I don't know why the idea of researching this topic hit me, but I'm glad it did. I didn't have a clue that so many candy bars were introduced so long ago, a lot during the Great Depression. What I find most amazing, is that these candy bars are still extremely popular. Here you go:
1) Hershey’s (1894) Milton S. Hershey began manufacturing chocolate as early as 1894. As a treat to the soldiers during WWI, he sent 30-pound chocolate blocks overseas. They were later converted to candy bars and after the war was over, Mr. Hersey sold them for five cents. Over 100 years later, it is still one of the top ten selling candy bars in the U.S.
2) Mars Bars (1911) Named after the founders of the company, the Mars’ brothers.
3) Baby Ruth (1920) Named in honor of President Grover Cleveland's daughter Ruth, who died at the age of 12. It is the 7th ranked selling candy bar.
4) Mounds & Almond Joy (1920) Hershey’s Corporation introduced these two candy bars hoping that at least one would succeed; of course, they both did. Their advertising campaign of: “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t,” is still one of the most effective jingles ever created.
5) Oh, Henry! (1921) It was named after an amusing young man who was often hitting on women in Nestle's manufacturing plant. In good fun, the women would often say: “Oh, Henry,” so as a joke, they went with the name.
6) Butterfinger (1923) One of Butterfingers' first marketing campaigns was dropping the candy bars from airplanes in nearly 40 U.S. cities. Their fame as a popular chocolate candy soared as a result of this marketing. It is now the 4th best selling candy bar.
7) Milky Way (1923) This was one of the most successful product launches for the Mars Corporation as in its first year the candy bar brought in $800,000 in sales which is equivalent to $12 million dollars today. It is currently the 5th ranked selling candy bar.
8) Mr. Goodbar (1925) Milton Hershey initially did not want the Hershey brand name associated with a chocolate bar that contained peanuts, so it was introduced as being produced by the "Chocolate Sales Corporation," a fictitious company.
9) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (1928) Harry Burnett Reese first began putting chocolate over peanut butter cups in 1923. He was a Hershey's employee and worked on the project on the side, so the idea wouldn't be stolen from him. In the 1940’s and with new orange packaging, it became one of the most popular candy bars in the U.S. To this day, it is ranked #2 in overall candy bar sales.
10) Snickers (1930) A Mars, Inc. candy bar, the founders of the company named it after their favorite horse. Snickers has been the number one selling candy bar for decades.
11) PayDay (1932) The employees of the company were allowed input on naming the candy bar, but they couldn’t come to an agreement until one employee, knowing it was payday, threw out the name and everyone loved it.
12) Three Musketeers (1932) The Mars Company originally had three pieces of candy in one package, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, so in an effort to come up with a name with three in it, so they went with "Three Musketeers.” It is the 6th ranked selling candy bar in the U.S.
13) KitKat (1935) It was originally called Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp, but it wasn’t selling well until Hershey’s bought the candy bar and changed the name to KitKat. Their initial marketing strategy was to try to get it into the lunch boxes of working men. They later changed their marketing to make the candy bar cool to eat. It’s hard to get: “Give me a break, give me a break, give me a break of that KitKat bar,” out of one’s head. It is now the 3rd ranked selling candy bar in the U.S.
14) M&M’s (1941) The co-founder of Mars, Inc., Forrest Mars, was in Spain during their Civil War in the late 1930’s, and he noticed that many soldiers were consuming small chocolates covered in a sugar shell designed to keep the chocolate from melting. He brought the concept back to the U.S., and went with an ad slogan of: "M&M's melt in your mouth, not in your hand." They are now the 8th ranked selling chocolate candy. I realize this isn't a candy bar but I thought it was worth listing.
15) Txix (1979) In an effort to come up with a name for the candy bar, they took “Twin biscuit sticks,” and said it again and again and eventually they ended up with a linguistic blend of the words and Txix was born.
1) Hershey’s (1894) Milton S. Hershey began manufacturing chocolate as early as 1894. As a treat to the soldiers during WWI, he sent 30-pound chocolate blocks overseas. They were later converted to candy bars and after the war was over, Mr. Hersey sold them for five cents. Over 100 years later, it is still one of the top ten selling candy bars in the U.S.
2) Mars Bars (1911) Named after the founders of the company, the Mars’ brothers.
3) Baby Ruth (1920) Named in honor of President Grover Cleveland's daughter Ruth, who died at the age of 12. It is the 7th ranked selling candy bar.
4) Mounds & Almond Joy (1920) Hershey’s Corporation introduced these two candy bars hoping that at least one would succeed; of course, they both did. Their advertising campaign of: “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t,” is still one of the most effective jingles ever created.
5) Oh, Henry! (1921) It was named after an amusing young man who was often hitting on women in Nestle's manufacturing plant. In good fun, the women would often say: “Oh, Henry,” so as a joke, they went with the name.
6) Butterfinger (1923) One of Butterfingers' first marketing campaigns was dropping the candy bars from airplanes in nearly 40 U.S. cities. Their fame as a popular chocolate candy soared as a result of this marketing. It is now the 4th best selling candy bar.
7) Milky Way (1923) This was one of the most successful product launches for the Mars Corporation as in its first year the candy bar brought in $800,000 in sales which is equivalent to $12 million dollars today. It is currently the 5th ranked selling candy bar.
8) Mr. Goodbar (1925) Milton Hershey initially did not want the Hershey brand name associated with a chocolate bar that contained peanuts, so it was introduced as being produced by the "Chocolate Sales Corporation," a fictitious company.
9) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (1928) Harry Burnett Reese first began putting chocolate over peanut butter cups in 1923. He was a Hershey's employee and worked on the project on the side, so the idea wouldn't be stolen from him. In the 1940’s and with new orange packaging, it became one of the most popular candy bars in the U.S. To this day, it is ranked #2 in overall candy bar sales.
10) Snickers (1930) A Mars, Inc. candy bar, the founders of the company named it after their favorite horse. Snickers has been the number one selling candy bar for decades.
11) PayDay (1932) The employees of the company were allowed input on naming the candy bar, but they couldn’t come to an agreement until one employee, knowing it was payday, threw out the name and everyone loved it.
12) Three Musketeers (1932) The Mars Company originally had three pieces of candy in one package, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, so in an effort to come up with a name with three in it, so they went with "Three Musketeers.” It is the 6th ranked selling candy bar in the U.S.
13) KitKat (1935) It was originally called Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp, but it wasn’t selling well until Hershey’s bought the candy bar and changed the name to KitKat. Their initial marketing strategy was to try to get it into the lunch boxes of working men. They later changed their marketing to make the candy bar cool to eat. It’s hard to get: “Give me a break, give me a break, give me a break of that KitKat bar,” out of one’s head. It is now the 3rd ranked selling candy bar in the U.S.
14) M&M’s (1941) The co-founder of Mars, Inc., Forrest Mars, was in Spain during their Civil War in the late 1930’s, and he noticed that many soldiers were consuming small chocolates covered in a sugar shell designed to keep the chocolate from melting. He brought the concept back to the U.S., and went with an ad slogan of: "M&M's melt in your mouth, not in your hand." They are now the 8th ranked selling chocolate candy. I realize this isn't a candy bar but I thought it was worth listing.
15) Txix (1979) In an effort to come up with a name for the candy bar, they took “Twin biscuit sticks,” and said it again and again and eventually they ended up with a linguistic blend of the words and Txix was born.
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