Lemonhead (candy)

Last updated
Lemonhead
Lemonhead candy.jpg
Lemonhead candy
TypeCandy
Place of originUnited States
Created byFerrara Candy Company
Invented1962;62 years ago (1962)
VariationsGrapeheads, Cherryheads, Appleheads, Orangeheads

Lemonhead is an American brand of candy that was first introduced in 1962, produced by the Ferrara Candy Company. Lemonheads are a round, lemon-flavored candy consisting of a sweet coating, soft sour shell, and a hard candy core. Other popular flavors are Grapeheads, Cherryheads and Appleheads. [1]

Contents

Inspiration for the Lemonhead name came from Salvatore Ferrara seeing his grandson, Salvatore II, the third generation, after delivery. Salvatore II was a forceps baby and he noted that his new grandson's head was lemon-shaped. [2] The candy was born out of the same cold panned process as the company's Red Hots in 1962. In this process, layer after layer of sugar and flavors are added until the candy reaches the desired shape and size. [3] They are most commonly sold in their standard 1 centimeter size, but they are also produced in a single-sale 3 cm version. Lemonhead candies are gluten and fat-free. [4] Ferrara now makes 500 million Lemonheads per year. [5]

Some time between the 1980s and late 1990s, Ferrara Pan brought all of their fruit-flavored candies under a consistent naming convention: Lemonheads, Grapeheads (formerly Alexander the Grape), Cherryheads (formerly Cherry Chan/Cherry Clan) and Appleheads (formerly Johnny Apple Treats).

Other candies under the brand

Commercial success

Lemonhead candies have been commercially successful since their inception. Lemonheads and other sour candy can also be attributed an increase in growth in non-chocolate confectioners’ sales as opposed to chocolate companies’ sales in the 2015 fiscal year. CEO of Ferrara Candy, Todd Siwak, said, “We are seeing a desire in Millennials for cherry gummy candy, especially with sour, sweet, and intense flavors”. [6]

Advertisements

Being the product of a Chicago company, Ferrara Pan was a prominent sponsor of The Bozo Show on WGN-TV (along with its national superstation feed), with Lemonhead specifically promoted, and a gift package of various Ferrara Pan candies often being given as a close-bucket prize during the "Grand Prize Game".

In the 1980s, Lemonhead candy advertisements were mostly centered around sports. The commercials followed a similar pattern and featured a children's sports team; the player who made a mistake would be labeled the "lemonhead". [4] In the 2010s, Lemonhead candy commercials featured athletes as well as the Lemonhead mascot. The mascot was pictured alongside popular athletes scoring in games or otherwise achieving athletic success. [4] In 2014, the company rebranded the mascot to feature a more mature figure as the face of Lemonhead candies.

The Sugar Estate at Breckenridge

Lemonheads and other Ferrara candies served as the inspiration for Alana Ferrara's recently opened Sugar Estate at Breckenridge. The Estate is a luxury cabin decorated with Ferrara candies, including Lemonheads. Artist Andy Thomas painted 20 Lemonhead candies across the cabin to inspire guests to find them all. [7]

Controversy

2014 rebrand

In 2014 it was reported that Lemonhead candies were undergoing a rebrand that included updated packaging and a new mascot. While the company's marketing department said the mascot would be losing his little boy image, the mascot came under heavy scrutiny for supposedly appearing “creepy” and for lacking appropriate social media savvy. [8] The public largely agreed and the new mascot became the subject of ridicule across popular social media platforms.[ citation needed ]

Lawsuit

Ferrara Candy Company came under fire in 2017 because of their Lemonheads due to the opaque packaging. A lawsuit was filed claiming that customers had been deceived into believing there was more product in the boxes than there actually were, due to the packaging. The Ferrara Candy Company settled for $2.5 million with the plaintiff and agreed to provide a cash payment for those who were impacted and to modify the quality control procedure. [9]

