How did candy (nostalgic candy included) get from Easter being the most sacred holiday of the Christian year, to it being the second highest top selling candy holiday of the year? This is not compared to being second to Valentines Day, but to Halloween candy sales.  Interesting.

It goes back to the pagan belief that eggs produced fertility and re-birth.  By the 1800’s, Christians had adopted the symbol of the egg as part of the Easter festivities, representing the resurrection or re-birth of Christ following His crucifixion.

During this time, chocolatiers were trying to determine how best to market their wares.  Hot Cross Buns were the favorite of the poor in European countries, and chocolate makers wished to find their way into the hearts of the high-class society.  Germany and France were the first to introduce the solid chocolate Easter Egg.  It spread quickly throughout Europe and it did not take long for this chocolate lovers’ delight to spread to the Western World.

These eggs were, at first solid.  The chocolate’s texture was much different than it is today, therefore, much more difficult to work with.  Once machines came into play, it was easier, and more beneficial for the companies, to hollow out the egg.

By the 1960’s, the Easter Egg was well established.  From there, it was just a matter of time before they created the chocolate Easter bunny, birds and other assorted spring and Easter symbols.   Currently, the numbers for sales of Easter bunnies alone have reached ninety million per year!

Feel free to browse our website for more information on nostalgic candy.  Contact us when you are ready to purchase.

Here are some interesting facts about some of the most popular nostalgic candy. The nostalgic candy I’m speaking of goes all the way back to the 1800’s.  Our Nostalgic Candy company also offers bulk candy.

Snickers Candy Bar, created by the Mars Co. in 1929, was named after the family’s horse.

Whatchyamacallit Candy Bar, created by Hersheys, claimed it had a name and taste that was hard to forget

Milky Way – There are two versions of this candy bar.  One is the American version, the other is the European version.  This one is similar to the 3 Musketeer Bar

Boston Baked Beans-This is not because it comes from Boston.  The name is a generic terminology used throughout the candy industry meaning, “sugar coated peanuts”

Jujube- Is actually an edible fruit that grows in the tropics.  This has nothing to do with the actual candy, however.

Abba Zabba – These candies are, in fact, considered Kosher to the Jewish Religion

Mary Jane – Named, not for the drug.  It is a type of shoe.

Pop Rocks – They pop in your mouth when small pockets of CO2 are released

Bit O’ Honey – Unique (for it’s time) in that it is six pieces of candy wrapped together in wax paper,

then packaged in the wrapper

Our website carries over 40 types of nostalgic candies, feel free to browse. Contact us when you are ready to place your order.

Nostalgic candy and cars.  What a great combination!  Looking at the history of what is now known as nostalgic candy, and comparing it to the history of automobiles was rather interesting.  Enjoy what I have put together on the history of candy and cars.  Oh, and feel free to browse our website for all of your nostalgic candy needs!

Although certain things such as the Oldsmobile, electric motors, brakes and Ford were rolling on the automobile end; and companies such as Whitmans, Hersheys and Wrigleys were creating chocolate confections, I chose to start my timeline in the year 1913.  This was the first year that I found they both were simultaneously “on the move”, shall I say?

1913 =

Goo Goo Clusters, made in the deep South, is the first candy bar to have a combination of  milk chocolate, caramel, marshmallow, and peanuts

Ford Motor Company develops the first moving assembly line.  This allowed Ford to drop their prices so the masses could afford it.

 (With the dropped prices, they could afford to by Goo Goo Clusters…)

1926 =

Milk Duds are introduced

First power steering system is introduced

(thereby making eating candy and driving a lot safer….)

1931 =

Tootsie Roll Pops are introduced.  Hard on the outside, soft on the inside

First modern independent front suspension system introduced by Mercedes-Benz.  This made it so that you had a smoother ride

(meaning you didn’t hit so many bumps, so it was harder to choke on the candy)

See how well they work together?

Contact us for all your nostalgic candy, and bulk candy needs

Looking for nostalgic candy?  Bulk candy?  Information on either?  You can find it here at Nostalgic Candy’s  website. We have included old TV adverstisements, nostalgic information, and other things for your enjoyment. Feel free to peruse!  Going back in history, nostalgic candy is about 75 years older than the advent of bulk candy. 

The very first bulk candy (which really isn’t a candy at all, but was considered the first “nostalgic candy” to be utilized) was, in fact, a legume.  A peanut!  Peanuts are also considered nostalgic, if you are taking age into consideration.

Peanuts originally came to us from South America (Brazil, to be more exact).  They were introduced to us in the 1800’s. During the Civil War, peanuts were a mainstay for soldiers on both sides of the Magna Carta.

 In the 1890’s, George Washington Carver started pushing the peanut product as a way to subsidize, or even replace the cotton crops, which had been destroyed by the Boll Weevil.  

Peanut Butter came about as a way to allow people with poor teeth to be able to enjoy the nutty taste of this particular legume.  In more recent years, more than half of  American peanut crops are sold to companies specializing in this  creamy (or crunchy) delight.

Contact us for your nostalgic candy sweet tooth needs

Although nostalgic candy has been around since the late 1800’s or so, bulk candy did not come along until much later.  In fact, bulk candy has only been around about 75 years as opposed to nostalgic candy, which has been around for closer to 150 years.

