CHOCOLATE: The Good, the Bad, and the History

I’m a confirmed chocolate lover. And I’m not alone here! Great taste, a reward after a tough day, a favorite holiday gift

Chocolate is the preferred choice of sweets for many. Which is what makes chocolate big business. The chocolate industry is worth over £100 billion. Chocolate is the most popular U.S. candy product, favored by 90% of consumers. Nearly half (47%) spend $5-$10 a few times a month buying chocolate at the grocery store. (FYI: Switzerland is the world’s top consumer of chocolate per capita.)

Consumers buy an incredible 90 million pounds of chocolate candy during Halloween week, giving it a strong lead compared to other holidays. Retailers sell almost 65 million pounds during the week leading up to Easter. Although 57% of Valentine’s Day gift-givers give candy, only 48 million pounds of chocolate are sold during Valentine’s week. This includes more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate every year for Valentine’s Day.

Of the $1.9 billion sold on Halloween candy each year, $1.2 billion was for chocolate candy and only $680 million for sugar candy.

And then there is the impact of the chocolate industry on other products! U.S. chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the almonds produced in the United States and 25 percent of domestic peanuts.

Chocolatey Celebrations

Chocolate is so popular that many days of the year are designated for its celebration in various ways.

  • 1/31 National Hot Chocolate Day
    • People originally consumed chocolate as a beverage. Thomas Jefferson was a big fan of a drink using stone-roasted cacao, sugar and spices.
  • 2/25 National Chocolate Covered Nut Day
  • 5/15 National Chocolate Chip Day
  • 6/16 National Fudge Day
    • Chocolate is only one option for fudge flavors!
  • 7/7 International World Chocolate Day
  • 7/25 National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
  • 8/4 National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
    • Ruth Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie in the 1930s. In 1939 she sold her recipe and the Toll House name to Nestlé, reputedly in return for a lifetime supply of chocolate!
  • 8/20 National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day
  • 9/27 National Chocolate Milk Day
    • According to the Smithsonian, an Irish botanist, Sir Hans Sloane, in Jamaica in the early 1700s, drank a cocoa drink that he found so bitter he added milk, thus creating the first chocolate milk mixture. He then left Jamaica and returned to England, where he sold the chocolatey concoction as medicine.
  • 10/13 National M&M Day
  • 11/7 National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
  • 12/13 National Cocoa Day
  • 12/28 National Chocolate Candy Day

The popularity of chocolate is reflected in chocolate-themed Hershey Park, the largest amusement park in Pennsylvania, as well as Hersheytown. A huge new park is scheduled to open in 2027. In addition, there are more than 60 chocolate museums around the world, including in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Spain, and the United States.

Keep in mind that chocolate and cocoa are not the same thing. Essentially, chocolate is a processed version of cocoa that includes added ingredients like sugar and cocoa butter to achieve its smooth texture and appealing flavor. 

A Little Chocolate History

From the Codex Tudela, an Aztec woman pouring chocolate from one vessel to another

Historians credit the Olmec civilization of southern Mexico as being the first to roast the fruit from the cacao tree, then grind it down and mix it with water and other ingredients (but not milk or sugar). Archaeologists have discovered Olmec pottery with trace amounts of chocolate dating back to
around 1700 BCE.

During the Revolutionary War, medics would often dole out cups of hot chocolate to wounded and dying soldiers. Military leaders gave out hot chocolate mixes monthly to soldiers, and sometimes offered them in lieu of wages.

Milton Hershey of Lancaster, PA introduced the first Hershey milk chocolate bar in 1900. Foil-wrapped Hershey’s Kisses appeared in 1906. Ever wondered about that little piece of paper hanging out of a Hershey’s Kiss? That was the company’s way of flagging their candy so consumers would know that it was an original Hershey’s Kiss. The little paper tail is known as a plume.

Soldiers’ rations in the Spanish Civil War inspired Forrest Mars, Sr to create M&Ms: plain chocolate candies in a shell of hard sugar. Chocolate melts at 93°F, which is below the average human body temperature. Remember this slogan? “M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand!”

Mars joined Bruce Murrie (son of Hershey executive William Murrie) to produce M&Ms in 1941, marketing them as in response to slack chocolate sales in summer.

During World War II, M&Ms were sold exclusively to the US military because of their durability.

Hershey’s had an exclusive contract with the American military to supply chocolate for soldiers’ rations during World War II. They specifically created the D-Ration Bar to “taste a little better than a boiled potato” to discourage soldiers from eating only their chocolate ration and nothing else. The recipe for these emergency chocolate rations made a viscous liquid so thick that it clogged the regular manufacturing machines and required hand-packing into molds.

