A classic Brach's Halloween Advertisement from the 1950's

I was just perusing a fascinating new book called Infographic: The Business of Candy when I stumbled across a few facts that I found quite interesting.  While candy is truly a sweet business, it is also a very important part of our economy as the astonishing facts will attest.

With Halloween around the corner, here are a few facts that I found interesting….

Only twenty six (26) percent of homes give out full sized candy bars and fun size bars are the most popular with Snickers being the most frequently purchased.

As a child, I remember getting an entire pillow case filled with full size bars which, despite being the son of the owner of a wholesale candy company, was quite a thrill.  I still love taking my children trick or treating but find myself underwhelmed by the size and variety of the candy. Sad…

I am not sure where my hometown of Pittsburgh ranks but Austin, Charlotte and San Antonia are the best place to go trick or treating (did you know that  ninety three (93) percent of children go trick or treating)  as the average household spends over $53 on decorations and sweets while Cincinnati is the worst as they spend only $35!

Halloween has another claim to fame as three fourths of all candy corn is sold during this season and considering that over nine billion ( 9,000,000,000 – WOW) pieces are produced annually, it is no wonder that October 30th holds the title of National Candy Corn Day!

OK, I admit to have devoted a lot of type to numbers but here is a truly amazing piece of information – Americans will spend $9 BILLION dollars on Halloween this year which averages out to approximately $20 per person!

PS: Did you know that the candy manufacturing industry in the United States  includes about sixteen hundred (1600)  companies, but just two (2)  – Hershey’s and M&M Mars / Masterfoods – make fifteen (15) of the top twenty (20) selling candy bars!

Why is the Indian on the Tootsie Pop Wrapper Circled? Read on...

What comes around goes around and this applies to the beloved, and elusive, Chocolate Tootsie Pops.

In 1931, fueled by the success of the soft “chocolaty” Tootsie Roll, an employee of the Sweets Company of America – renamed Tootsie Roll Industries in 1966 – decided to encase the famous candy in a hard candy shell and thus Tootsie Pops were inadvertently born.  These famous lollipops were a precursor to what is now called “novelty candy” as they were advertised as candy with a prize center.

 I am sure that the inventor, Luke Weisgram, never imagined that the company would eventually produce twenty (20) million lollipops daily!

The first flavor was chocolate which remains the most sought after flavor as any supermarket bulk candy bin will silently attest.   Today, despite literally dozens of flavors, Chocolate Tootsie Pops remain an elusive treat.

As to the proverbial question of “how many licks does it take to get to center of a Tootsie Roll Pop,” a group of engineering students from Purdue University recorded that their licking machine, modeled after a human tongue, took an average of 364 licks to get to the center!  So much for the beloved Tootsie Mascot, Mr. Owl’s claim of “the world may never know…”

As for the urban legend that if you receive a Tootsie Pop with a Native American aiming a bow and arrow, Tootsie Pop Industries will give you free candy, we are sad to report that like so many legends, this remains more fiction than fact, however, if you contact Tootsie Roll Industries and tell them how many licks it takes to finish your Tootsie Pop, the will send you a Clean Stick Certificate.

PS: Ironically, I noticed that boxes from the manufacturer are now bearing the following, “Watch for new flavors added to our mix.”   Stay tuned, as this will surely be the topic of another entry….

A Cracker Jacks Advertisement from 1919

Cracker Jacks  have been an American icon ever since their introduction in  1893 at the World’s Fair in Chicago. Their name was given by a bystander who said, “That’s a Cracker, Jack” when he had his first taste!

Nineteen (19) years passed and in 1912, the first toy “surprise” was included and this is one of the first examples of a company marketing a “limited” edition” which has become commonplace in the candy industry in the past few year…

1918 was another banner year for branding as Sailor Jack and his beloved mascot Bingo were introduced.

Perhaps the piece of trivia that I find most intriguing is that Cracker Jacks were one of the first products to actively benefit from subtle product placement which has become the norm. Think of ET and Reese’s Pieces or Ronald Reagan and Jelly Bellies and this will give you an idea of where the trend started.

According to Mike Pesca, a correspondent for National Public Radio, the inclusion of the famous lines, “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks” in the 1908 classic “ Take Me Out to the Ball Game” generates approximately $25 million dollars worth of free advertising!

The boxes have become increasingly difficult to source but, like peanuts, they remain a staple of American summers and long nights at baseball games….

By the way, if you can tell us which rock star mentions Cracker Jacks in one of his songs, please let us know and we will send you a $10 Sweetcertificate!

Mild Duds – An American Candy Icon

Having spent my life surrounded by candy, I have to admit that I am a fan of the history of the many products that we sell. New candies are introduced regularly yet few survive long enough to make it to the shelves let alone qualify for having a history.

I stumbled across the curious origins of Milk Duds which I thought readers would enjoy.  Little do many realize that this candy was, in some regards, a fortuitous mistake.

In 1928, the defunct F.Hoffman and Co., of Chicago, one of the original inventors of chocolate covered caramels was purchased by an entrepreneur named Milton J.Holloway who had an idea to create a round piece of candy which was nothing more than caramel enrobed with high quality milk chocolate.

Despite numerous tries and due to manufacturing limitations, it was impossible to create a round candy and thus all of their tries produced nothing except irregular shaped pieces that they called “duds.”

Despite best intentions, they were never able to produce their dream BUT they realized that the product was delicious nevertheless….

Fast forward sixty eight years and Hershey Chocolates took ownership of this brand from Leaf Confections and changed the formula from cocoa butter to a “lesser priced oil substitute” and therefore it is no longer, technically, a milk chocolate based product.

Despite changes of ownership, a formula change and 84 years of trial and error, Milk Duds remain one of the best selling candies in the world, a personal favorite ,and  a historic candy icon .

Lest I forget, we were one of the first candy wholesalers in the nation to offer this oh so irregular yet oh so good candy long before it was considered retro…

Enjoy Tootsie Pop Candy Canes Year Round....

As the owner of the Internet’s Largest Candy Store, I have access to over 2800 candies but I am very fussy per what I eat.

The other day, a friend of mine asked what was my favorite candy and, truth be told, it was a tough question….

I guess I go through phases and, currently, I am hooked on Candy Cane Tootsie Pops which we offer year round.

The combination of the classic mint candy flavor, the tactile quality of the round lollipop and the “surprise” Tootsie Roll center make this, in my opinion, one of the best tasting lollipops!

Don’t get me wrong – this is not the only candy that I eat but it is the type of candy that I stash away for when I need my daily sugar fix.

Nothing beats the refreshing and nostalgic inspiring taste of a candy cane and the flavor of Tootsie Rolls speaks for itself!

In this case, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts….