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 A circular pattie with a soft mint center coated in dark chocolate. | |
| Product type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Owner | The Hershey Company |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1940 |
| Related brands | York Miniatures |
| Markets | United States United Kingdom |
| Tagline | Get The York Sensation Get The Sensation |
| Website | hersheyland.com/york |
York Peppermint Pattie is an American dark chocolate enrobed peppermint confection introduced in 1940 and currently produced by the Hershey Company.
About 1920, Henry Kessler founded the York Cone Company Corporation on South Pine Street in York, Pennsylvania. [1] The company originally sold ice cream cones and waffles before Kessler wanted to make a chocolate and mint themed candy. [2] Although news articles commonly have it that the York Peppermint Pattie was first produced in York, Pennsylvania by Henry Kessler at his York Cone Company in 1940, [3] a trademark application for “York Peppermint Pattie Mint (Candy)” filed by York Cone Company Corporation on February 10, 1949, shows a first use in commerce date of January 28, 1922, soon after the founding of the company. The trademark registration number 0564557 was awarded on September 30, 1952. [4]
Although chocolate-covered peppermints already existed before the York Peppermint Pattie came on the market, the York differed in that it was firmer and crisp, while the competition was softer and gooier. A former employee and York resident, Phil Kollin, remembered the final test that sample patties went through before leaving the factory: "It was a snap test. If the candy didn't break clean in the middle, it was a second." [5]
The business expanded sales beyond the local market and without consumer advertising the York Peppermint Pattie was being sold in the Northeast, parts of the Midwest and in Florida. [6]
On August 22, 1966, Charles M. Schulz introduced a character named Peppermint Patty to the Peanuts comic strip. [7]
In 1972, the York Cone Company was acquired by Peter Paul, [8] who then launched the York Peppermint Patties nationally in 1975.
Peter Paul then merged with Cadbury for $27.50 per share, a total of $58 million in 1978. [9]
In August 1988, Hershey acquired the US confectionery operations of Cadbury Schweppes which included the Almond Joy, Mounds and York Peppermint Pattie business. The purchase price was $284.5 million plus assumption of $30 million in debt and it included licensing arrangements for Almond Joy, Mounds, York Peppermint Pattie, as well as certain Cadbury brands in the US market. [10]
In 2009, after 23 years in the Reading plant, production of the York Peppermint Pattie moved from Reading, Pennsylvania, to Mexico. [11]
During the 1970s, Peter Paul launched a memorable advertising campaign for the candy with the tagline "Get the Sensation" which continues to be used into the present day. A TV commercial in 1979 included the “Get The Sensation” theme. [12]
In the fall of 1982, Peter Paul launched an advertising campaign using an “I Love New York” theme to promote adding 10% more chocolate to the candy. [13]
National Peppermint Patty Day is celebrated each year on February 11. [14]
In the confectionery industry, enrobing is a process that involves covering a confection or snack with chocolate or chocolate coatings. [15] The York Peppermint Pattie confection features strongly contrasting flavors, with a bittersweet dark chocolate surrounding a sugary center with a strong peppermint flavor.
Over time there have been a number of product variations such as the following:
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections. The occupation of confectioner encompasses the categories of cooking performed by both the French patissier and the confiseur.
Candy corn is a small, pyramid-shaped candy, typically divided into three sections of different colors, with a waxy texture and a flavor based on honey, sugar, butter, and vanilla. It is a staple candy of the fall season and Halloween in North America.
Caramilk is a brand name used for two distinct chocolate bar products made by Cadbury. Both were introduced in 1968. The Canadian version of Caramilk is a milk chocolate bar filled with caramel. In Australia the Caramilk brand is used for a caramel-flavoured white chocolate bar.
The Heath bar is a candy bar made of toffee, almonds, and milk chocolate, first manufactured by the Heath Brothers Confectionery in 1928. The Heath bar has been manufactured and distributed by Hershey since its acquisition of the Leaf International North American confectionery operations late in 1996.
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 more than $2 billion in annual sales.
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Fannie May Confection Brands, Inc. is an American chocolate manufacturer headquartered in Chicago and currently owned by multinational company Ferrero SpA. Fannie May manufactures a broad variety of products including enrobed, barks, caramels, squares, berries, twist wrapped, molded, flow wrapped, and boxed chocolates. Fannie May produces various candies without gluten, milk, honey, oil(s), wheat, and/or eggs for those with the relevant allergies. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America certified many of Fannie May's products to be kosher.
Terry's is a British chocolate and confectionery brand. The original company was founded in 1767 in York, England, and was part of the city's famous confectionery triumvirate along with Rowntree's and Cravens. The company's headquarters and factory, Terry's Chocolate Works, was closed by Kraft in 2005 and production moved to Kraft factories in Europe. The business returned to the UK in 2019 as Terry's Chocolate Co located in London. Their best known products include Terry's Chocolate Orange and Terry's All Gold box of assorted chocolates which were both introduced in the 1930s.
Mint chocolate is a popular type of chocolate, made by adding a mint flavoring, such as peppermint, spearmint, or crème de menthe, to chocolate. Mint chocolate can be found in a wide variety of confectionery items, such as candy, mints, cookies, mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot chocolate, and others. In addition, it is marketed in a non-edible format as cosmetics. Depending widely on the ingredients and the process used, mint chocolate can give off a very distinctive mint fragrance. The chocolate component can be milk chocolate, regular dark chocolate, or white chocolate; due to this, mint chocolate has no one specific flavor, and so each chocolate-plus-flavor combination can be unique.
The National Confectioners Association is an American trade organization that promotes chocolate, candy, gum and mints, and the companies that make these treats. NCA lobbies the American government in favor of the confectionery industry, evaluated at US$35 billion. Confections are produced in all 50 states. The association "annually hosts the National Candy Show in Chicago, as well as the Candy Hall of Fame". As of 2024, the Sweets and Snacks Expo will take place in Indianapolis.
Kendal Mint Cake is a sugar-based confection flavoured with peppermint. It originates from Kendal in Cumbria, England. Kendal Mint Cake is popular among climbers and mountaineers, especially those from the United Kingdom, as a source of energy.
The Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company is a candy-making division within the Hershey Company.
Pearson's Candy Company is an American chocolate and confectionery manufacturer headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded as a confectionery distribution firm in 1909, the company began to manufacture its own products in 1912. Originally a family-owned company, Pearson's experienced changes in ownership, acquisitions and product alterations in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, before its most recent sale in November 2018 to Spell Capital, a Minneapolis private equity firm.
The Warrell Corporation is a confectionery and snack food manufacturing company based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
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