Hello! Mike here. May of 2026 starts our second year selling The Licorice Guy Licorice and we’re anxious to hit the road and share some licorice love in all of the community events that we are participating in Minnesota this year.

The first licorice order for 2026 has just been delivered to us and Chris and I are all ready to load in the "goods" into our vehicles the day of the event. Of course, I just HAD to open a bag of red (my favorite) and it is soooo soft and it carries through into the “chew” too! The whole bag was consumed by my family within 24 hours! I have no doubt that the rest of the flavors are going to be as fresh and tasty as the red.

If you’re new to the The Licorice Guy (TLG) brand licorice, you’re probably asking yourself what the big deal is about our licorice and here it is. For anyone who truly LOVES eating licorice, we are 90% sure that you will find that it IS the best tasting licorice you’ve ever eaten. We leave open the 10% because some people prefer the European black licorice which is much saltier and bitter. The other reason being that a small portion of people prefer their licorice not so thick and flavorful (like...you know, that waxy, thin, brand). That’s why we let you sample the licorice before you buy and taste the difference between the others sold elsewhere.

For the rest of you who love TLG licorice as much as we love selling it, we hope to see most of you at one (or more) of our nine events we’ll be at this year. Bring your family and friends over to our tent/booth too and we offer them an opportunity to try samples as well.  

Have a comment, question, or feedback? Contact us here 

More posts coming soon. Team Knapp Kin

Mike, Mary Jane, Chris

Happy 4th of July All,

In this posting, we are going to share five of the most common questions (along with our typical responses) that we commonly get asked at our licorice events. Nothing too deep or earth shattering here, but we thought it would be fun to share them with you…maybe you’re curious about the answers yourself!  We’ll conclude a rather funny and unusual response to a question we ask customers. So here goes: 

Q1: Where are you guys from?

A: I can’t speak for MJ or Chris, but depending on my mood, I sometimes want to say Earth. No, that wouldn’t be nice, would it?  Because Chris lives in Blaine and Mary Jane (MJ) and I live in Grand Rapids, my response is “Chris lives in the metro, MJ and I live up north”. That is quick answer most of the time we have before finishing or helping another customer. I think Minnesotans just like to know if you are from one of those other 49 other states or a native Minnesotan like themselves. We get it!   

Q2: Do you make the licorice and/or where is the licorice made?

A: Short answer is no. We are a TLG (The Licorice Guy brand) distributor and reseller. Making licorice requires a lot of manufacturing equipment and is quite an intensive production process. We are told that the making of it is like making bread as there is wheat in the licorice mixture. While we don’t have an official TLG video on how it is made, this YouTube video here will give you a good idea on how it similarly made. Our licorice is made in Eldon Missouri in small batches. We assume that the plant is smaller as it is not currently necessary to have a big production plant. Small batches produced means fresher licorice too.

Q3: Will The Licorice Guy have gluten free licorice?

A: Very soon. According to the website eliacjourney.com, a commonly cited estimate is that about 6% of the U.S. population is gluten intolerant, which is roughly 20 million Americans. Cleveland Clinic gives a similar figure of about 1 in 20 people in the U.S. We find several of our customers who used to eat licorice made from wheat wish they could continue to enjoy it. It has now been around a year that The Licorice Guy insiders has been developing a recipe, and we have been told it will become available sometime in 2026. It will be made with rice flour instead of wheat, so it will be a great substitute for those who can’t eat traditional made licorice. The company has been secretive about packaging and flavor but it has been hinted that it will be some type of berry flavor. We will announce it as soon as we have it available via the website and on our Facebook page.

Q4: What made you decide to get into the business of selling licorice?  

A: This question usually is asked by older customers who have apparently determined that MJ and I are “older” like them. They’re wondering why we aren’t at home planting petunias or sipping lemon aid or iced tea on the patio. Our answer is because we LOVE the licorice and LOVE selling it too! We were introduced to The Licorice Guy Licorice at an event in Central Florida a few years back. We bought a bag, then another, then several bags more. We tried all the flavors. Loved them all. Next, we introduced the licorice to our family. They loved it. One day, I jokingly asked Chris if we keep eating so much of this licorice, we might just as well start selling it!  So, I investigated a distributorship reseller opportunity with the Company. Chris and MJ said they were in with me and the rest as they say is history. We are now in our second year of selling, and we really enjoy meeting fellow licorice lovers and introducing The Licorice Guy brand to all who stop by our booth so they can taste the difference for themselves! 

Q5: What are the bestselling flavors of the Licorice Guy Licorice and what are the favorite flavors of the Knapp family?

A: Although some events change in the order of flavors that sell out first, it pretty much agrees with the company’s sales statistics. In order of popularity: red, black, cinnamon, blue raspberry, green apple. Root beer and watermelon are seasonal flavors and will usually sell out about the same time at the blue raspberry. As far as favorites, red for Mike, black for Mary Jane, and cinnamon for Chris.

Funniest question: While everyone enjoys a sample of the licorice, every now and then we’ll get this response from a person when we ask them if they want a licorice sample.  Their eyes open wide and their response is “Sure!” as they grab an entire bag of licorice! Now that would be quite a sizable sample wouldn’t you say? 

Until next time…. Team Knapp Kin: Mike, Mary Jane & Chris