A grandmother from Connecticut recently received a delightful surprise just before her 50th birthday: a $10,000 prize from a 15-year-old pack of gold-wrapped Starburst.

In the middle of an unbearably hot July day in New Haven, 50-year-old Nila and her 20-year-old daughter Kiya were searching through a closet for an extra air conditioning unit when they came across a small chest filled with keepsakes.

As Nila, her daughter Kiya, her son, and granddaughter sat together, she opened the box of memories to reflect fondly on the cherished mementos she had stowed away over the years.

But among the sentimental snapshots and trinkets was a seemingly out-of-place packet of Starburst. 

Neatly tucked away in clear plastic wrapping, the weathered candies were ripped into but untouched.

And instead of the typical variety of pink, orange, yellow and red wrappers, they were all covered in gold foil. 

Everyone raised their eyebrows at the unlikely memento, but for Nila, memories of huge disappointment from more than 15 years ago came rushing back.  

Nila celebrated her 50th birthday after receiving $10,000 from Starburst 

Accompanied by Kiya (right), one of her sons and her granddaughter, Nila (left) found the Starburst in a box of keepsakes hidden away in a cupboard they rarely used

The weathered candies were ripped into but untouched. And instead of the typical variety of pink, orange, yellow and red wrappers, they were all covered in gold foil

‘I’m never getting rid of this pack of Starburst – because I’m a winner,’ an audibly upset Nila said in a TikTok her daughter Kiya posted on July 8, which has since garnered tens of millions of views. 

The Starburst were part of a 2010 sweepstakes. But when the single mother-of-five went to cash in her prize, she was told it was too late. 

‘Are you going to eat it?’ her granddaughter asked with a smile, lightening the mood as the room burst into laughter.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Nila has now revealed exactly what happened all those years ago. 

She said she was grocery shopping at Stop & Shop sometime in 2010 when she reached for a pack of Starburst.

They are her favorite candy so she did not think twice as she threw them in her cart without looking at the packaging. 

But when she later went to eat them, she realized there was something was different. 

Stamped on the wrapper in blue writing was a message that read: ‘Find the gold Starburst, you could win $10,000’.

Kiya, right, and Nila, left, clapped in a celebratory TikTok video as they told followers they were getting the prize money

A file photo of a packet of Starburst is seen above

The sweets she had picked up were apart of Starburst’s ‘Hunt For Gold’ promotion. 

And when Nila tore open the wrapper she discovered every candy was covered in gold paper. 

With her heart racing at the idea she may have won, she dialed the number on the back of the packet. 

But her excitement quickly turned to crushing disappointment as she learned she had missed the deadline to enter.

‘They were like “oh, that contest ended” and I was just so sad,’ Nila told the Daily Mail.  

She said she cried for two days after missing out on the prize money and then tucked them away out of sight. But she never threw them out.

As the years passed, she forgot about the Starburst debacle and the keepsake box with the candies inside was left hidden in her cupboard.

If it was not for the early July heatwave, there it may have remained.

Kiya, right, and Nila, left, said they never expected their story to go viral on TikTok

Starburst messaged Kiya, letting her know they wanted to help Nila celebrate her 50th birthday

Kiya, who was about five years old when her mother bought the candy, told the Daily Mail this was the first time she had heard the story and decided to make a TikTok video explaining what happened. 

‘You know this generation,’ Nila joked. ‘She pulled out her phone while I’m telling her the story.’ 

But when Kiya then uploaded the video it caught the attention of nearly 30 million viewers – and crucially, Starburst itself. 

‘@starburst she got the gold ones can we still get out 10k?’ Kiya wrote in a message directed at the company’s TikTok account. 

She also sent Starburst a direct message (DM) to make sure she saw her post. 

Meanwhile, ordinary Americans captivated by the tale also did their best to raise awareness by contacting the company and writing messages online.

And their efforts paid off. Just a few days after Kiya shared the video, Starburst commented: ‘Yes, of course we saw this. Yes, we love it. And yes, we had to talk to Legal. Check your DMs.’ 

Kiya has since shared the exciting message from Starburst with the Daily Mail. 

‘Although the sweepstakes ended 15 years ago, we know your mom’s birthday is coming up and we want to help celebrate – with $10,000 of course,’ Starburst wrote.

Nila held up the $10,000 pack of Starbursts in a video that garnered tens of millions of views 

Nila and Kiya then made a follow-up TikTok to reveal the good news to their followers.

‘I know that without every voice, none of this would have happened,’ Nila said. 

Kiya chimed in to say they were not expecting the original video to go viral and jokingly asked her followers ‘Who wants one?’ [of the candies].

Starbust later commented on the video: ‘We loved getting to be part of this! Cheers to all the golden moments ahead!’ 

However, not everyone on the internet was so supportive, with some people accusing the family of being scammers and lying to secure the cash.  

‘Let’s just say I turned my phone off for a little while,’ Kiya told the Daily Mail.  

Nila added that the money was a ‘miracle’ that came at the perfect time. 

‘I look at it like a true blessing from Heaven,’ she said.  

Nila plans to hold on to the gold Starbursts, as Kiya said they mean more to her now than ever

Nila incorporated the golden Starburst into her 50th birthday celebrations

A circuit board manufacturer by trade, Nila has been struggling with her health this year and was on leave from work.

‘I was just trying to figure out how I was going to make ends meet. There’s just a lot going on in my life at this moment. It may not seem like a lot of money for some, but for us it’s life-changing,’ she said.

Nila said she plans to put some of her $10,000 winnings towards an ice cream truck – a business plan she has been working on for some time. She is also hoping to soon publish a book of poetry.

One thing she will not be doing, however, is eating her winning packet of Starbust. Instead she incorporated the lucky gold candies into her 50th birthday celebrations by displaying them as part of the decorations.

‘I think they mean even more to her now,’ Kiya said.  

The Daily Mail has reached out to Starburst and its parent company Mars for further comment.