The "Iconic Candy Bars" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished lunch and grabbed a few miniature Hershey Bars from the kitchen drawer.  The classic Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar is one of the oldest candy bars ever created...with nearly 120 years of history under its belt...and holds the title of the first mass-produced chocolate in the United States.  A few years ago I wrote a story about Milton Hershey moving to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and opening a caramel factory in the late 1800s.  Then in 1893 Mr. Hershey attended the World Colombian Exposition in Chicago and became fascinated with the art of chocolate making and bought German-made machinery and had it shipped to Lancaster.  In 1984 he founded Hershey Chocolate Company as a subsidiary of Lancaster Caramel Company and started producing baking chocolate, cocoa, and chocolate coatings for his caramels.  In 1895 the Hershey Bar was born.  Two years later he bought back his family farm in Derry Township, got married and developed what today is the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania where he built a large chocolate manufacturing plant.  I tell you all of this, since I recently read a story about the world's best-selling candy bar.  

Snickers!  Picked as the #1 candy bar.

I was disappoint- ed that it wasn't the Hershey Bar, but  the Mars Wrigley Snicker Bar which is the world's best-selling candy bar.  The Snickers bar was actually called the Marathon bar until it's name was changed in 1990 to the Snicker Bar.  The bar was originally named Marathon since that was the company founder, Frank Mars' favorite horse.  

The #2 candy bar is the Hershey Bar.

The second most favorite bar is the classic Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar.  The Hershey Bar was the first mass-produced chocolate bar in the United States.  Today most people associate the taste of chocolate with the Hershey Bar.  But, Hershey's isn't as popular outside the US and many other countries say the classic American chocolate flavor tastes like vomit!  But, what do they know?  

The #3 candy bar is the Cadbury Bar.

The third most popular candy bar is the Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar which was made in the United Kingdom since 1905.  It is made with fresh milk from the British isles, which gives it it's distinct taste and texture.  The Kit Kat Bar is mentioned as an honorable mention candidate.  

Honorable Mention Kit Kat Bar.

"Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar" solidified its place in marketing history as a now instantly recog- nizable jingle, and sharing Kit Kats has gone global.  I must admit that I enjoy the Kit Kat Bar, but would prefer to eat the entire bar and not share it.  Because of the jingle, the Kit Kat is said to be the most influential candy bar of all time.  

Honorable Mention Butterfiinger Bar.

The Butterfinger candy bar is another honorable mention candy bar and is a widely loved, one-of-a-kind "crispy, crunchy, peanut buttery" candy bar, with Butterfinger history stretching as far back as the 1920s.  It has gained honorable mention status since it has a new "improved recipe."  It was awarded the 2019 Product of the Year Award in the candy bar category.  Butterfinger was created in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois by Otto Schnering and is currently manufactured by Nestlé.  

Honorable Mention Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Another honorable mention is not really a candy bar, but the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  The bright orange wrapper can't be missed when you see it at the candy counter.  Every candy bar in this story includes chocolate as the main ingredient which means that there are quite a few people who have a sweet tooth.  Actually 25% of all sales in convenience stores in the United States are candy bar sales.  Approximately five billion units of chocolate candy were sold in the United States in 2018 with billions of dollars spent on chocolate bars.  So, we in the United States have Mr. Milton Hershey to thank for satisfying our sugary chocolate craving.  And, after spending the past half hour writing this, I'm going to grab a few more of those miniature Hershey Bars from the kitchen drawer.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.