Bulk candy was first found in F.A. Witterns  “Peanut Penny Dispenser”. He first placed it in a local bar. His company, Hawkeye Novelty, was innovative in several areas.  First of all, with the bulk candy dispenser, every ninth “vend” would result in a bell ringing, meaning the person inserting the penny would win a free portion of peanuts!

Vending machines, dispensing bulk candy and nostalgic candy has come a long way since then. In the late 1930’s, the design was changed to be able to dispense larger like jaw breakers and gumballs. They also went from being small enough to sit on a countertop, to being self supporting.

Today, you can see bulk candy machines in malls, children’s play areas, restaurants, gas stations, and probably bars, as well. They have become quite the nostalgic item, still dispensing that old bulk candy that we all love and remember so well.

Our company offers both bulk candy and nostalgic candy.  We are also in a unique position to be able to offer you bubble gum,  or vending machines, as the need arises. 

Valentines Day brings thoughts of bouquets of flowers, special dinners and candy.  Chocolate candy is nostalgic candy to say the least.  Which is the more nostalgic candy, white, milk, or dark chocolate?

White chocolate is produced with sugar, milk solids, and cocoa butter. It was created in 1956 by Mars Inc.  By law, since 2004, white chocolate can only be labeled as such if it contains 20% cocoa butter and 14% milk solids.

Milk chocolate, on the other hand, is produced mainly from the seeds of the tropical cacao tree.  This nostalgic candy’s earliest recorded use is by the Mayans circa 1100 B.C. in South America. It contains 10% cocoa butter and 12% milk solids.

We also have dark chocolate.  What is the difference between milk and dark? Where milk chocolate contains 10% cocoa butter and 12% milk solids, and white chocolate contains 20% and 14% respectively, dark chocolate contains the usual 12% milk solids, but a huge amount (35%) of cocoa butter. 

Which is the most popular nostalgic candy? It may come as a surprise. One survey of ten women from Baby University breaks it down like this:

The third most popular is actually a tie between white and milk with two votes each.  The most popular is dark with a vote of three. There was one person allergic to all chocolates and two women that do not like it in any form.

Whichever is your favorite, nostalgic candy never misses.  Our online candy store is a sure bet for finding your favorite bulk candy.

Wholesale retailers can order reduced case pricing.  Call toll free at 888-BOX-5060

Jim Hiigel

www.nostalgic-candy.net

In different parts of the world, people do not just send cards, purchase boxes of chocolate, nostalgic candy, or partake in a fancy, romantic dinner.  There are many other ways to celebrate (one of which is, of course, purchasing nostalgic candy, which is quite romantic in itself.).

People in Europe bake valentine buns with caraway seeds, plums, or raisins. People in Italy hold a Valentine’s Day feast.

In Britain and Italy, some unmarried women get up before sunrise on Valentine’s Day. They stand by the window watching for a man to pass. They believe that the first man they see will be the person they marry!

In Denmark, people send pressed white flowers called “Snowdrops” to their
friends. Danish men also send a type of valentine called a “gaekkebrev”. This is a letter where the sender writes a rhyme but does not sign his name. Instead, he signs the valentine with dots, one dot for each letter of his name. The woman has to guess who the sender was!

Although views on how Valentines Day originated vary, most authorities  trace Valentine’s Day back to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia. The ancient Romans held the festival of Lupercalia on February 15 to ensure protection from wolves. During this celebration, young men struck people with strips of animal hide. Women took the blows because they thought that the whipping made them more fertile.

Thank you, but no thank you on that one.  I will take a box of nostalgic candy any day!

Wholesale retailers can order reduced case pricing.  Call toll free at 888-BOX-5060

Jim Hiigel

www.nostalgic-candy.net

When you think of nostalgic candy, you cannot help but think “NECCO”.  It has been around since 1847.  They are a staple in what we view as nostalgic candy.  They have several types of candy still available, such as Clark Bar, Sky Bar, Buttons and Wafers.

Have you considered the history of Necco’s valentine hearts?  These sweet little “I love you”s have been around for more than a century.  This company is so grounded in our history that Necco started out creating candy by hand.  Thus, that is the origin of these classic candies.  Valentine hearts are quite old; with legend stating that the tradition of handing out these candied messages of “I love you” dates all the way back to the Civil War.

They have certainly come a long way since then.  In 1902, Necco began making their Valentine’s Hearts in a factory.  They have many different sayings now (in fact they have manufactured over one hundred different sayings).  What are some of the favorites? They include “kiss me”, “sweet talk”, and “be mine”. 

They do change the mottos, and some have been discontinued because they have become outdated.  For example, “Dig me” is now an antiquated saying, though very popular to the 1960’s generation.  They also have to be careful of offensive or distasteful language, which is why they discontinued “You are gay”.

Feel free to browse our website and enjoy the retro-advertisements.  We have over 40 types of nostalgic candies to offer you, and in retro-style packaging, too.

Wholesale retailers can order reduced case pricing.  Call toll free at 888-BOX-5060

Jim Hiigel

www.nostalgic-candy.net