Candy apple red is the name code used by manufacturing companies to define a shade of red similar to the red sugar coating on candied apples. The typical method for producing a candy apple finish is to apply a metallic base-coat, followed by a translucent color coat. A final clear coat adds additional gloss.

Toffee apples or candy apples are whole apples covered in a sugar candy coating, with a stick inserted as a handle. These are a common treat at fall festivals in Western culture in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night, because these festivals occur in the wake of annual apple harvests. Although toffee apples and caramel apples may seem similar, they are made using distinctly different processes.

Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called sugar confectionery, encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar candy. Vegetables, fruit, or nuts which have been glazed and coated with sugar are said to be candied.

An apple is the round, edible fruit of an apple tree. Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple, the most widely grown in the genus, are cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Eurasia before they were introduced to North America by European colonists. Apples have cultural significance in many mythologies and religions.

Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary color in the CMYK color model, and is the complementary color of cyan. Reds range from the brilliant yellow-tinged scarlet and vermillion to bluish-red crimson, and vary in shade from the pale red pink to the dark red burgundy.