TUESDAY TRIVIA: How Did Candy Corn Get Associated With Halloween?
Candy corn is usually associated with Halloween, but it didn’t start out that way.
Sources say candy corn was introduced in the 1880s and was invented by George Renninger, an employee at Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia. At the time, according to History.com, farmers made up about half of the American labor force, and companies marketed agriculture-themed candies to children in farm country all year round.
In 1898, the Goelitz Candy Company—now the Jelly Belly Candy Company—picked up the recipe and started marketing the kernels as a candy called “Chicken Feed.”
How did candy corn get associated with Halloween?
As Halloween became more and more dominated by candy beginning in the 1950s, candy corn increasingly became the candy for Halloween. One source says that because producing candy was a slow, labor-intensive process, candy corn and other sugary treats were only manufactured from May to November, making the timing of the candy corn harvest before it ended tie it to Halloween. Another sources noted that there was a dramatic spike in October advertising of candy corn beginning in the 1950s.
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