Hershey produced a Tropical D-Ration specifically designed to withstand the high temperatures in the Pacific Theater.

M&Ms were the first candies to go into space, sent with the crew of the NASA shuttle Columbia in 1981.

Chocolate Medicine

Chocolates are a popular form of self-medication.

In the 1800’s, physicians commonly advised their broken-hearted patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining.

Chocolate has been shown to improve depression and anxiety symptoms and to help enhance feelings of calmness and contentedness. Both the flavanols and methylxanthines are believed to play a role in chocolate’s mood-enhancing effects. The presence of compounds like phenylethylamine in cocoa can contribute to feelings of happiness and well-being as well.

Even the smell of chocolate can help you relax and reduce stress! A study conducted by psychologist Neil Martin at Middlesex University in Enfield, England concluded that the aroma of chocolate reduced attentiveness.  Also, there are at least six varieties of flowers that naturally smell like chocolate: Carolina Allspice, Columbine-Chocolate Soldier, Chocolate Daisy, Chocolate Vine, Cosmos -Chocolate, and the Oncidium Orchid. A chocolate alternative for aromatherapy, perhaps!

Approximately 70% of people in a cross-sectional survey were less like to report depressive symptoms if they had eaten dark chocolate within the last 24 hours.

Chocolate can’t replace traditional treatment options for depressive feelings with mood disorders, but science may support its role in your diet.

Other cocoa benefits, maximized by choosing minimally processed cocoa powder or dark chocolate with high cocoa content:

Cacao pods in varying states of ripeness
  • Antioxidant power: cocoa is packed with antioxidants, particularly flavanols, which combat free radical damage in the body and may protect against chronic diseases. 
  • Cardiovascular health: studies suggest cocoa can help lower blood pressure, improve blood vessel function, and potentially reduce the risk of heart disease due to its impact on blood flow. 
  • Improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
  • Brain function: cocoa may enhance cognitive abilities like memory and focus due to its influence on neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. 
  • Potential anti-inflammatory effects: cocoa’s polyphenols may help reduce inflammation in the body.

Chocolatey “Perks”

Chocolate’s reputation as a pick-me-up is greatly aided by the fact that chocolate is sweetened, so there’s a sugar boost along with the caffeine.

A one-ounce piece of milk chocolate contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee.

Although a bar of dark chocolate has about 29 milligrams of caffeine, a small cup of regular coffee has about 94.

Dark chocolate has more caffeine than any other type of chocolate. Cocoa solids contain the caffeine. Cocoa beans harvested during a dry season contain more caffeine. The method of processing and roasting the beans also affects the caffeine content.

Chocolate type matters! Dark chocolate, with higher cocoa content, generally has more health benefits compared to milk chocolate, which contains more sugar and fat.  In fact, more than half of people in a recent survey from the National Confectioners Association described dark chocolate as a “better for you” candy.

Over-Indulgence

Beware too much chocolate! Addiction to chocolate is called “chocoholism.” It is not a scientifically recognized term.

Cocoa powder is naturally bitter, no sugar at all. The effects of added sugar intake from chocolate— higher blood pressure, inflammation, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

Weight Gain
High calorie intake from chocolate can lead to weight gain if consumed excessively, especially when replacing healthier food options. 

Dental Issues
The sugar in chocolate can contribute to tooth decay if not properly brushed after consumption. 

Digestive Problems
Some people might experience stomach upset, bloating, or diarrhea due to the fat and sugar content in chocolate, especially milk chocolate. 

Cardiovascular Concerns
Regularly consuming large amounts of chocolate, particularly with high saturated fat content, might contribute to elevated cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. 

Blood Sugar Fluctuations
The sugar in chocolate can cause blood sugar spikes, potentially contributing to diabetes risk in susceptible individuals. 

Caffeine Overdose
While the caffeine content in dark chocolate is lower than coffee, consuming excessive amounts can lead to sleep disturbances, anxiety, and jitters. 

Skin Issues
Some people experience acne breakouts after consuming large quantities of chocolate.

Individual Sensitivities
People with specific allergies or digestive sensitivities should be cautious with chocolate consumption and consult a healthcare professional if needed. 

Chocolate Dangers

And then there are heavy metals. Cadmium and lead—two heavy metals linked to a host of health problems in children and adults—are virtually unavoidable in dark chocolate. Consumer Reports scientists recently measured the amount of heavy metals in 28 dark chocolate bars, including Dove, Ghirardelli, Lindt, and Hershey’s, for lead and cadmium. All of them contained both metals. For 23 of them, just an ounce of chocolate violates California’s maximum allowable dose levels (MADL) for lead or cadmium.

