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During the holiday season, the candy cane industry experiences a huge increase in sales.
In 2023, candy sales during the holiday season will reach nearly $7 billion, Carly Schildhaus, director of public affairs and communications for the National Confectioners Association (NCA), told FOX Business in an email, and is expected to this figure increases up to 3%. in 2024.
Not surprisingly, the majority of candy cane sales occur between the months of November and December, with the most popular sales time being the second week of December, according to the NCA’s Always a Treat website.
Candy canes have become a staple of the holiday season for decoration and candy. (/iStock)
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Today, candy cane flavors extend far beyond the classic mint. There are candy canes based on candy favorites, such as Nerds, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch, Sweetarts, Lifesavers, and others.
Nowadays you can find even darker candy cane flavors, like chocolate, bacon, and even macaroni and cheese.
Candy canes are not only eaten, they are also used for decorate Christmas trees.
In fact, half of Americans plan to use candy canes as decorations for their tree, or use the gift to decorate packages, Schildhaus told FOX Business.
Candy canes are often used to decorate Christmas trees. (/iStock)
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While modern times have brought unique flavors of candy canes to decorate Christmas trees, they were not always in such a wide variety and were not traditionally used to decorate trees.
The exact origin of the candy cane is a bit murky, although there is a common theory that supports the beginning of the popular holiday treat.
Candy canes, in their most basic form, are believed to date back to 1670, as a way to keep young singers calm in Germany during church services.
During that time, the choir director at Cologne Cathedral in Germany gave the young singers sugar sticks during the Living Cheche ceremony to keep them quiet, according to Always a Treat.
Candy canes and their flavors have evolved over the years. Nowadays, the flavors go far beyond the classic mint. (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Between 25 and 30 million Christmas trees are cut down each year and displayed in homes and businesses across the United States.
“In honor of the shepherds who appear in the story, he folded the candies into small shepherd’s crooks,” the website notes.
Candy canes first appeared in the United States when August Imgard, a German-Swedish immigrant, decorated a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio, with paper ornaments and candy canes in 1847, sparking the tradition in the rest of the country, according to the site. .
It wasn’t until years later that candy canes began to be sold widely across the country.
When candy canes were originally sold, there were no distinctive red stripes, according to Always a Treat. According to the source, stripes did not emerge until the early 20th century.
Candy canes are a popular decoration for Christmas stockings and can also be taped to gifts for added appeal. (/iStock)
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Prominent candy cane sellers in the early years of the sugary treat included Doscher’s Candies and Bobs Candies.
Doscher’s Candies, a company founded by Claus Doscher in Cincinnati, Ohio, created candy canes in 1871 using peppermint oil, cooking the mixture in copper kettles, as well as rolling and kneading them by hand, according to the company’s website.
Bobs Candies was founded around 1920 by Bob McCormack in Georgia, according to the website of Ferrara Candy Company, which makes the brand.
McCormack’s brother-in-law, Father Gregory Keller, was responsible for inventing the innovative machine used to twist the candy and bend it into a cane shape, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.
The vast majority of candy cane sales occur during the holiday season. (Hauke-Christian Dittrich/Picture Alliance via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Today, candy canes are so popular that there is even a day dedicated to them. Every year, December 26 is celebrated as “National Candy Cane Day.”
As for the “correct” way to consume this sugary treat, the verdict is still out.
According to the NCA, fifty-four percent of people eat their candy canes starting with the straight end, while 30% eat the curved end first.
Breaking a candy cane is another way to eat it, and 16% of people opt for this method, according to the organization.
