Scaling to New Heights – A History of Andes Crème De Menthe Thins

Let me set the scene: you finish dinner at your favorite Italian restaurant; your server presents you with your bill accompanied by a rectangular-shaped piece of candy festooned with an emerald-colored wrapper -- perhaps the bill was more than you anticipated but fair to say, your meal ends on the sweetest note.

Offering the perfect balance of mint and chocolate, these three-layer rectangular thins known to the world as Andes Mints should be enjoyed more often than just after a meal. While considered an "after dinner" mint, few candy lovers would turn down an opportunity to enjoy a few pieces whenever, wherever. Therefore, one would imagine that such a delicious candy would have an interesting history.

Now, let's turn the clock back about a hundred years. The year is 1921, and the town is the windy city of Chicago. The man is Andrew Kanelos, and he had just opened his first candy store, "Andy's Candies" by name. He sells various boxes of handmade chocolates to men trying to keep their wives happy -- not much has changed over the years. His chocolates were delicious, but there was a problem he didn't anticipate, one which might be called "the law of unintended consequences." As good as the candy was, men didn't like gifting their wives boxes of chocolate with another man's name adorning them (oh, the '20s, how different a time!) 

Much like scaling a tall mountain, the problem seemed near insurmountable. Andrew Kanelos, however, came up with a solution:  Why not change the name to something that conjured images of exotic faraway places? All the while reflecting his name! So with that in mind, he changed the name to "Andes Candies" and added snowcapped mountains to the wrapper.  So successful was this makeover that the company referred to mountainous illusions in their advertising campaign when they declared their chocolates to be "The Peak of All Candies."

It wasn't until 1950 when Mr. Kanelos would create the confection known as Andes Crème de Menthe Thins. Not only was this a unique confectionary creation, but they were amongst the first changemakers as the individually wrapped mints were offered at the cash register and retailed for anywhere between $.01 - $05. The goal was for the candy to be provided at a price equivalent to the customer's change after a transaction.  Clever, huh?

At the time of their creation, Kanelos had over 100 retail stores. George Andrew Kanelos, Andrew's son, became the President of Andes Candies in 1959 and made Andes Crème De Menthe his focus. Thus, creating one of the best-selling American chocolates of all time.

The small Chicago warehouse was moved to Delavan, Wisconsin, and doubled in size. Andes Candies went from a chain of candy stores to a manufacturing giant across the nation. Moms would buy Crème de Menthe Thins for dinner parties; hotels would leave them for their guests; husbands would buy them for their wives (and vice versa), and others just loved to enjoy the smooth combination of dark chocolate and peppermint.

In 1980, Kanelos sold the company to a Swiss Conglomerate called Jacob Suchard.  This company later purchased Brach's, Andes being part of that purchase. Then, in 1990, Brach sold Andes Candies to Tootsie Roll Industries who still maintains manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin.

Indulge, please, as we are ever the lovers of candy trivia, we shall end this brief history with a slight diversion: At CandyFavorites, we often get inquiries from people who wonder why Andes Crème De Menthe tastes different than they recall. This is because the formula, although being consistent for decades, is dual. Olive Garden receives one recipe exclusively. And everyone else gets another. However, given the affection people hold for it, it might be good for the manufacturer to reconsider.