Candy Float is a hybrid grown by Hytek, the Detroit cultivator that rebuilt an entire West Detroit block around its grow. The breeding credit goes to Flavor Designers and Pheno Addicts, who crossed Cherry Float with Ritz.
The most notable detail sits inside that second parent. Ritz is itself a cross of Runtz and Its Fire, which puts a Leafly Strain of the Year winner two steps back in Candy Float's family tree.
Cherry Float, Ritz and the Runtz connection
Hytek lists the full genetics as Cherry Float × Ritz, with Ritz spelled out as Runtz × Its Fire. That makes Candy Float a three-way blend on paper, with Runtz supplying a quarter of the lineage.
Runtz came out of the Cookies camp as a Zkittlez and Gelato cross. The Runtz crew led by Yung LB out of Long Beach made it famous, and Leafly named it the 2020 Strain of the Year. The line has since spawned at least 20 variations.
Cherry Float carries the other half of the cross and gives the strain its name. Hytek frames the flavor as cherry cola with a hint of purple candy, and the purple color in the finished flower matches that pitch.
Flavor Designers and Pheno Addicts
Candy Float is a two-breeder project. Hytek credits Flavor Designers and Pheno Addicts jointly, and both names appear on the product listing alongside the full cross.
Hytek's role is the grow. The company raises the genetics in its Detroit facility and packages the finished flower under its own name for Michigan shelves, sold at its farm store and through partner retailers statewide.
How Hytek grows in West Detroit
Hytek's story starts in 2016, when its founder bought a West Detroit property that needed heavy rehab. The renovation took five years, and the team stuck with it because it wanted a part in Detroit's revitalization.
Before legalization, the crew learned the plant in small groups, working out of basements, barns and warehouses across Michigan. Today the company employs more than 30 people.
Its flagship shop, The Refinery Detroit, sits next to the grow. Every Hytek flower is hand-trimmed, and individual buds are hand-picked before packaging, part of a no-shortcuts standard the company sets for its genetics and production.
Candy Float's run on Hytek shelves
Candy Float flower listed at $60, and the strain also came in half-ounce jars, deli flower and pre-rolls. Hytek has since moved all three of those formats into its retired products catalog.
The retirement puts Candy Float in the past tense for now, but the cross still shows how Hytek builds a menu: outside breeders supply the genetics, and the Detroit team handles growing, trimming and packing in-house.
Hytek's current menu covers flower, pre-rolls, rosin pucks and vapes, plus a budget shake line called Lowtek. Its lineup has included Gelato 33, Permanent Marker, Los Muertos and Versace.
Fans of the candy side of the menu can also look at Candy Cartel, a BeanFiendz cross Hytek grows from Sherb Cream Pie and Biscotti.