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Jawbreakers trace their history back to the early 19th century when candy makers began experimenting with slow-cooked sugar confections. Candy makers roll sugar syrup over a rotating center to create hard layers.
The term “jawbreaker” first appears in the dictionary in 1839.
JAW BUSTERS: THE ORIGINS OF MODERN JAWBREAKERS
1919
Salvatore Ferrara founds the Ferrara Candy Company. The company produces a variety of candies. Jaw Busters: The original 1919 jawbreaker is introduced to the market. It is the first candy that changes color in five different layers.
ATOMIC FIREBALL
1954
The Ferrara Candy Company expands its candy collection by adding the Atomic Fireball. This is a very hot cinnamon jawbreaker that becomes a bestseller. This round cinnamon candy is invented by Nello Ferrara and contains outer layers that are bright red with interior white layers.
LEMONHEADS
1962
Ferrara introduces Lemonheads. Lemonheads are launched as a round, lemon-flavored candy consisting of a sweet coating, soft sour shell, and a hard candy core.
GOBSTOPPERS
1964
The 1964 children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory written by Roald Dahl, is published. The book describes the”Everlasting Gobstoppers,” a fictional gobstopper that could never get smaller or be finished.
1971
Jawbreakers become more popular than ever thanks to the fictional “Everlasting Gobstobber.” Breaker Confections licensed the “Willy Wonka” name to create products based on the fictional candies from the book.
1976
The Everlasting Gobstoppers is launched and sold under the Willy Wonka brand. This is a jawbreaker candy that uses the Willy Wonka name.
WILLY WONKA CANDY COMPANY
1980
In 1980, the Breaker Confections brand name is changed to “Willy Wonka Brands” in an attempt to develop the “Wonka” brand image.
1986
The company is sold to Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery of the UK, who were then sells the brand again in 1988 to Nestlé.
1993
Nestlé renames part of its candy division to the “Willy Wonka Candy Company,” and then “Nestlé Candy Shop” in 2015.
JAWBREAKERS HIT THE BIG SCREEN
1999-2009
The cartoon, Ed, Edd n Eddy follows the lives of “the Eds”, three scheming boys who all share variations of nicknames of the name Edward… Under the unofficial leadership of Eddy, the trio frequently invent schemes to make money from their peers to purchase their favorite candy, jawbreakers. It premiers on January 4, 1999. The series concludes with a television film, Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Big Picture Show, on November 8, 2009.
1999
The 1999 American teen comedy Jawbreaker centers around the main characters accidentally killing their friend after gagging her with a jawbreaker.
21ST CENTURY CONSOLIDATION
2018
Ferrara’s parent company Ferrero SpA purchases Nestlé’s U.S. candy line for $2.8 billion and hands responsibility for most products to Ferrara. Former Nestlé products are now distributed in the U.S. by Ferrara. Brands include hard candy (such as Spree and Everlasting Gobstopper), formerly produced by Nestlé under the Willy Wonka brand.
