Clark Bar facts for kids
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A Clark Bar, broken in half.
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| Type | Candy bar |
|---|---|
| Owner | Boyer |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1917 |
| Related brands | Zagnut |
| Markets | North America |
| Previous owners |
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The Clark Bar is a popular candy bar. It has a crunchy peanut butter and taffy center. This center is covered in delicious milk chocolate. It first came out in 1917. The Clark Bar was very popular during and after both World Wars. It was the first "combination" candy bar in America to become famous everywhere. Other similar candy bars, like the Butterfinger bar (1923) and the 5th Avenue bar (1936), came out later.
The Clark Bar was first made in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The original family business made it until 1955. After that, different companies owned and made it. In the 1990s, after some sales and company problems, production moved to Revere, Massachusetts. This was at the New England Confectionery Company (Necco). Necco went out of business in 2018. Now, the Clark Bar is made back in western Pennsylvania. The Boyer Candy Company in Altoona makes it today.
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The Clark Bar's Sweet History
The idea for the Clark Bar came from David L. Clark. He was an Irish immigrant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He created the candy bar in 1917. At that time, a new way to make candy was developed. This allowed a thin chocolate shell to go around a non-chocolate filling. For the Clark Bar, the inside was a crispy candy with ground peanuts. It also had a caramel center at first. This made the Clark Bar the first successful "combination" candy bar.
A Treat for Troops
The Clark Bar was first made to send to soldiers during World War I. Each bar was wrapped separately, making it easy to send. After the war, it started to be sold all over the country. This inspired many other candy makers to create their own combination bars. The Clark Bar's small, double-bar size also made it popular. During World War II, the company sent 1.5 million bars to the armed forces every day. When strikes at the factory caused shortages, the government stepped in. They said making Clark Bars was "essential" for the war effort.
Different Clark Bar Treats
Over the years, other Clark Bar products were made. These included smaller Clark Bar Miniatures, Clark Bar Bites, and Clark Bar Juniors. There were also special Clark Bar Easter Eggs. A version with dark chocolate was also available.
The original Clark Bar had a caramel center. In 1965, the recipe changed to add more peanut butter. This made the flavor even better. The caramel center was removed in the 1980s. This helped the bar stay fresh longer. A different recipe was used for a short time in 1995.
Who Owned the Clark Bar?
The Clark company made the Clark Bar in a factory in North Side, Pittsburgh, for many years. A large, lit-up Clark Bar sign on the factory roof became a famous Pittsburgh landmark. Today, a restaurant in that building is even called the Clark Bar & Grill.
The D. L. Clark Co. and its Clark Bar were bought by Beatrice Foods in 1955. Then, Leaf Candy Company bought them in 1983. Leaf moved the production to a new factory in O'Hara Township in 1986. In late 1990, Leaf decided to close the O'Hara factory. They moved production of other Clark candy bars, like the Zagnut, to Chicago. Leaf also decided to stop making the Clark Bar. They felt their marketing had not made it popular enough across the country.
A businessman from Pittsburgh, Michael Carlow, then bought the D. L. Clark Co. and its brands from Leaf. He combined it with other local companies. He continued making the Clark Bar in O'Hara. However, Carlow faced legal issues and had to give up control in 1995. Production stopped. Leaf then took back the company because they were still owed money. They started making Clark Bars in their Illinois factory with a new recipe.
Months later, the Clark Bar's assets were sold to a new company called Clark Bar America, Inc. They started making the bars again in the O'Hara factory, using the old recipe. But this did not last long, and the company closed in 1999. Necco bought the recipe and equipment for $4.1 million. They moved production to their factory in Revere, Massachusetts.
Almost 20 years later, Necco also faced problems. In May 2018, it was sold. The new owners briefly ran the company. Then, in July 2018, they sold the assets again and suddenly closed Necco's factory. The buyer was later revealed to be Spangler Candy Company. Spangler then sold the rights to the Clark Bar to the Boyer Candy Company. Boyer is known for making the Mallo Cup. Boyer, based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, had actually tried to buy the Clark Bar back in the 1990s.
When Boyer bought the Clark Bar, they planned to start making it in western Pennsylvania within six months. They faced challenges with the machines and making the bar just right. These issues delayed the reintroduction. But it did lead to Boyer's first Clark-related product, the Clark Cup. This was a peanut butter cup that used pieces of misshapen Clark Bars in its filling. Once Boyer fixed the production problems, the Clark Bar was available at their factory store in late December 2019. It was then released in some stores in the Pittsburgh area in mid-February 2020. The plan was to sell it nationwide later. As of December 2021, production was still limited. It was mainly sold in specialty candy stores in the Pittsburgh area.
The Clark Bar has a historical connection to the military. Because of this, it is the favorite snack of the main character in the Amazon Prime Video TV series, Reacher.
How Clark Bars Are Made
Making a Clark Bar takes about 90 minutes. First, the main ingredients are heated until they become like taffy. This mixture is then flattened into a thin sheet. A layer of peanut butter is spread on top, and then it's rolled up. After being cut into bar-sized pieces, each piece is covered in liquid chocolate. The bars are then cooled to make the core and chocolate hard. Finally, they are packaged. The process of making the Clark Bar was shown on the TV show How It's Made in 2016.
The ingredients in a Clark Bar are: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate Liquor, Milk Powder, Butter Oil, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract), Corn Syrup, Sugar, Peanuts, Molasses, Corn Flour, Invert Sugar, Salt, Coconut Oil, Vanilla Extract, and Soy Lecithin.
See also
