How candy corn became synonymous with Halloween by Georgina Gustin on Oct 31, 2015, 11:48 AM Advertisement
 Like Peeps to Easter and Sweethearts to Valentine’s Day, candy corn is to Halloween. Suddenly everywhere, the sugary conical nuggets are a major reason the confection industry is poised to sell $2.6 billion worth of candy over the coming days. The waxy, tricolor sweets first became popular in the late 1890s when the Goelitz candy company, based in southern Illinois farm country, marketed them as “butter sweet candy corn.” With a rooster on the box, fans also dubbed it “chicken feed.” 
At first candy corn wasn’t Halloween-specific. But because of its corn shape, association with the fall harvest and autumnal colors, consumers tended to gravitate toward it at that time of year. Then in the 1950s, manufacturers were feeling spendy— perhaps thanks to the lifting of sugar rations after the World War II — so they began advertising them heavily pre-Halloween, prompting revelers to adopt them as Halloween candy. 
Feelings about candy corn are wildly polarized. They’re a love-or-hate treat. Some aficionados claim they’re better stale. Haters shudder regardless of their maturity. Most candy corn consists of the traditional white-orange-yellow trifecta, with each color, some fans insist, having subtly different, buttery flavors. But the industry has tried to woo non-purists with other varieties, including new introductions this year — Peanut Butter Cup and Caramel Macchiato — that, like their progenitor, taste nothing whatsoever like corn. SEE ALSO: I started going to McDonald's instead of Starbucks for my coffee — here's why
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