Heath bar facts for kids
A toffee candy bar with almonds covered in milk chocolate.
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| Type | Toffee candy bar |
|---|---|
| Inventor | L. S. Heath Leaf, Inc. |
| Inception | 1914 |
| Manufacturer | The Hershey Company |
| Available | Available |
| Current supplier | The Hershey Company |
| Website | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 168: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
The Heath bar is a yummy candy bar made with toffee, almonds, and milk chocolate. It was first made by the Heath Brothers Confectionery in 1928. Today, Hershey makes and sells the Heath bar. Hershey bought the company that made Heath bars in 1996.
Contents
The Sweet History of Heath Bars
How the Heath Bar Started
In 1913, a school teacher named L. S. Heath bought a confectionery shop in Robinson, Illinois. He thought it would be a good business for his sons, Bayard and Everett. In 1914, the brothers opened their own candy store. It was also an ice cream parlor and a place where they made candy.
Their business did well. Their father, L. S. Heath, became interested in making ice cream too. He opened a small dairy factory in 1915. His sons kept working on their candy business. They found a special toffee recipe from a traveling salesman. In 1928, they started selling this toffee candy locally. They called it "Heath English Toffee" and said it was "America's Finest."
Candy and Milk Delivery
In 1931, Bayard and Everett's father convinced them to sell their candy shop. They moved their candy-making tools to his dairy factory. This was a smart idea! The Heath family started putting their candy on the order forms for their dairy trucks. This meant customers could order Heath bars to be delivered right to their homes with milk and cottage cheese.
Early ads for Heath bars even said they were good for your health! They talked about using the best milk chocolate, almonds, butter, and pure sugar. One ad even had the motto "Heath for better health!"
Growing Popularity and Big Orders
The Heath bar became very popular across the country during the Great Depression. Even though it was small (about 1 ounce) and cost 5 cents (which was a lot for a candy bar back then), people loved it.
In 1942, the U.S. Army ordered a huge amount of Heath bars. They wanted $175,000 worth of candy to give to soldiers. This big order helped the family buy new machines for their factory. After that, they could make the candy on a much larger scale.
After the war, the Heath bar became even more popular. In 1946, L.S. Heath, his four sons, two daughters, and grandchildren started a company called L.S. Heath & Sons, Inc. Making the candy was still very much a family effort. In the 1950s, they created the Heath Toffee Ice Cream Bar. By 1955, their factory could make about 69,000 candy bar centers at once! Their wrapping machines could wrap 1,600 candy bars every minute.
Changes in Ownership
In 1989, the L.S. Heath & Sons business was sold to a company called Leaf, Inc.. Then, in 1996, The Hershey Company bought Leaf, Inc.'s candy businesses in North America. This included popular brands like Heath, Jolly Rancher, Milk Duds, Payday, Whoppers, and Twizzlers.
Before buying Heath, Hershey had already made a similar candy bar called the Skor bar in 1981. Even today, Hershey makes both the Heath bar and the Skor bar, even though they are very much alike!
What's in a Heath Bar?
The Heath bar is a thin, hard slab covered in milk chocolate. The original toffee inside had sugar, butter, and almonds. It was a small, square bar that weighed about 1 ounce (28 grams).
After Hershey bought the Heath bar, they made it a bit longer to be more like other candy bars. Now, it weighs about 1.4 ounces (40 grams). The ingredients today include milk chocolate, sugar, vegetable oil, dairy butter, almonds, salt, and soy lecithin. The wrapper is still a classic brown color and says "Finest Quality English Toffee."
Heath Bars in Other Treats
Since 1973, when a place called Steve's Ice Cream started mixing Heath bars into their ice cream, the candy bar has become a popular ingredient in many other desserts.
You can find Heath bars in lots of different treats today! For example, Archway Cookies makes a Heath Cookie. There are also Heath Bar Klondike bars and a Heath Bar Shake at Baskin-Robbins. Dairy Queen has a Heath Bar Blizzard. You can also find Heath bar flavored ice cream.
Even though the original company and now Hershey sell Heath bars already crushed, many places still prefer to crush the candy bars by hand. They say the pre-crushed pieces are "too small and too dusty."
Similar Candies from Other Companies
In the 1950s, a company called Marabou in Sweden wanted to make the Heath bar under a special agreement, but they weren't allowed to. So, Marabou got inspired by the Heath bar and created their own candy called the Daim bar. The Daim bar is now sold in many countries around the world!