Significant exposure to cadmium can cause lung cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm. Significant exposure to lead can slow children’s growth growth and development and damage the brain and nervous system.

The good news is that it’s possible for dark chocolate to maintain low levels of heavy metals: five of the 28 bars tested had levels of lead and cadmium within the California limitations.

Johns Hopkins Medicine toxicologist Andrew Stolbach told NPR “The [MADL] safety levels for lead and cadmium are set to be very protective, and going above them by a modest amount isn’t something to be
concerned about,” he said. “If you make sure that the rest of your diet is good and sufficient in calcium and iron, you protect yourself even more by preventing absorption of some lead and cadmium in your diet.”

Note: Chocolate can be toxic to cats and dogs because they can’t metabolize theobromine, a component in chocolate. 

Bottom Line: Moderation is key. Enjoying chocolate in moderation as part of a balanced diet is key to reaping potential benefits without experiencing negative effects.

HOW SWEET IT IS!

We’ve just celebrated the biggest candy month of the year! The day of the year with the most candy sales is October 28th. And of all the 365 days in the year, the top five candy selling days are all in October.

Just How Sweet Is It?

  • Over 10% of annual candy sales happen the days leading up to Halloween — that is nearly $2 billion dollars in sales.
  • Chocolate is the preferred choice of sweets for many. Of the $1.9 billion sold in Halloween candy each year, $1.2 billion was for chocolate candy and only $680 million for sugar candy.
  • Consumers buy an incredible 90 million pounds of chocolate candy during Halloween week, giving it a strong lead compared to other holidays. Almost 65 million pounds is sold during the week leading up to Easter but only 48 million pounds during Valentine’s week
  • The average American household spends $44 a year on Halloween candy. 
  • Americans purchase nearly 600 million pounds of candy a year for Halloween. 
  • These “facts” popped up during multiple searches about candy.  Could all of these “facts” be true? I don’t know.  But without vouching for truthfulness or accuracy, I hereby present candy info from across the web.

When Thinking Halloween, Candy Corn Comes to Mind

Candy corn
  • The Wunderle Candy Company first produced candy corn in 1888, but they called it “chicken feed.”
  • Americans purchase over 20 million pounds of candy corn a year. With that said, it’s unlikely that every last one of those millions of candies was actually consumed. For one thing, it is the most hated Halloween candy of all. (See below)
  • After the beloved and beleaguered candy corn, the leading best sellers are as follows: Snickers, Reese’s, Kit Kats, and M&Ms.
  • Candy corn is the most searched-for candy term in Google — more popular than candy apples, gummy worms, and candy pumpkins.

Looking Beyond October

Candy counter display
  • Candy, at its simplest, is the result of dissolving sugar in water. The different heating levels determine the types of candy: Hot temperatures make hard candy, medium heat will make soft candy, and cool temperatures make chewy candy.
  • In Europe during the middle ages, the high cost of sugar made sugar candy a delicacy available only to the wealthy.
  • About 65% of American candy bars were introduced more than 50 years ago.
  • The actual flavor of circus “peanuts” is banana.
  • Gummy worms first appeared on July 15, 1981, the 50th anniversary of gummy bears.
  • U.S. chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the almonds produced in the United States and 25 percent of domestic peanut.
  • Fairy Floss was the original name of cotton candy. William Morrison, a dentist, invented it.  In the United States, National Cotton Candy Day is celebrated on November 7th.
  • Americans over 18 years of age consume 65 percent of the candy produced each year.
  • Frank and Ethel Mars, who created the Snickers candy bar in 1929, named it after the family horse.
  • Retailers sell more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate every year for Valentine’s Day.
  • In the 1800’s, physicians commonly advised their broken-hearted patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining.

