Why We Love To Hate Candy Corn
As fall descends upon us, the conversations inevitably turn towards all things pumpkin spice and our love-hate relationship with candy corn. A trip through your local grocery store soon reveals isles upon isles of the orange and white treats and in a variety of packaging all aimed at getting you to try them one more time. As kids, most of us gobbled them up and even attempted to use them as vampire teeth, but soon moved on to tastier things, like a box of crayons. With all the haters showing their disdain for the iconic treat it is surprising to hear that the National Confectioners Association states that candy corn is second only to chocolate when it comes to America’s favorite Halloween treats. So what is it about these tri-colored, triangle-shaped sugary treats that are so polarizing and have created such heated debates among young and old alike?
While little concrete information is given about how candy corn got it start the popular theory is that in 1880 an employee of the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia, named George Renninger, is the man responsible. At that time around half of America’s labor force was comprised of farmers and candy companies molded candy shaped like pumpkins, turnips, and chestnuts to children in farm country all across our land. While the Wunderle Candy Company became the first confectioner to market and sell the product, its popularity remained stagnant until the Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly Candy) got their hands on it and began marketing it as “Chicken Feed”. Since the sweet genetically modified hybrid corn varieties we have come to love today were not invented at the turn of the 20th-century, the public was stuck with corn that was rather coarse and not very pleasing to the palate. Creating a tasty treat shaped like corn kernels for America’s farm kids turned out to be a brilliant marketing ploy and packaging featured a rooster with the tag line “Something worth crowing for — Geolitz Butter Sweet Candy Corn”. Perhaps the idea for a hybrid corn that was sweet and pleasant to eat came after seeing kids stuff their gullets with the candy version. Stranger things have happened.
As the popularity of Halloween grew, the marketing geniuses at candy companies seized the opportunity and created a major shift that saw Halloween become associated with giving out candy. In early October of each year, the arrival of fall harvest was signaled by the appearance of candy corn on store shelves. Today over 35 million pounds of the sweet treat is consumed every year, and October 30 has been designated National Candy Corn Day.
So how does one of America’s most beloved Halloween treats also become one of its most hated? In a recent survey from CandyStore.com, candy corn was hands down the least favorite sweet treat with circus peanuts coming in a distant second. When it comes to our treats the taste matters but texture, and just the general feel of it in your mouth all play an important role. Considering some candy corn is made with a variety of ingredients including gelatin, egg whites, modified soy protein or carnauba wax, it wouldn’t surprise me that some people would hate the feel of it in their mouths.
While we are on the subject of ingredients we need to talk about the fact that candy corn contains a dye known as Yellow 5. While Red 3 is known to cause cancer and gets most of the attention, Yellow 5 has been linked by the CSPI to hyperactivity in children. As if your toddler’s sugar high wasn’t spooky enough, researchers have concluded that there is enough evidence to link artificial colors to children’s behavior.
Regardless of which side of the candy corn debate you make your stand on, the popularity of this candy doesn’t seem like it will be waning any time soon. With new varieties now showing up at Christmas as well as Valentine’s day, it would appear we are just going to have to accept its popularity and move on. Have a funny story about candy corn or a reason to hate the sugary tooth decaying snack I would love to hear about it. Happy Halloween.
