The Food That Built America Recap for A Box of Chocolates

 

This week’s episode of The Food That Built America is titled A Box of Chocolates and talks about how some of the biggest candy companies came to fruition.

-Chocolate is a 23-billion-dollar industry with over two billion pounds being consumed each year.

-In the 1800s, it was considered to be a luxury product….and then in the 1850s a young man named Stephen Whitman in Philadelphia bought candied nuts and dried fruits for his store. The sailor selling it offered him some chocolates to sample….giving him the platform to sell what we now know as Whitman’s Chocolates…..once he can make it an affordable treat.

-He would start off by selling bonbons and other chocolate covered snacks. This would continue until his death in 1888, when his son Horace took over the business, along with Walter Sharp. They agreed that quality would be key and were determined to make it a nationwide business.

-However, they needed to find a way to keep the chocolate from spoiling, much like Hershey was doing. The companies were in competition with one another, with Hershey taking the lead.

-In order to reach more people, Walter suggests that they collaborate with drugstores so more people would buy them. Horace doesn’t think this is a good idea but agrees to let him try it out.

-Once they find a way to store the chocolates, they work on deciding what flavors to sell. The only issue is allowing people to know what they were going to get.

-Meanwhile, in Omaha Nebraska, anther company is working on the very same kind of candy….Russell and Clara Stover.

-Walter sees a bunch of sewing patterns and decides to make his own version with the chocolates to identify each one so they knew what they were eating. Whitman’s Sampler is officially born…..as is its signature needlepoint motif-ed box. The boxes go on sale in 1912 and become the top chocolates in the country….and their top selling product.

-Russell and Clara get wind of this and want in on the competition….but first come out with something else we will all know and love….ice cream bars, thanks to a man named Christian Nelson, who is determined to get them on the market.  The three of them work together in order to make these new treats.

-In New Haven, Connecticut, another confections company is making candy under the name Peter Paul. They are in danger of going under and are determined to find a way to get their candies on the market.

-They call get together and try to find something that people will like as much as Hershey’s and Whitman’s. After a lot of trial and error, they invent what we now know as the Mounds bar.

-In 1921, the Mounds bar was sold for five cents. This led to more candy makers to make similar confections to get a leg up in the competition.

-Walter, for his part, offers a money back guarantee if customers were not satisfied.

-The Stovers finally realize that the addition of coconut butter can help make their ice cream bars work the way they want. Say hello to the Eskimo Pie which sold like hot cakes.

-Many people began jumping on the bandwagon, making room for Good Humor and Klondike bars. This caused Eskimo pies to fall from grace. The Stovers find a legal way to keep their product, but end up bleeding money, until they are offered 3 million for a share in the business. However, Russell turns this offer down because he didn’t want anyone to have this same issue.

-Russell is determined to succeed and sell their shares to Christian. They relocate to Denver and begin working on candies once again. They follow a similar model to Whitman’s, but make them by hand. The business is initially called Mrs. Stover’s Bungalow Candy and is a fast success. They sell candy by the piece, by the pound and in boxes. They even have a mobile bungalow to help with sales and before long have several stores selling their candies.

-Whitman’s wants to stay ahead of the competition so he comes up with the idea of selling the candy in heart shaped boxes for Valentine’s Day.

-Not to be outdone, Russell and Clara try to keep up….but are blindsided with the Great Depression.

-Meanwhile, Peter Paul are having massive success with Mounds and begin making it in a factory. They also make other flavors, but none of them catch on like Mounds, causing the fear of going under. They decide to discontinue all the candies other than Mounds and try to come up with a plan to keep the company running.

-They decide to sell two Mounds bars for five cents and get back in the game. This leads to other candies such as Reese’s and Kit Kat to do the same thing so people would get more bang for their buck.

-Before long, another twist is added….milk chocolate with almonds…..leading to the invention of Almond Joy.

-Back in Denver, Russell uses his skills from the Eskimo Pie to make the candies last longer. They also sell their candies in a round tin, complete with the candy map we all know and love. They also change the name to Russell Stover…..and offer 82 flavors.

-Russell Stover soon takes over the competition.

-In 1993, Whitman’s and Russell Stover would merge.  These candies would be referenced in one of the most iconic movies of all time….Forrest Gump.

-These candies are now worth billions.