Candy Bars

Guide Note

Candy bars are nearly always covered in chocolate with a variable sugar filling, though the original Hershey's Chocolate Bar is composed solely of chocolate, with no fillings.

Candy bars emerged in the late nineteenth century as a method of neatly packaging and selling chocolate in a solid form. In the modern era, Mars, Incorporated, Nestle and Hershey's dominate the candy bar marketplace.

Fast Facts

1. Bestselling candy bar: Snickers
2. 1894: First chocolate bar
3. 1910: First pre-wrapped chocolate bar, sold by the Ganong Brothers in Canada
4. Original price: 10 cents
5. Henry Nestle invented milk chocolate
6. Nuts and caramel became popular fillings in the early 20th century
7. Chicago is considered the home of the candy bar industry

During the first world war, the United States Army asked American chocolate manufacturers to package chocolate into large blocks to be shipped and easily distributed among the troops. According to the National Confectioners Association, the manufacturers started splitting up the chocolate slabs into smaller portions, which U.S. soldiers enjoyed and requested upon returning from war. In this way, the candy bar industry was created by popular demand.