Is there any other candy that says “Halloween” as much as candy corn? Every adult and every child recognizes this multi-colored sweet treat! Read on for a brief history and some interesting facts.
Adults will find the still popular candy to be the exact same as when they were children, no matter how old they are, because the original version hasn’t changed one bit since 1880 when it was first made. The only difference is the way it’s made; originally, candy corn was made by hand.
George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy Company was the creator of this concoction and it did well, but when Goelitz Candy Company took it over in 1898, it really became popular under the name of “Chicken Feed.” The same company changed its name in 2001, to the more familiar “Jelly Belly Candy Company”, but it still makes candy corn.
At barely over three and a half calories per kernel, candy corn isn’t the worst candy you can eat, but considering that around 8.3 billion pieces were sold in 2001, we can assume that most people did not stop at one piece. The amount keeps climbing; while 8.3 billion pieces meant 20 million pounds in 2001, by 2015, an estimated total of 25 million pounds of candy corn or about 10.4 billion pieces!
Three quarters of all candy corn made is bought during the Halloween season, but there are other versions, like Indian corn, which is brown & white with chocolate and vanilla flavors.
Many holidays have their own version of candy corn. There is pastel colored corn for Easter, and red, white and green for Christmas. Candy apple, green apple, pumpkin and carrot corn are some of the variations that have been recently introduced. With all of these offerings, the Halloween version with its yellow, orange and white colors and original flavor still tops the list in sales.