Life Savers facts for kids

Life Savers are a famous American candy. They are shaped like a ring, just like a life preserver! You can find them in many mint and fruit flavors. They come in special rolls wrapped in paper and aluminum foil.

Clarence Crane, a candy maker from Garrettsville, Ohio, invented Life Savers in 1912. He wanted a candy that wouldn't melt in the summer heat, unlike chocolate. He named them 'Life Savers' because they look like the ring-shaped life preservers used to save people in water.

Crane later sold his Pep-O-Mint candy idea to Edward John Noble for $2,900. Noble was very smart about selling them. He used tin-foil wrappers to keep the mints fresh. In 1913, Noble started the Life Savers and Candy Company. He put Life Savers displays right next to the cash registers in stores. He even told store owners to give customers a nickel in their change. This encouraged people to buy the 5¢ Life Savers. The slogan "Still only 5 cents" made Life Savers a favorite treat for kids. Over the years, many different flavors have been made. The popular "Five Flavor" roll first came out in 1935.

Life Savers became part of bigger companies over time. Today, Mars, Incorporated owns the brand. In recent years, new types of Life Savers have been created. These include Gummi Savers (1992), Life Saver Minis (1996), Creme Savers (1998), and Life Saver Fusions (2001). Some older kinds, like Life Saver Lollipops, are no longer made. In 1995, a Life Savers drink was tried, but it didn't last long.

How Life Savers Began

Life Savers were first made in 1912 by Clarence Crane. He was a candy maker from Garrettsville, Ohio. The year before, he had been making chocolates. But chocolates didn't sell well in summer because they melted easily. Most places didn't have air conditioning back then.

Crane saw a machine that pharmacies used to make round, flat pills. He thought he could use it to make mints. At that time, mints were usually square. The machine could also punch a hole in the middle of the candy. This is how the candy got its famous life preserver shape and its name.

In 1913, Crane sold his Life Savers idea to Edward Noble for $2,900. Noble started his own candy company. He began making and selling the mints, calling them Pep-O-Mint Life Savers. He also started wrapping the mints in rolls of tin foil. This helped keep them fresh. At first, this wrapping was done by hand. But in 1919, Noble's brother, Robert Peckham Noble, invented machines to do it faster.

Robert Noble was an engineer. He helped his brother build the factories needed to make more candy. The main factory was in Port Chester, New York. It even had a Life Savers design built into its walls! Robert led the company for over 40 years before it was sold in the late 1950s.

Growing Flavors and Popularity

By 1919, six more mint flavors were added: Wint-O-Green, Cl-O-Ve, Lic-O-Rice, Cinn-O-Mon, Vi-O-Let, and Choc-O-Late. These were the main flavors for many years. In 1920, a new flavor called Malt-O-Milk was tried. It wasn't very popular and was stopped after a few years. In 1925, the tin foil wrappers were changed to aluminum foil.

Edward Noble was great at selling the candy. He made sure Life Savers were placed right by the cash registers. You could find them in saloons, cigar stores, drug stores, barber shops, and restaurants. They always cost five cents.

In 1921, the company started making solid fruit candies. By 1925, new machines allowed them to put the famous hole in the fruit candies too. These were called "fruit drop with the hole." The first fruit flavors were Orange, Lemon, and Lime. Each came in its own roll. Unlike the white mints, these new candies were clear and shiny. They quickly became very popular.

Soon, four more clear fruit drop flavors were added: anise, butter rum, cola, and root beer. Butter rum is still made today, but the others were not as popular.

In 1931, a Life Savers "Cough Drop" with menthol was introduced, but it didn't do well. Also in 1931, rolls of pineapple and cherry fruit drops came out. People liked them, so a new clear mint called Cryst-O-Mint was made in 1932.

The famous "Five Flavor" rolls arrived in 1935. These rolls had five different flavors: pineapple, lime, orange, cherry, and lemon. This mix stayed the same for almost 70 years! In 2003, some flavors in the U.S. changed to pineapple, cherry, raspberry, watermelon, and blackberry. Later, orange came back, and blackberry was dropped. The original five flavors are still sold in Canada. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, four new mint flavors were added: Molas-O-Mint, Spear-O-Mint, Choc-O-Mint, and Stik-O-Pep.

Life Savers During Wartime and Beyond

During World War II, other candy companies gave their sugar to Life Savers. This helped Life Savers keep making candy. The small candies were sent to soldiers as a sweet reminder of home. After the war, a company in the U.K. called Rowntree's started making a similar candy called the Polo mint.

In 1981, Nabisco Brands Inc. bought Life Savers. Some older mint flavors, like Cl-O-Ve and Vi-O-Let, were stopped because they didn't sell well. Nabisco brought out a new clear Cinnamon flavor called "Hot Cin-O-Mon." In 2004, Wrigley's bought the U.S. Life Savers business. Wrigley's added two new mint flavors in 2006: Orange Mint and Sweet Mint. They also brought back some old favorites like Wint-O-Green.

Life Savers were made in Holland, Michigan, until 2002. Then, production moved to Montreal, Québec, Canada. This move happened because sugar was much cheaper there. The old Life Savers headquarters in Port Chester, New York, is a famous building. It was where Life Savers were made from 1920 to 1984. Even though it's now apartments, it still has some Life Savers signs. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Life Savers Timeline

• 1912: Crane's Peppermint Life Savers are created by Clarence Crane.
• 1913: Edward Noble buys the Life Saver idea, renames them Pep-O-Mint Life Savers, and starts Mint Products Company.
• 1921: The first solid fruit flavors are made.
• 1925: New technology allows a hole to be put in the center of the fruit candies.
• 1927: Cherry flavor is invented and added.
• 1935: The original Five Flavor roll of Life Savers comes out.
• 1956: Life Savers Limited joins with Beech-Nut.
• 1968: Beech-Nut Life Savers joins with Squibb.
• 1981: Nabisco Brands Inc. buys Life Savers.
• 1987: The Canadian Life Savers business is bought by Hershey Canada.
• 1992: Life Savers Gummies are launched in three kinds: Grape, Five Flavor, and Mixed Berry.
• 1996: The Canadian Life Savers business is bought by Beta Brands Limited.
• 2000: Kraft buys Nabisco.
• 2001: Kraft buys the Canadian Life Savers business from Beta Brands.
• 2004: The Life Savers business is bought by Wrigley's.
• 2008: Mars buys Wrigley.

Images for kids

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  This 1917 newspaper ad shows the early packaging and flavors of Life Savers.

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  Life Savers fruit-flavored candies, showing the inner wrapper.