The Best Halloween Candy

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With the arrival of Halloween today, I got to thinking about my top 5 favorite candy. And in no specific order (because at the end of the day, all candy is good candy!) here we go:

Necco

First produced in 1847, Necco Wafers  are the namesake candy formerly made by the now-defunct New England Confectionery Company (Necco), which operated near  Boston, Massachusetts, and sadly abruptly closed in 2018.  The brand was eventually purchased out of bankruptcy by Spangler Candy Company, which launched the candy’s comeback in 2020.

Mentos Fruit Candy

Not exactly sure if Mentos counts as a breath mint or candy, but either way, they are addictive! Mentos were invented in Poland in 1932 by brothers Michael and Pierre van Melle. And they showed up in the United States during the 1960s when the candy began shipping worldwide. Fruit flavors first appeared in the 1970s.

Haribo Goldbears Gummi Candy

When it comes to gummi bears, the Haribo brand is second to none. Created in 1922 in Germany, it wasn’t until Haribo of America was incorporated in the 1980s in  Baltimore where they were introduced into the mass US market. And in 2017, Haribo announced the opening of its first United States factory manufacturing plant in Kenosha County, Wisconsin which was scheduled to start construction in 2020.

Brach’s Candy Corn 

Lots of companies make candy corn, but it’s Brach Confections who does it best. “Chicken Feed” was the original name of the candy with production starting in the late 1880s.  It was first invented in the 1880s by a Wunderle Candy Company employee, George Renninger. Wunderle Candy  Company was the first to produce the candy in 1888. Following the Wunderle Candy Company, the Goelitz Confectionery Company (now called  Jelly Belly) began manufacturing the product in 1898. While Jelly Belly still makes  candy corn, the largest manufacturer of candy corn is  Brach’s Confections  (owned by the  Ferrara Candy Company). Brach’s makes approximately 7 billion pieces of candy corn per year and possesses 85 percent of the total share of  the candy corn industry during the Halloween season. In fact, The National Confectioners Association  has deemed October 30,  the day before Halloween, as “National Candy Corn Day.”

Mars, Incorporated

I figured I needed to throw something “chocolate-esque” in there and honestly, anything that’s made by Mars, works for me: 3 Musketeers,  M&M’s,  Milky Way,  Snickers or Twix.

There’s so much good candy and so little time, but check out OldTimeCandy.com for a fun walk down candy’s memory lane.