The Enduring Popularity Of Candy Bars & Where It All Began

Halloween is less about the ghouls and ghosts nowadays, and more about who’s going to get the biggest haul of candy on their trick-or-treating expedition!

Whatever your age, and whatever you choose to dress up as, it’s always fun to go out in your local neighborhood during Halloween and beg folks for candy bars and whatever else they’re prepared to give you! While as a parent, you might wish your kids came home with some healthier treats (such as fruit or even some cash!), you know that it’s the one night of the year when everyone gets to indulge in their favorite top 10 candy bars, guilt-free!

But what of the history of the candy bar?

The introduction of chocolate as a food stuff in 1847

You may not know it, but historians reckon that the humble (but delicious!) candy bar has its origins in the UK in 1847, when Joseph Fry and his son first combined cocoa powder and sugar to create a bar of chocolate. Before this sweet creation, chocolate had been used primarily in sweet drinks, but people quickly began to enjoy the convenience of a bar of chocolate that they could simply pick up and chomp on, and started to view it as more of a food stuff, than a mere liquid.

John Cadbury’s chocolate candy bars 

Just a couple of years later, the chocolate bar was rebranded by John Cadbury, and over time, both Fry and Cadbury decided to combine their passion for candy, and become joint producers of chocolate confectionary.

Made from bittersweet chocolate, the candy bars of yesteryear bore no resemblance in taste to the sugary offerings of today, until Henry Nestle and Daniel Peter got involved, that is.

A new age of chocolate

Henry Nestle and Daniel Peter decided to experiment with traditional, bitter chocolate in 1875, almost 30 years after Joseph Fry and his son’s chocolate bar creation, by adding milk to the mixture. This made it taste much smoother and creamier, and of course, it was sweeter, too.

Chocolate in the U.S.

During and after World War I, candy bars made from chocolate grew in popularity in the U.S., and during the war, the government there decided to produce candy bars for overseas troops engaged in battle, and bought huge quantities of the brown nectar. Those soldiers who grew fond of chocolate candy bars while fighting overseas, returned and introduced their friends and families to them, which quickly led to an upsurge in their popularity. It was then just a matter of time before candy bars of all descriptions began to feature in stores around the country (and some other parts of the world), with some having exotic ingredients such as nougat, cherries and nuts.

Fast forward to today, and consumers of candy are spoilt for choice, with the option of indulging in classic top candy bars, or opting for more luxurious, bespoke creations designed for more discerning palates.

While nobody seems to be able to put an exact figure on it, experts estimate that there have been literally thousands and thousands of candy bars developed and produced during the last century. Candy that has remained popular to this day includes Kit Kat, Milky Way, Snickers, Mars and Hershey bars, and while it might not be a healthy treat, it sure is an enjoyable one!