Not A New Thing

Fry's chocolate, early candy
  • Fry’s Chocolate Cream: Candy as we know it today, was first recorded in 1847. This can be considered the first candy ever made and sold officially on the market. The candy was created by Joseph Fry. He used bittersweet chocolate. Today, Cadbury manufactures this “Rich dark chocolate with a smooth fondant center.”
  • Good & Plenty is believed to be the oldest candy brand in the USA. The pink-and-white capsule-shaped chewy licorice was first produced in 1893 in Philadelphia. It’s still found at concession stands everywhere, which makes Good & Plenty a treat that can be enjoyed by candy lovers of all ages.
  • Dryden & Palmer dates back to 1880 when rock candy enjoyed great popularity as a cough-cold remedy and delicious confection. Every bar and saloon had its own creation of rock candy dissolved in rye whisky to “cure their patrons’ colds” or at least make them forget they had a cold in the first place. Prohibition hit the rock candy industry hard and, of the original manufacturers, only Dryden & Palmer remains today. 
  • John Ross Edmiston may have been the accidental creator of saltwater taffy in Atlantic City in 1883. His jokingly offered “saltwater taffy” to customers after his boardwalk shop was flooded, soaking his taffy stock with salt water.
Tootsie Roll candy history
World War I Tootsie Roll Patriotism
  • Tootsie Rolls debuted in 1896, introduced by Leo Hirshfield of New York who named them after his daughter’s nickname, “Tootsie”.
    • The War Office added Tootsie Rolls to soldiers’ rations during World War II due to their durability in all weather conditions.
    • According to USMC apocrypha, marines used Tootsie Rolls as emergency first aid to plug bullet holes during the Korean War.
    • In the 1940s and 1950s, “Captain Tootsie” fought crime with his sidekick Rolo in a daily ad comic strip.
  • Milton Hershey of Lancaster, PA introduced the first Hershey milk chocolate bar in 1900. Hershey’s Kisses appeared in their familiar foil wraps in 1906.
  • NECCO wafers are pastel-colored candy disks that first appeared in 1901, named for the acronym of the New England Confectionery Company.
  • Baby Ruth candy bars were first sold in 1920, named for President Grover Cleveland’s daughter – not the famous baseball player.
  • Milky Way Bar is the first of many candies to be introduced by the Mars family in 1923. It was created to taste like a malted milk that would be available anywhere, anytime. One of the earliest advertisements for Milky Way listed “sunlight and fresh air” as primary ingredients.
  • M&M/Mars introduced the Snickers Bar in 1930. It is the number-one selling candy bar in the U.S. today.
  • M&M/Mars debuted the 3 Musketeers Bar in 1932. It was originally made as a three-flavor bar featuring chocolate, vanilla and strawberry nougat. In 1945, M&M/Mars changed to making them with only chocolate nougat.
  • Soldiers’ rations in the Spanish Civil War inspired Forrest Mars, Sr to create M&Ms: plain chocolate candies in a shell of hard sugar.
    • Mars joined Bruce Murrie (son of Hershey executive William Murrie) to produce M&Ms in 1941, marketing them as durable in response to slack chocolate sales in summer.
    • During World War II, M&Ms were sold exclusively to the US military because of their durability.
    • They were the first candies to go into space, sent with the crew of the NASA shuttle Columbia in 1981.
D Rations candy history
  • Hershey’s had an exclusive contract with the American military to supply chocolate for soldiers’ rations during World War II.
    • They specifically created the D-Ration Bar to “taste a little better than a boiled potato” to discourage soldiers from eating only their chocolate ration and nothing else.
    • The recipe for these emergency chocolate rations made a viscous liquid so thick that it clogged the regular manufacturing machines and had to be packed into molds by hand.
    • Hershey produced a Tropical D-Ration specifically designed to withstand the high temperatures in the Pacific Theater.
candy wreath
  • Multiple sources claim to be the creators of Skittles, including the Wrigley’s candy company and a nebulous British man named Skittle. Today, 200 million Skittles are produced each day.
  • Sugar Daddies, the caramel lollipops, were originally called Papa Suckers.
  • Dum Dums “mystery” flavor is always a mix of two flavors. The machine creates them when it switches to producing a new flavor.
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the No. 1 selling candy brand in the United States, consisting of white fudge, milk, or dark chocolate cups filled with peanut butter. H.B. Reese invented them in 1928 after he founded the H.B. Reese Candy Company in 1923.

Most Popular Candy by Country

Alpen Gold

What is the Best Candy?

According to Blog.galvanize.comwe can’t identify the “best candy” (that’s far too subjective), but we can rank categories of candy.

