Can you guess which company is the parent company for the following brands: Chiclets, Sour Patch Kids, Mentos, Trident, Swedish Fish and Halls cough drops?

It’s Cadbury. Yes, that Cadbury – the Cadbury that makes the crème eggs which fly off the shelves around Easter each year. Cadbury’s vast portfolio includes chocolate, gum and candy, and approximately 200 brands.

Day dream: I wonder if a visit to the Cadbury factory would involve a milk chocolate river with Swedish Fish swimming along as well as Sour Patch Kids playing pranks on visitors then making amends. That would be funny. Note to self – don’t sample any Chiclets that might taste like blueberry pie and ice cream. Do you think the four dentists that always pick Trident get to visit the factory any time they want. That’s what you get fifth dentist. Wait, what was I doing?

So as you can see, it’s no wonder that Cadbury is a beloved brand worldwide.

As you can probably guess, the Willy Wonka Candy Company began as a tie-in to the release of the film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Breaker Confections licensed the name “Willy Wonka” in 1971 to capitalize on the film’s merchandising potential then changed its name to Willy Wonka Brands in 1980. Nestlé then bought the company in 1988 and has owned it ever since. It is now known simply as Wonka.

The official WWW (Willy Wonka website) is wonka.com, but, much like the elusive Candy Man himself, there’s not a lot of information to be gleaned regarding the company. You can, however, learn what candy’s out now and what’s coming up next, or you can paint pictures using Nerds in their NERDoodler studio.

Wonka has perhaps some of the most recognizable non-chocolate candy varieties: Everlasting Gobstoppers®, Fruit Runts®, SweeTarts®, PixyStix®, LIK-M-AID® Fun Dip, Laffy Taffy®, Spree® and BottleCaps®. You can also find Wonka® Bars in Europe mostly but sadly no Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.

Ah, Willy Wonka. Bless him and his sweet, sweet candy. The company’s slogan captures our thoughts exactly: What will he think of next?

All I want is a piece of chocolate candy that won’t melt easily in the heat … lucky for me, and millions of other candy consumers, Leo Hirshfield had the same idea! Hirshfield founded Tootsie Roll Industries in a small shop in New York City. The Tootsie Roll candy got its name after the nickname of his daughter, Clara “Tootsie” Hirshfield.

Originating in 1896, The Tootsie Roll Industries is now based in Chicago, Illinois as one of the country’s largest candy companies. Among some of Tootsie’s most popular candy names are: Continue Reading »

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What would Halloween be without candy corn?  It has been enjoyed for over 100 years.  According to Brach’s, the top branded maker of candy corn, each year Americans buy enough Brach’s candy corn that if the kernels were laid end to end, they would circle around the Earth 4.5 times.  Brach’s candy pumpkin, known by the trademark name “Mellow Cream” is the most popular candy pumpkin.  They are popular both for their unique texture and for being fat free.  Candy pumpkins are made using the same process used to make candy corn.  The ingredients include corn syrup, real honey, and sugar. 

Amusingly, candy pumpkins played a role in the U.S. Implementation of Daylight Saving Time.  Since the 1960s, candy makers had wanted to get the trick-or-treat period covered by Daylight Saving.  They believed if children had an extra hour of daylight, they would have more time to collect candy, which would boost candy sales.  During the 1985 U.S. Congressional hearings on Daylight Saving, the candy industry went so far as to put candy pumpkins on the seat of every senator, hoping to win a little favor.  Soon, Daylight Saving Time was extended through the first Sunday in November.

By: Ashley Popham