Health uses

Lemonheads are sometimes recommended by pregnant women and parenting bloggers for the relief of nausea commonly caused by morning sickness during pregnancy. [10] Those undergoing chemotherapy are also sometimes advised to suck on Lemonheads or other sour lemon candies, as these promote salivation. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gummy bear</span> Fruit gum candy

Gummy bears are small, fruit gum candies, similar to a jelly baby in some English-speaking countries. The candy is roughly 2 cm (0.8 in) long and shaped in the form of a bear. The gummy bear is one of many gummies, popular gelatin-based candies sold in a variety of shapes and colors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Runts</span> Fruit-shaped candy

Runts are crunchy candies sold by Ferrara Candy Company. First seen on the market in 1982, the candies are in the shape, color, and flavor of a selection of fruits. Runts have a hard candy shell with a compressed dextrose center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerds (candy)</span> American confection launched in 1983

Nerds is an American candy launched in 1983 by the Sunmark Corporation under the brand name Willy Wonka Candy Company. Nerds are now made by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero Group. but is still distributed internationally by Nestlé. With their anthropomorphic covers, Nerds usually contain two flavors per box, each flavor having a separate compartment and opening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starburst (candy)</span> Chewy fruit-flavored candy/sweet

Starburst is the brand name of a box-shaped, fruit-flavoured soft taffy candy manufactured by The Wrigley Company, which is a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Starburst has many different varieties, such as Tropical, Sour, FaveREDs, Watermelon, Very Berry, Superfruit, Summer Blast and Original.

Wonka was a confectionery brand owned and licensed by the Swiss corporation Nestlé. In 2018, the branding and production rights were sold to the Ferrero Group, and as a result, the brand was discontinued. The brand later got revived as promotion for Wonka (film).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fun Dip</span> Candy brand

Fun Dip is a candy manufactured by the Ferrara Candy Company. The candy has been on the market in the United States and Canada since the 1940s and was originally called Lik-M-Aid. It was originally manufactured by Fruzola, and then Sunline Inc., through their Sunmark Brands division. It was purchased by Nestlé in January 1989. Fun Dip was sold to Ferrara Candy company in 2018 along with other Wonka Candy Brands. It comes in many different flavors with candy sticks that are included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jolly Rancher</span> American brand of confectionery

Jolly Rancher is an American brand of sweet hard candy, gummies, jelly beans, lollipops, sour bites, and a line of soda put out by Elizabeth Beverage Company in 2004. Originally created in Colorado in the 1950s, the Jolly Rancher brand has been owned by The Hershey Company since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jujyfruits</span> Kind of candy

Jujyfruits are a chewy, gumdrop-like starch-based candy, manufactured by Heide Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrara Candy Company. Johnny fruits began production in 1920. They were popular in movie houses along with Heide's other gummy candy, Jujubes.

Laffy Taffy is an American brand of taffy candies produced by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero. The candies are small, individually wrapped taffy rectangles available in a variety of colors and fruit flavors, including banana, strawberry, green apple, grape, blueberry, watermelon, blue raspberry, and cherry. Rarer flavors include caramel apple, coconut, strawberries & cream, apple crisp, chocolate mousse, pumpkin donut, pineapple, guava, orange sorbet, and lemon raspberry. Discontinued flavors include fruit punch, mango, strawberry banana, peppermint, and hot cocoa.

Tart 'n' Tinys are small, fruit-flavored candies distributed by Leaf Brands. Tart 'n' Tiny's were originally manufactured by the Wonka company in five colors, bluish-purple (grape), yellow (lemon), orange (orange), red (cherry), and green (lime). In 2015 when they were reintroduced, they added a new color, light blue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SweeTarts</span> Sweet and sour candies

SweeTarts are sweet and sour candies invented under the direction of Menlo F. Smith, CEO of Sunline Inc., in 1962. The candy was created using the same small basic recipe as the already popular Pixy Stix and Lik-M-Aid products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spree (candy)</span> Fruit-flavored candy made since the 1960s

