Candy Corn Facts and Trivia: A Sweet Halloween History
How did candy corn come to be associated with Halloween? We explain!
Candy corn is one of the most polarizing candies in American history. People love it or they refuse to touch it. Either way, the iconic tri-colored kernel has been showing up in Halloween baskets since 1898 and now produces 35 million pounds a year. Here is the story behind it.
Quick Reference
- Invented: 1898 by George Renninger of Wunderle Candy Company, Philadelphia.
- Made of: sugar, corn syrup, salt, marshmallow flavor, vanilla, and yellow, orange, and white food coloring.
- Annual production: 35 million pounds of candy corn made every year.
- Original name: “Chicken Feed,” sold for years as poultry-shape candy when corn was a meal for chickens, not people.
- How long it lasts: 9 months in a sealed bag at room temperature.
- National Candy Corn Day: October 30, the day before Halloween.
A Sweet History
Candy corn was invented in 1898 by George Renninger, a confectioner at the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia. The recipe was sugar, corn syrup, marshmallow, vanilla, and food coloring. The shape and the tri-colored layering (yellow base, orange middle, white tip) was unusual for a candy at the time and immediately memorable.
The original name was “Chicken Feed.” In the late 1800s, corn was a feed crop, not a sweet snack, and Wunderle leaned into the joke by selling the candy in a bag stamped with a rooster and the slogan “Something worth crowing for.” The Goelitz Confectionery Company (now Jelly Belly) picked up production in 1898 and has been making candy corn ever since.
A Halloween Tradition Is Born
For decades, candy corn was a seasonal candy tied to the harvest, not specifically Halloween. The association with October 31 came later, in the mid-20th century, when trick-or-treating became a national American tradition. The candy’s harvest-color palette (yellow, orange, autumn white) made it a natural fit for Halloween baskets, and Goelitz marketed it heavily as a Halloween candy from the 1940s onward. Today candy corn outsells nearly every other Halloween confection for the few weeks before October 31.
How Is Candy Corn Made?
The technique is more than a century old and has barely changed. The candy is made in three layers, each piped in sequence:
- A sugar slurry of sugar, corn syrup, water, and flavoring is heated and colored white, orange, and yellow in separate batches.
- The hot slurry is piped into trays of corn-starch molds. Yellow goes in first (the base), then orange (middle), then white (tip).
- The piped candy cools and sets in the molds for about a day.
- The trays are dumped, the cornstarch is brushed off, and the kernels are polished with a confectioner’s glaze.
Modern production uses automated piping machines that fill thousands of molds per hour. The original Wunderle and Goelitz process used hand piping, with a worker walking the line and dropping each color in turn.
Candy Corn Trivia
1. 35 million pounds of candy corn are produced each year, or about 9 billion individual kernels.
2. A standard handful of candy corn (about 30 kernels) contains about 140 calories and 28 grams of sugar.
3. Candy corn is technically a fondant, not a chocolate or hard candy.
4. The standard tri-color kernel is the most iconic, but candy corn comes in many seasonal variants: pastel (Easter), green and red (Christmas), pink and red (Valentine’s Day).
5. Brach’s is the largest current producer, making about 75 percent of the world’s supply.
6. National Candy Corn Day is October 30, the day before Halloween.
7. The candy has no actual corn in it; the shape is a tribute to a corn kernel, not the ingredient list.
8. A 2013 National Confectioners Association survey found candy corn to be the most divisive candy in America: 18 percent love it, 28 percent hate it, and the rest are neutral.
9. Candy corn has a 9-month shelf life sealed at room temperature.
10. The candy makes regular appearances in baking: candy-corn cookies, candy-corn fudge, candy-corn bark, candy-corn cupcake toppings, and candy-corn ice cream.
Join the Discussion
Love it or loathe it? Tell us in the comments. (We have a strict no-judgment policy. Sort of.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented candy corn?
George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia, in 1898. Goelitz Confectionery (now Jelly Belly) began producing it the same year and has continued for over 125 years.
Why is candy corn shaped like a corn kernel?
Pure marketing. In 1898, corn was animal feed, not a sweet snack, and the candy was originally called “Chicken Feed.” The shape was a joke about the contrast between the candy’s actual sweetness and its humble inspiration.
Is there any corn in candy corn?
Corn syrup is one of the main ingredients, but there is no ground corn or corn flour in the recipe. The shape is purely cosmetic.
How long does candy corn last?
Up to 9 months sealed at room temperature. Once opened, store in an airtight container; humidity makes it sticky and shortens the shelf life.
Why does candy corn taste so sweet?
It is mostly sugar and corn syrup. A standard handful (about 30 kernels) holds 28 grams of sugar.
Amber Kanuckel
Amber Kanuckel is a freelance writer from rural Ohio who loves all things outdoors. She specializes in home, garden, environmental, and green living topics.
- Amber Kanuckel
- Amber Kanuckel
- Amber Kanuckel
- Amber Kanuckel
Love that sweet corn at Halloween time. But how do they separate the 3 colors?
Hi Martin! We’ve updated our article with the answer to your question. Thanks for asking! The three different layers are added one at a time into the mold and the layers don’t blend together because they are each so thick! Please let us know if any other questions come to mind! We appreciate you. Best wishes from FA.
Candy corn and Spanish peanuts is the greatest way to eat candy corn.
The ONLY way in our book! Enjoy!
Where can I find out who won the Candy Corn Contest?
Hi Lynn, The winner was announced in our Newsletter. Be sure to sign up so that you can be a part of our next fun contest: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/newsletter
As well as apple picking, planting the fall garden, ciders, building a scare crow, picking your pumpkin to carve and wearing sweaters!!!!
Reminds me of the simpler days when things like candy corn made Fall special
AFTER 50 YRS OF MARRAGE CANDY CORN MY WIFES FAVORITE
I LOVE CANDY CORN!!!
Candy Corn is addictive! Like it or not, once you start eating itโฆ I happen to like it myself, in its original form, but you can definitely get โtoo muchโ of it if youโre not careful. Happy National Candy Corn Day!
Hi Matt! Thanks for your note! Agree. It’s one of those candies where you have to be paying attention or you can do some serious damage!
I love candy corn and have enjoyed this treat since childhood. I always bite the white tip first to make the kernel last a bit longer.
No comments from me so I don’t expect to be approved. I do enjoy The Farmer’s Almanac Newsletter. Keep it coming.