ข้างกระปุกค่ะ Next pot help. ทีนี้ก็เลือกกินกันให้ตรงระดับความง่วงในจ Now select the mesh is to match the level of lethargy package. ังหวะบ่ายๆอย่างนี้กันได้เลยนะคะ ;D Away of any serious this afternoon together at all นะ คะ; D.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 7:09 AM on March 29, 2010

Linked from the Facebook page: Tamarind Pitched as Healthy Fatigue Cure.
posted by embrangled at 7:15 AM on March 29, 2010

Thanks, that seems to be the most plausible answer!

Odd, when thinking of candy that helps with fatigue and lethargy my first thought would have been some kind of caffeine additive; I like the taste of tamarind but never noticed any "waking" or "energizing" effects from it.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 7:58 AM on March 29, 2010

Well, straight tamarind is sour as hell, and it sounds from embrangled's article like that's all they're going for — a strong flavor to jolt you awake.

If you got the one-Z version, I imagine you're getting a much sweeter candy with only a little tamarind flavor, which might make the connection less obvious.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:57 AM on March 29, 2010

I showed it to my Thai au pair who confirmed the idea that tamarind, because it's so sour, helps you stay awake. She had never heard of this candy before, though.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 11:28 AM on March 29, 2010