The beginnings of the candy bar can be traced back to 1847, when Joseph Fry created the first proper chocolate bar. Soon after, other candy and chocolate manufacturers, including Cadbury, developed their own versions. In the following decades, several familiar names in the chocolate industry, such almond joy chocolate Henri Nestlé, developed processes and ingredients that would revolutionize how candy bars were made.
Most of the world’s most iconic candy bars were created in the late 19th and early 20th century. Nearly all of the candy bars on this list are still popular today and are sold around the world. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup are probably the most well-loved and iconic candy bars in America. Peanut Butter Cups were created in 1922 by H. Reese and today the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is classically American.
Reese, who had 16 children, worked several jobs to support his family. In 1917, he began working on a dairy farm owned by Milton Hershey. Reese worked on the farm for many years and eventually started working in the chocolate factory. He was so inspired by Milton Hershey, that he started making his own chocolates. In 1928, Reese began selling peanut butter filled chocolates he called peanut butter cups. In the early 1960s, The Hershey Company acquired Reese’s company, along with the peanut butter cups. 2 billion in annual sales for The Hershey Company.
While this story is widely told, a more believable theory says that the bar was named after Tom Henry, the candy’s original inventor, who sold the original recipe to the Williamson Company in 1920. For several decades, the Oh Henry! Nestlé sold the rights to Oh Henry! In 2018 to Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero SpA, which discontinued the candy bar in 2019 without notice. Canada, where the candy bar is manufactured by the Hershey Company. The Canadian version of Oh Henry! American version and features one bar with the fudge in the center, the fudge surrounded with a thin layer of caramel, and the nuts surrounding that layer before it is surrounded in the coating.