The Goo Goo Cluster is an American candy bar created in 1912 by Howell Campbell and the Standard Candy Company in Nashville, Tennessee. [1] The disk-shaped candy bar contains marshmallow nougat, caramel, and roasted peanuts covered in milk chocolate. Variations include Goo Goo Supreme (pecans replace the peanuts) which was renamed the Pecan in 2019, and Peanut Butter Goo Goo (peanut butter replaces marshmallow nougat and caramel).
Goo Goo Cluster is considered the first combination candy bar, meaning it contained several types of candy rather than an all-chocolate bar. [2]
The name is thought to refer to the sound a baby makes. The company uses the phrase, "So good, they'll ask for it from birth," in retelling the Goo Goo story. [1]
Originally, the candy was sold, unpackaged, from glass jars only in the factory's local area. [2] At the time of the Goo Goo Cluster's invention, there was no automated packaging machinery, so packaging required costly hand work. As a result, packaging was unusual unless the candy (like caramels) required wrapping to keep pieces separate. During the 1920s, after increased public attention to hygiene, the company began wrapping it, and it was sold all over the United States. [2]
The candy was sold at the Grand Ole Opry (GOO), which was established in 1925, 13 years after the candy's debut. However, Standard Candy (with particular emphasis on the Goo Goo Cluster) was a long-time sponsor of the program. [3] [4]
During the 1920s and 1930s, the company advertised Goo Goo Clusters as "a nourishing lunch for a nickel". [2] At this time, the primary nutritional concern was caloric undernourishment, especially for working-class people, and high-calorie candies were promoted as valuable and inexpensive sources of food energy. [2]
Goo Goo Clusters were given out as parting gifts on the children's television variety show Wonderama during the 1970s.[ citation needed ]
A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some varieties of English and food labeling standards, the term chocolate bar is reserved for bars of solid chocolate, with candy bar used for products with additional ingredients.
Twix is a caramel shortbread biscuit bar made by Mars, Inc., consisting of a biscuit applied with other confectionery toppings and coatings. Twix are packaged with one, two, or four bars in a wrapper.
The Curtiss Candy Company was an American confectionery brand and a former company based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1916 by Otto Schnering near Chicago, Illinois. Wanting a more "American-sounding" name, Schnering named his company using his mother's maiden name.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are an American candy by the Hershey Company consisting of a peanut butter filling encased in chocolate. They were created on November 15, 1928, by H. B. Reese, a former dairy farmer and shipping foreman for Milton S. Hershey. Reese was let go from his job with Hershey when the Round Barn which he managed was shut down for cost-saving measures. He subsequently decided to start his own candy business. Reese's are a top-selling candy brand worldwide, with $3.1 billion in annual sales.
Reese's Take 5 is a candy bar that was released by The Hershey Company in December 2004. The original name of the candy bar was TAKE5 but common usage among consumers added a space. In June 2019, when the candy bar became part of the Reese's family, the name was officially changed to Reese's Take 5.
Picnic is a brand of chocolate bar consisting of milk chocolate and peanuts, covering chewy nougat, caramel, biscuit and puffed rice. Picnic bars are lumpy in shape. It is sold in Australia, parts of Canada, New Zealand, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, India, Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa, Germany and the United Kingdom. The UK, German, Irish and Indian versions differ from the Australasian version in that they also contain raisins.
Sky Bar is an American candy bar introduced by Necco in 1938, discontinued in 2018, and reintroduced in 2019 by the Sky Bar Confectionary Company. Each Sky Bar has four sections, each with a different filling—caramel, vanilla, peanut, and fudge—all covered in milk chocolate.
PayDay is a brand of a candy bar first introduced in 1932 by the Hollywood Candy Company. The original PayDay candy bar consists of salted peanuts rolled over a nougat-like sweet caramel center. Since 1996, classic PayDay candy bars without chocolate have been continually produced by The Hershey Company. In 2020, Hershey's released a "Chocolatey PayDay bar" as a permanent part of the PayDay product line; it is identical to the regular bar, but covered by a layer of chocolate candy.
Hershey's Snack Barz is the name of a brand of candy bar produced, marketed, and sold by The Hershey Company.
Boyer Candy Company is an American candy company located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The factory is located in the downtown district. Boyer Candy is privately owned by Consolidated Brands, which is owned by the Forgione family.
Crunchy Nut is a breakfast cereal made by Kellogg's with flakes of corn, honey, three types of sugar, and chopped peanuts. The product was created by Kellogg's employees at their Trafford Park factory in Greater Manchester and first introduced in 1980.
Salted Nut Roll is a candy bar made by the Pearson's Candy Company of Saint Paul, Minnesota and is available in the Midwestern United States.
The Weaver Popcorn Company, based in Van Buren, Indiana, is one of the largest popcorn companies in the United States.
The Hollywood Candy Company, or Hollywood Brands, was an American confectionery company formed in Hollywood, Carver County, Minnesota, in 1912 by Frank Martoccio.
Bun Bars are a line of candy bars manufactured by Pearson's Candy Company of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and available in the United States. Despite the name, Bun Bars are not bars at all, but actually round and flat, containing a disc made of maple or vanilla-flavored crème, or caramel, coated in milk chocolate and topped with a roasted peanut-chocolate cluster.
Crunch is a chocolate bar made of milk chocolate and crisped rice. It is produced globally by Nestlé with the exception of the United States, where it is produced under license by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero.
A candy bar is a type of candy that is in the shape of a bar. The most common type of candy bar is the chocolate bar, including both bars made of solid chocolate and combination candy bars, which are candy bars that combine chocolate with other ingredients, such as nuts, caramel, nougat, or wafers.