The "Caramel Reimagined" Story

Bag of Vanilla and Caramel Soft Cremes

It was an ordinary day.  Pushing the shopping cart in the Giant Supermarket while my wife is filling it with stuff for our meals next week.  As we reached the end of the first aisle I noticed a new cardboard display that featured small packages of Lancaster Caramel Creams.  Looks like they were packaged in either 4 oz. bags or 8 oz. bags and came in three different flavors; caramel, vanilla and caramel and vanilla and raspberry .  I told Carol I bet they're trying to bring back the candy that was once made famous by Milton S. Hershey when he founded the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1887.  It was then that he moved to Lancaster, penniless from a few failed tries at starting a candy business, and with the help of his Aunt, developed a candy he called "Crystal A" caramels which he made during the day and then sold from a pushcart in the evening on the streets of Lancaster, PA.  Eventually he got an order from an English candy importer for 500 pounds sterling worth of caramels and he began Lancaster Caramel Company in the 300 block of Church Street in downtown Lancaster.  

The Lancaster Caramel Company on the 300 block of
Church Street in the city of Lancaster, PA.

 In 1893 Mr. Hershey attended the World's Colombian Expo in Chicago and became fascinated with the art of chocolate making.  In 1894 he founded Hershey Chocolate Company as a subsidiary of Lancaster Caramel Co. and started producing chocolate coated caramels.  The following year the Hershey Bar was born and you kind of know the success of Milton Hershey after that.  In 1900 he sold the Lancaster Caramel Co. for $1 million to the American Caramel Company, but retained the rights to the Hershey Chocolate Company.  The American Caramel Company was incorporated in 1898 in Philadelphia, PA.  

An ad for the Lancaster Caramel Co. which
 appeared in the Confectioner's Journal 1895.

With the acquisition of Lancaster Caramel the company began making caramel related candies and was also a major maker of baseball cards that were given along with its candy.  American Caramel became the victim of strong competition in the caramel-making industry and closed in 1927.   Well, the Hershey Co. has decided to bring back Lancaster Soft Cremes.  I'm assuming that The Hershey Co. is part of Milton S. Hershey's ventures, but saw on the package that they are made in Canada.  Then I saw an article about the caramels and noticed that the product was launched in China earlier this year.  Then, to top all that off, Carol and I saw for the first time last evening on TV an ad for the product that featured their new slogan, "New Lancaster Soft Cremes.  Caramel Reimagined."  Any guesses as to whether I bought a package?  OK, so you saw the photo above, but what flavor?  Yeah, that's in the photo also.  I'll tell you, they really do melt in your mouth!  Worth the $2.49 for the small bag?  You bet I'll buy another bag soon.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.