I grew up in a diabetic household so I have always been aware of the difference between "people" food and "diabetic" food. Of course it was only recently that I was put on the non-people stuff exclusively.These candies are surprisingly satisfying. I have a doc who says artificial sweeteners are for those who haven't yet admitted that they aren't allowed to have a sweet tooth any longer. May be true but these little candies are quite nice.They are, in fact, hard. That is a nice change from diabetic candies when I was a child. They have a decent mouth feel and an almost caramel taste. I don't catch an aftertaste. So, when I "need" a fix, these are nice to have around the house. Won't mistake them for "people" candy but these really are amazingly lifelike.