Ceara MilliganUpdated: Apr. 24, 2023
Get ready to feel like a kid in a candy store! Let's take a sweet stroll down Memory Lane to find everyone's favorite old-fashioned candy brands.
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Good & Plenty
Good & Plenty is believed to be the oldest candy brand in the USA. The pink-and-white capsule-shaped chewy licorice was first produced in 1893 in Philadelphia. It’s still found at concession stands everywhere, which makes Good & Plenty a treat that can be enjoyed by candy lovers of all ages. Look for the most popular candy from any year.
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Goo Goo Clusters
Goo Goo Clusters are a one-of-a-kind candy bar made with a medley of caramel, roasted peanuts and marshmallow nougat covered in milk chocolate. The candy has been made in Nashville since 1912and was the first candy bar that had more than one main ingredient.
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Lemonhead
Pucker up! These sour, lemon-flavored bites have been made by Ferrara Candy Company since ’62. People who love Lemonheads know the candy has a soft sour shell and a hard candy core. (Not a lemon fan? Look for Grapeheads, Cherryheads and Appleheads instead.)
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PEZ
I’m not sure what’s more fun—the small size and brick-like shape of PEZ candy, the sweet flavors or the collectible dispensers. The candy came from Vienna, Austria in 1927, and in the beginning, the only flavor was peppermint. The brand name PEZ is actually an abbreviation of “PfeffErminZ,” the German word for peppermint.
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Charleston Chew
Named after the popular dance craze of the “Roaring Twenties,” Charleston Chew candy bars are made from nougat coated in rich milk chocolate. True fans of the Charleston Chew bar know that it’s even more delicious and fun to eat when frozen!
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Chick-O-Stick
Lovingly made with sweet and salty peanut butter and toasted coconut, the famously flaky Chick-O-Stick bars can be found in many candy shops, and perhaps, your Grandma’s candy jar. Check out the other vintage candy Grandma and Grandpa always had.
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Bit-O-Honey
The honey-infused taffy infused with almond bits and egg whites makes this candy extra chewy, long-lasting and delicious. Making its debut on candy store shelves in 1924 in Chicago, it stood out among other brands with its yellow wax paper wrapping.
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Candy Buttons
Rounded beads of sugar attached to strips of paper? It sounds a bit weird to the kids, but we know candy buttons are so much fun to eat. For those who have never experienced the pure joy of peeling off the candy dots—it’s worth a shot.
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Bulls-Eyes
Caramel Creams, more popularly known as Bulls-Eyes, hit the target when it comes to creating a tasty flavor combination. Made by Goetze’s Candy Company in Baltimore, Maryland for over a century, a Bulls-Eye is a chunk of sweet vanilla cream hugged by savory, chewy caramel.
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Mary Jane
A simple yet luscious combination of peanut butter and molasses, Mary Janes have been beloved across generations for over 100 years. Charles Miller invented the chewy treat in 1914, naming his sweet creation after his Aunt Mary Jane. Since the candy’s early days, its distinct yellow wrapper has featured the same illustration of a young girl wearing “Mary Jane”-style shoes.
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Bottlecaps
You might remember when Bottlecaps debuted in the ’70s. The bottlecap-shaped candy comes in iconic soda flavors like cola, root beer, grape, orange and cherry. Some even claim that the candy gives off an effervescent, fizzy sensation when it’s chewed, almost like drinking pop from a bottle.
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3-Layer Coconut Slices
These timeless melt-in-your-mouth coconut bars pay tribute to the Neopolitan flavors: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. There’s really no wrong way to enjoy the slice of heavenly goodness. You can savor one flavor at a time or combine all three at once, whatever your makes taste buds go (coco)nutty is perfectly acceptable!
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Razzles
“First it’s a candy, then it’s a gum! Little round Razzles are so much fun!” As the candy brand’s jingle proclaims, Razzles are coin-shaped candies that, when chewed, magically transform into a delicious gum. The candy was popular in the ’60s and ’70s, but the 2004 film 13 Going on 30 revived the popularity of this two-in-one confection.
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Circus Peanuts
Love ’em or hate ’em, circus peanuts have truly stood the test of time. Invented in the 1800s, commonly known as the “penny candy days,” the banana-flavored, orange-colored, spongey-textured marshmallow treat has remained a classic candy favorite. Look through all the vintage food brands that are older than you think.
Note: Every product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links,wemay earn an affiliate commission.
Originally Published: December 04, 2018
Ceara “Kiwi” Milligan is a professional marketing strategist and copywriter who is proud to call Milwaukee home. She loves baking, cooking, writing, listening to music, dancing, playing and hosting trivia, watching college basketball (Go Marquette!), telling lame jokes, and petting every dog that crosses her path.
