The Sweet Saga: History of Candy Corn

Recognised as the bright, tricoloured holiday candy associated mainly with Halloween and the autumn harvest in the United States, the sweet, corn-shaped confection known as candy corn has as much of a chequered and storied history as it does a remarkable profile. Candy corn exudes the appearance of an individual kernel of corn via its trademark corn-shaped crunch, and is appropriately coated in three colours to replicate the corn kernel in all its traditionally summery glory. Its colour-by-number appearance is achieved by a layering process that employs yellow-coloured sugar and orange- and white-hued corn syrup on the outside. Originally made by the Wunderle Candy Company out of Philadelphia, candy corn has permeated more than a century of American history and customs. With its distinctive profile so firmly associated with two of the fall's most beloved holidays, we'd expect either adoration or abhorrence for candy corn, especially when one considers the fact that candy corn is very much an either/or confection. We love it or we hate it, and those of us who have grown up with the sweet stuff usually fall into one camp or the other.

The Origins

Candy corn's history reaches back to the turn of the 20th century when the craft of making candy was shifting from small-scale artisans to big factories. Candy corn is generally credited to the Wunderle Candy Company of Philadelphia, established in the 1880s. The New York World claims that the candy's inventor was George Renninger, a Wunderle candy maker. Renninger sold his recipe in 1898 to another Philadelphia candy company, Goelitz, which still makes the candy to this day. When it was introduced, the candy was marketed as ‘Chicken Feed' and sold in boxes stamped with a rooster logo (which both nod to the corn kernel shape and pun on the turn-of-the-century agricultural craze).

Early Production

This early candy corn was made to order and by hand. A slurry of sugar, corn syrup and water was cooked in large copper kettles, poured into the moulds a-third-at-a-time by colour, and then boxed up. It was pricey, a luxury versus the standard drugstore fare that dropped to as little as 10 cents per pound. Candy corn was produced ahead of the holidays and shipped in bulk to grocers and other outlets, but even then it was seasonal and largely unavailable in March and October. Prize premiums aside, candy corn had the fortunate status of being a niche treat that couldn't be duplicated in the home kitchen.

The Goelitz Confectionery Company and Beyond

Production of the American favourite really ramped up when the Goelitz Confectionery Company, now known as Jelly Belly Candy Company, began manufacturing candy corn in 1898. The Goelitz family not only helped solidify candy corn as a Halloween staple, but also spread the reach of the sweets across the Midwest and beyond. As production techniques evolved, candy corn became even easier and less costly to manufacture, enabling it to further solidify its place in American candy culture.

A Halloween Staple

It was not until after the Second World War, well after Goelitz had attached the company name to the treat in 1908, that candy corn came to be regarded as a Halloween staple. When trick-or-treating emerged as a rite of passage in the 1950s, the attainment of a new generation of candy buyers, it became the more or less perfect Halloween handout. It came individually wrapped and its colours – a silent homage to the harvest – fit in with the creeping spiders, dismembered bats and black-hatted jack-o'-lanterns printed on the relic plastic, then later cellophane, bags.

Evolution and Variations

As tastes and holidays shifted, new varieties of flavours and colours took candy corn from fall and Halloween to Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, and every seasonal event. The original sweet, buttery flavours graduated to chocolatey-coated and cinnamon puffs, and even to pumpkin spice. But beneath the new flavours and colours, it remained candy corn.

Cultural Impact

From this low beginning, candy corn has since fulfilled its own American myth – one of nostalgia and tradition by being transformed into a nostalgic symbol of fall and Halloween more generally, inspiring everything from candles and decorations to Flavoured beverages and baked goods. Still, despite its polarising nature, candy corn continues to make up a sizable portion of the seasonal candy market, with millions of pounds produced and consumed each year in the US alone.