Some New England-born confections are well known to the point of icon status (think Boston Cream Pie or Necco Wafers), but others, for whatever reason, have grown —like kids that went away to college and never came back home — to the point where they’ve lost much of their original New England affiliation. Oneprime example (two, in fact) is the sweet sibling duo of Mounds and Almond Joy.
Did you know that both bars come from Connecticut?Mounds and Almond Joy have been a part of theHershey’s familysince 1988, but before that, they (along with the York Peppermint Patty) were part of the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company. Founded by a group that included namesake Peter Paul Halajian in New Haven in 1919, the company went on to have decades of sweet success from its plant in Naugatuck (including merging with Cadbury in 1978) before being sold to Hershey’s.Peter Paul debuted Mounds, adark chocolate-covered coconut candy bar, in 1921 (named “Mounds” for its shape), and Almond Joy in 1946, after WWII had ended andaccess to rationed sugar and coconut was restored. Almond Joyused the same coconut center as Mounds, but with whole almonds pressed into the top and with a coating of milk chocolate instead of dark. Here, we’re showing the mini “snack size” versions, but bothcome in a regular size bar, too.
The candies share similar packaging and usually appear together in ads, most notably in the famous 1970s (and 80s, and 90s…) campaign that included thejingle, “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t / Almond Joy’s got nuts / Mounds don’t.” If it wasn’t in your head already by this point, then we suspect it probably will be now…
Even with the sale to Hershey’s in the late 80s, the Peter Paul plant in Naugatuck remainedoperational until Hershey’s announced in 2007 that it would be closing, with all Mounds and Almond Joy production moved to Virginia.The plant closed later that year and the factory was torn downin 2011.Both Mounds and Almond Joy may have found nationwide success that has taken them beyond their original New England roots, but that’s no reason not to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of the Peter Paul Company and thebars’ status as classic New England-born treats, is it? And what better way to celebrate thanwith something sweet?Whichbrings us to our final question…when the craving for coconut hits, do you find yourself feeling more like a nut…or not? We’d love to know.
Aimee Tucker is Yankee Magazine’s Home Editor and the Senior Digital Editor of NewEngland.com. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
Which Came First? MOUNDS Candy was created by Peter Halajian in 1920, while ALMOND JOY Candy made its debut in 1946. Both coconutty confections joined The Hershey Company as licensed products in 1988.
When Almond Joy was first introduced in 1946, it sold for 10 cents a bar. The candy, which includes coconut and almonds, is significantly more popular than Hershey's similar chocolate bar, Mounds, which does not appear at all in the 20 most popular chocolate brands.
Launched in 1866—nineteen years after Fry's created the first moulded, solid chocolate eating bar (in 1847)— Fry's Chocolate Cream is the first mass-produced chocolate bar and is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand.
So how did PEZ become an iconic cultural phenomenon? And why has the company called Connecticut home for more than 50 years? This is a history of the famous candy. PEZ's humble origins began with the ingenuity of Eduard Haas III, born in Vienna, Austria, 1897.
The MOUNDS Candy Bar story starts in 1919 when Peter Halajian sold his homemade sweets door-to-door. During WWII, a shortage of coconut and sugar caused Peter to discontinue other products to focus on MOUNDS Candy Bars. MOUNDS and ALMOND JOY Candy Bars joined The Hershey Company family in 1988.
Snickers was introduced by Mars in 1930 and named after the Mars family's favorite horse. Initially marketed as "Marathon" in the UK and Ireland, its name was changed to Snickers in 1990 to align with the global brand, differentiating it from an unrelated US product also named Marathon.
Almond Joy has to have almonds in it or it couldn't be called Almond Joy. If you want it without almonds, get Mounds that just has chocolate and coconut. They're both made by the same company.
Almond Joy is a candy bar manufactured by The Hershey Company, consisting of sweetened, shredded coconut topped with whole almonds and covered in chocolate. The company also produces Mounds bars, a similar confection with coconut instead of nuts, coated in dark chocolate.
The Almond Joy bar was introduced in 1946 as a replacement for the Dreams Bar, which was introduced in 1934, consisting of diced almonds and coconut covered with dark chocolate.
When was the MOUNDS Bar invented? The MOUNDS Bar, featuring sweet coconut covered in dark chocolate, was first produced by Peter Paul, Inc. in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1920.
Back in the old days, Almond Joy and Mounds were 2 pieces. 2 almonds per piece. In the recent past, that became 1 almond per piece… Mounds hasn't changed much, whatever the size of Almond Joy is the size of Mounds.
Initially running the small operation as a side business while he worked in Naugatuck's rubber factories, Paul founded the company that introduced the wildly popular Mounds bar in 1921 and Almond Joy bar in 1946, helping make it one of the most successful candy manufacturers of the 20th century.
Introduction: My name is Edwin Metz, I am a fair, energetic, helpful, brave, outstanding, nice, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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