Necco Wafers are a sugar-based candy, sold in rolls of variously flavored thin disks. First produced in 1847, they became the namesake and core product of the now-defunct New England Confectionery Company (

Necco Necco (or NECCO ) was an American manufacturer of candy created in 1901 as the New England Confectionery Company through the merger of several small confectionery companies located in the Greater Boston area, with ancestral companies dating b ...

), which operated near Boston, Massachusetts. Production of the candy was suspended in July 2018 when Necco went into bankruptcy, but returned in May 2020 after purchase of the brand and production equipment by the

Spangler Candy Company The Spangler Candy Company is a privately owned international confectioner that has been manufacturing and marketing candy since 1906. Headquartered in Bryan, Ohio, Spangler's products include lollipops, candy canes, and marshmallow circus peanut ...

. Each roll of Necco Wafers contains eight flavors:

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

(yellow),

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

(green),

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

(orange),

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...

(purple),

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

(white),

wintergreen Wintergreen is a group of aromatic plants. The term "wintergreen" once commonly referred to plants that remain green (continue photosynthesis) throughout the winter. The term "evergreen" is now more commonly used for this characteristic. Mos ...

(pink),

licorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liq ...

(black), and

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

(brown). The ingredients in Necco Wafers are

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to softe ...

gelatin Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...

, gums, colorings and flavorings.

History

Necco Wafers date back to 1847. Oliver Chase, an English immigrant, invented a

lozenge Lozenge or losange may refer to: * Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus *Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments *Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...

cutting machine with which he produced the wafers. At the time of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, these were called "hub wafers" and were carried by Union soldiers. In 1901, Chase and Company merged with two other companies to incorporate the New England Confectionery Company (

). By 1912, the wafers were being advertised as "Necco Wafers", a name they have carried since. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

ordered Necco to produce its wafers for soldiers overseas. As a result of this action, Necco saw its sales of the wafers peak. Upon returning home, many former soldiers became faithful customers who continued to buy the wafers. The Necco company was acquired several times, first in 1963, and most recently in 2018. In 2018, the future of Necco Wafers was unclear after the Necco company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Round Hill Investments purchased the company out of bankruptcy for $17.3 million in May 2018, but then abruptly ended operations at Necco on July 24, 2018, citing "sanitation issues" it claimed it was previously unaware of. Round Hill sold off various Necco lines to other candy companies. Necco Wafers (which retains the Necco name and logo), Sweethearts, and

Canada Mints Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

, as well as the equipment used to manufacture them, were sold to the

Bryan, Ohio Bryan is a city in, and the county seat of, Williams County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the state's northwestern corner, southwest of Toledo. The population was 8,729 at the 2020 census. History Bryan was platted in 1840 by John ...

. In September 2018, Spangler announced plans to return the Necco Wafer to the market, initially giving a target date of November 2019. In May 2020, Spangler said that Necco Wafers were back in production at a facility in Mexico and ready for release.

Changes in formula

In 2009, Necco changed the formula for its Necco Wafers. Artificial colors and flavors were eliminated. The candy was made softer through the addition of

glycerine Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...

. The lime flavor was removed due to difficulties in creating an all-natural green coloring, resulting in a 7-flavor Necco Wafer roll. According to Jackie Hague, Necco's vice president of marketing, switching to all-natural flavors and colors "would draw young mothers concerned about their children's diet." According to Corby Kummer of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' the new cinnamon flavor was "less like

Red Hots The Ferrara Candy Company is an American candy manufacturer, based in Chicago, Illinois, and owned by the Ferrero Group. The company was formed from a 2012 merger of the Illinois-based Ferrara Pan Candy Company and Minnesota-based Farley's & S ...

" and the new lemon, "less like paper candy dots and more like

lemon meringue pie Lemon meringue pie is a dessert pie consisting of a shortened pastry base filled with lemon curd and topped with meringue. History Fruit desserts covered with baked meringue were found beginning in the 18th century in France. Menon's ''pomme ...

filling." The chocolate flavor—previously a

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

flavor "with a hint of chocolate flavoring"—switches to a more intense all-

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

flavor. In addition, the Necco Chocolate assortment changed from 100% of the standard Necco chocolate wafers into a four-flavor chocolate assortment. However, the change was not as popular with long-time customers as anticipated. The company received “some complaints about the new formulations.” In response to these concerns, Necco Wafer production switched back to the original formula in the summer of 2011. In 2020, Spangler posted a statement on their website regarding a slight change in the formula. Seven of the eight flavored wafers retained the original formula except for the chocolate wafer which they stated: "True Necco Wafers connoisseurs may detect a richer cocoa flavor in the chocolate wafers due to a minor improvement made in the cooking process."

Other varieties

Tropical Necco Wafers launched in 2012, offering a new assortment of tropical fruity flavors: mango, passion fruit, coconut, banana, lime, and strawberry. Chocolate Necco Wafers are a single-flavor roll composed completely of the Chocolate wafers. Necco Sour Wafers are in a roll of six tart flavors: Watermelon, Wildberry Grape, Sour Apple, Lemon, Extreme Tangerine, and Blue Raspberry. As of June 2018, they were not shown on Necco's varieties website, but could still be found in some stores. Candy cane flavored rolls are rare and were sold during the holiday season.

Gallery

File:Necco wafer ad-trolley trips thru new england-1916 p13.png, 1916 Advertisement — "Nine Flavors, Separate or Assorted." File:Necco Wafers - Multi-flavor roll.jpg, Standard roll of assorted flavor Necco Wafers File:Necco factory water tower.jpg, The water tower of the Necco facility on

Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, painted in 1996 to resemble a roll of Necco Wafers. File:NECCO Memorial Sculpture.jpg, Necco Wafer Memorial Sculpture,1998, cast bronze, located in

University Park at MIT University Park at MIT is a mixed-use urban renewal project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, occupying land near Central Square between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus and the primarily residential neighborhood o ...

near the former Necco factory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

References

External links