Best-selling Candy in the World

Milka candy
  1. Snickers
  2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
  3. Toblerone
  4. Kit Kat
  5. Dove
  6. Cadbury Dairy Milk
  7. Twix
  8. Milka
  9. 3 Musketeers
  10. Hershey Bar

Best-selling Candy in the United States

Dove chocolate candy
  1. M&Ms
  2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
  3. Hershey Bar
  4. Snickers
  5. Kit Kat
  6. Twix
  7. Twizzlers
  8. Skittles
  9. Dove Bar
  10. 3 Musketeers

Best-selling Candy at Halloween in the United States 2020

Hot Tamales candy
  1. Skittles
  2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
  3. Starburst
  4. M&Ms
  5. Hot Tamales
  6. Candy Corn
  7. Snickers
  8. Sour Patch Kids
  9. Hershey’s Kisses
  10. Jolly Ranchers

Most Popular Halloween Candies by U.S. Kids Under 17

Skittles candy
  1. Hershey Bar
  2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
  3. Kit Kat
  4. Snickers
  5. M&Ms
  6. Skittles
  7. Twix
  8. Starburst
  9. Sour Patch Kids
  10. Jolly Ranchers

Most Hated Halloween Candy in the United States

Circus Peanuts candy
  1. Candy Corn
  2. Peanut Butter Kisses
  3. Circus Peanuts
  4. Wax Coke Bottles
  5. Smarties
  6. NECCO Wafers
  7. Tootsie Rolls
  8. Mary Janes
  9. Good & Plenty
  10. Licorice

Most Popular Candy in the United States (not always the same as the best-selling candy)

Gummi Bears candy
  1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
  2. Twix
  3. Snickers
  4. Peanut M&Ms
  5. Gummi Bears
  6. M&Ms
  7. Butterfinger
  8. Kit Kat
  9. Almond Joy
  10. Sour Patch Kids

Most Popular Candy Bars in the United States

Halloween candy
  1. M&Ms
  2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
  3. Snickers
  4. Hersey Bar
  5. Kit Kat
  6. Oh Henry!
  7. Baby Ruth
  8. 3 Musketeers
  9. Milky Way
  10. Butterfinger

Important Dates for Candy Lovers

Candy collecting
  • 1/8 National English Toffee Day
  • 1/26 National Peanut Brittle Day
  • 2/1 Decorating with Candy Day
  • 2/8 Molasses Bar Day
  • 2/11 National Peppermint Patty Day
  • 2/15 National Gumdrop Day
  • 2/15 National I Want Butterscotch Day
  • 2/23 Tootsie Roll Day
  • 2/25 National Chocolate Covered Nut Day
  • 3/8 National Peanut Cluster Day
  • 3/26 National Nougat Day
  • 4/5 National Caramel Day
  • 4/5 Peeps Day
  • 4/12 National Licorice Day
  • 4/22 National Jelly Bean Day
  • 5/4 National Candied Orange Peel Day
  • 5/25 National Taffy Day
  • 6/1 National Candy Month
  • 7/7 National Chocolate Day
  • 7/18 National Sour Candy Day
  • 7/20 National Lollipop Day
  • 9/14 Gobstopper Day
  • 10/13 National M&M Day
  • 10/30 National Candy Corn Day
  • 10/31 National Caramel Apple Day
  • 11/4 National Candy Day
  • 11/7 National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
  • 12/7 National Cotton Candy Day
  • 12/19 National Hard Candy Day
  • 12/26 National Candy Cane Day
  • 12/28 National Chocolate Candy Day

What Candy Does to Your Body

It makes everything sticky!
  • Less than two percent of the calories in the American diet come from candy.
  • A one-ounce piece of milk chocolate contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee.
  • When we eat sweet foods, we activate the brain’s reward system — called the mesolimbic dopamine system. Dopamine is a brain chemical released by neurons and can signal that an event was positive. When the reward system fires, it reinforces behaviors — making it more likely for us to carry out these actions again.
  • The recommended dose of candy is just two to three pieces of candy a day.
  • While eating too much candy in one sitting can do a number on your blood sugar and your teeth, it’s true that occasional excess probably won’t do major lasting harm. In the long-term, however, repeated indulgence in high-sugar foods can increase your risk for a number of health problems.
  • The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke,
  • Candy has some physical health benefits: Decreasing your risk of stroke and heart attack — Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidant flavonoids, which are healthy for your heart. Regularly eating this rich treat can decrease your risk of stroke and heart attack by 39 percent.
  • Chocolate has been shown to improve depression and anxiety symptoms and to help enhance feelings of calmness and contentedness. Both the flavanols and methylxanthines are believed to play a role in chocolate’s mood-enhancing effects.
  • Chocolate can’t replace traditional treatment options for depressive feelings with mood disorders, but science may support its role in your diet. Approximately 70% of people in a cross-sectional survey were less likely to report depressive symptoms if they’d eaten dark chocolate within the last 24 hours.

BOTTOM LINE: Some ways good, some ways bad, always sweet!