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The Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company is a candy-making division within
the Hershey Company The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
.


History

Peter Paul was founded in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, in 1919 by six
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n immigrants led by Peter Paul Halajian, with a manufacturing plant in nearby
Naugatuck, Connecticut Naugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, which ...
.Peter Paul's Path to Sweet Success
Connecticut Explored.
The company's first product was the Konabar, consisting of chocolate-covered coconut, nuts, and fruit, which was fairly successful. In 1920, they purchased the rights to Knight's Knifty Knibbles, owned by Anita Grace Knight of
Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."
, and in 1921, introduced the renamed Mounds candy bar, which featured white sweetened coconut and dark chocolate. Despite constant efforts to automate production and cut costs, the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
threatened the $200 million U.S. candy market, and in 1932, they took a risk, retooling and repackaging Mounds in cellophane rather than tin foil for better sales appeal, and doubling the product's size, making it a twin bar for the same five-cent price. The gamble worked, and within 30 days, sales zoomed. In 1934, the company built a $60,000 addition to the Naugatuck plant and invested still more in new machinery to meet demand, using earnings to pay for expansion without incurring debt. In the same year, the company introduced a new product, the Dreams candy bar, named by students participating in a contest at Naugatuck High School. It consisted of diced almonds and coconut covered with dark chocolate, becoming the forerunner of the Almond Joy bar. In February 1935, after increasing wages by as much as 20%, the company's stock split two for one, becoming a sensational story carried nationally by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
. Bucking the national trend, the company paid stockholders continuous quarterly dividends throughout the Depression. By the late 1930s both Mounds and Dreams were ranked among the five top-selling candy bars in the United States, and Peter Paul had established its reputation “as the company that never knew the Depression”. During World War II sugar and coconut shortages forced the company to abandon the Dreams bar in favor of concentrating on the better selling Mounds. Fortuitously, the Mounds became a hit with the U.S. military, which purchased 5 million bars per month (equivalent to 80% of their production) by 1944 for use in rations. It also sold caramels, and manufactured charcoal gum during the war because it used little sugar. The
Almond Joy Almond Joy is a candy bar manufactured by Hershey's, consisting of sweetened, shredded coconut topped with whole almonds and covered in milk chocolate. The company also produces Mounds bars, a similar confection without nuts, coated in dark ch ...
bar was introduced in 1948, using milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, and adding a double-toasted almond on top, sold in a blue package to differentiate it from the Mounds' red package, becoming an immediate successALMOND JOY candy bar
The Hershey Company, Accessed January 15, 2009.
After successfully advertising on national radio in the 1930s, Peter Paul led the industry in the use of network television advertising in the early 1950s, with the Peter Paul Pixies singing that Mounds and Almond Joys were “Indescribably Delicious”, a slogan coined for a contest in 1955 by Leon Weiss of
Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
, who won $10. The company went on to become the first candy manufacturer to use full-color TV commercials. In 1972, the company introduced a candy bar named for what it did not include rather than what it did, the 15-cent (Peanut Butter with) No Jelly bar, also called the Sidekick bar. In 1977, they changed the name to the 20-cent Peanut Butter Bar. It was discontinued in 1979. Peter Paul acquired the York Cone Company in July 1972, gaining the successful
York Peppermint Pattie York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...
, which had debuted in 1940. In 1978, Peter Paul was acquired for $58 million by
Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...
, becoming the European confectionery's United States operation. In November 1978, ''Peter Paul Cadbury'' closed its Frankfort, Ind., manufacturing plant, and operations moved to Naugatuck.
Hershey Company The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
purchased Peter Paul along with their entire U.S. chocolate business from Cadbury Schweppes for $300 million in 1988.York Peppermint Pattie
, The Hershey Company, Accessed January 15, 2009.
In April 2007, the Hershey Company announced it would close Peter Paul's Naugatuck plant. In November 2007, operations moved to Virginia.


Products

* Konabar * Mounds * Dreams * Almond Joy * (Peanut Butter with) No Jelly * York Peppermint Pattie * Caramello * Caravelle * Power House * Almond Cluster


References

{{Reflist Food and drink companies established in 1919 Companies based in New Haven County, Connecticut Confectionery companies of the United States The Hershey Company 1919 establishments in Connecticut