Spree is a candy manufactured by The Willy Wonka Candy Company, a brand owned by the Ferrara Candy Company unit of Ferrero SpA. Spree was created by the Sunline Candy Company, later renamed Sunmark Corporation, of St. Louis, Mo., in the mid-1960s. Spree was an idea of an employee named John Scout. In the 1970s the brand was bought by Nestlé, which markets the candy under the Willy Wonka brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Now and Later</span> American brand of candy

Now and Later is an American brand of fruit-flavored taffy-like candy manufactured by Ferrara Candy Company. The candy is formed into squares packaged in colorful paper. Twelve flavors are currently available in both Traditional and Chewy varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruit Stripe</span> Brand of chewing gum

Fruit Stripe was an artificially and naturally flavored fruit chewing gum produced by Beech-Nut in 1960 and discontinued in 2024. The individual pieces of gum were striped and were packaged in zebra-striped wrappers, which also acted as temporary tattoos.

The Ferrara Candy Company is an American candy manufacturer, based in Chicago, Illinois, and owned by the Ferrero Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tootsie Pop</span> American candy

A Tootsie Pop is a hard candy lollipop filled with a chocolate-flavored chewy Tootsie Roll candy. They were invented in 1931 by an employee of The Sweets Company of America. Tootsie Rolls had themselves been invented in 1896 by Leo Hirschfield. The company changed its name to Tootsie Roll Industries in 1969. The candy made its debut in 1931 and since then various flavors have been introduced. The idea came to be when a man who worked at The Sweets Company of America licked his daughter's lollipop at the same time he was chewing his Tootsie Roll. He loved the idea and pitched it to everyone at the next snack ideas meeting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farley's & Sathers Candy Company</span> Umbrella candy company

Farley's & Sathers Candy Company was created as an umbrella company to roll up many small companies, brands and products under a common management team. The confectionery business segment is made up of many small companies, often with intertwined relationships and histories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heide Candy Company</span> Subsidiary of the Ferrara Candy Company

Heide Candy Company is a subsidiary of candy manufacturer Ferrara Candy Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warheads (candy)</span> American sour candy brand

Warheads is a brand of sour or tart candy manufactured by Impact Confections, located in Janesville, Wisconsin. They are marketed as an 'extreme' candy with an intense sour flavor. They have proven to be very popular, especially with young children; in 1999, Warheads were referred to as a "$40 million brand" (USD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crunch (chocolate bar)</span> Chocolate bar

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.

References

  1. ↑ "Lemonhead Website". Archived from the original on 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2006-09-20.
  2. ↑ O’Donnell, Maureen. "Ferrara Candy boss Sal Ferrara, Lemonheads inspiration, dies". Chicagotribune.com. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  3. ↑ “Lemonhead Candy.” Accessed January 29, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 “LemonHead — Snack History.” Accessed January 29, 2020.
  5. ↑ "How Lemon Heads are made". www.ferrarapan.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2005-11-12.
  6. ↑ Nieburg, Oliver (20 November 2015). "Ferrara Candy CEO: Millennials create 'paradox' where candy outdoes chocolate". confectionerynews.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  7. ↑ Paynter, Sarah (29 December 2019). "Ferrara Candy descendant opens Colorado candy dream house". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  8. ↑ Lutz, Ashley. "If You Thought The New McDonald's Happy Meal Logo Was Terrifying, Check Out The New Lemonhead". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  9. ↑ Yu, Douglas (2 August 2018). "Ferrara Candy pays $2.5m to settle slack-fill class action lawsuit". confectionerynews.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  10. ↑ Darby, Samantha (10 December 2015). "9 Morning Sickness Remedies So You Can Finally Eat Food Again". Romper. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  11. ↑ "Toxic Waste Candy Is So Loaded With Citric Acid, You're Advised To Brush Afterwards So You Don't Hurt Your Teeth". South Florida Reporter. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.