How Wonka Became A REAL Candy Company

Today on Weird History Food, we are delving into the history of Wonka Candy Company! Which came first? Willy Wonka or the Real Life Wonka Candy Company? The film or the chocolate bar? SO many questions! Join us through fascinating tale of life imitating art, a major food company decided to take the reigns on the candy, tethering itself to what amounted to a box office failure. Throughout time, and twists of fate, Wonka Candy endured and gave us some of our favorites!
#wonka #wonkamovie #weirdhistoryfood

[@guilletiger]

Lost it with the picture of the fake wonka experience in Glasgow...u guys just couldn't let that pass hahahah 😂😂😂

[@NewMessage]

"Tell me more about this nice little company..." -Condescending Wonka

[@ZagnutBar]

5:08 it wasn't just VCRs. They broadcast the film on TV once a year in the late 70s and early 80s and as kids we really looked forward to it. Same with The Wizard of Oz.

[@nobodyfamousX]

When I was a kid my grandparents put it on Everytime I went to their house. That or George of the Jungle. I love those movies.

[@gamemasteranthony2756]

Shame the Scrumdiddlyumptious Bar (Wait...that word isn't being pegged by spellcheck?!?) isn't still being sold. That was one of my favorites.

[@evolancer211]

I miss and completely forgot about Shock Tarts, those were amazing

[@markadams7046]

I enjoyed the Laffy Taffy for the absurd jokes on the wrappers. Those were sold under Wonka for a time.

[@shred_zed1]

I want a food history on SOBE drinks, they were so popular and then they vanished. \

[@edwardleemiller-eo8jp]

That weird dancing lizard commercial didn’t help them.

[@shred_zed1]

@@edwardleemiller-eo8jp haha truee

[@LindseyLouWho]

My takeaway from this video is: I miss shock tarts. So bad. I wanna burn another hole in the side of my mouth.

[@JoeJTSJoe]

Yusss. Shock tarts. Spree. And that other sour thing that was basically a diff version of shock starts. So so good.

[@MarkMeadows90]

I grew up in the 90s, and Wonka had some amazing candy back then. I miss it!

[@chubbyninja89]

You and me both brother. I know it wasn't a super fancy candy bar, but I remember enjoying the Wonka Bars years ago, as it was something that was simple and unique. A milk chocolate bar with gram cracker pieces in it. I mean sure, I appreciate somewhat more fancy candy bars as much as anyone else, but I do feel like there's nothing wrong with keeping things simple at times.

[@infinidominion]

​@@chubbyninja89he's probably talking about all the fruity stuff like nerds and runts, we never saw the chocolate bars until around 2000

[@chubbyninja89]

@@infinidominion I know, I just think it's a shame that they stopped making those simple but good candy bars. The same goes for how stupid Heresy's stopped making the great Smores bar.

[@PhantomLover007]

And here I was expecting Joe Firt to start calling off all of the abstract candy names around 7:25. You're gonna stand there, ownin' a fireworks stand, and tell me you don't have no whistlin' bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser?

[@lakrids-pibe]

I'm very curious why that chocolate bar was so difficult to work with

[@eetadakimasu]

Chocolate is pretty finicky, I worked with it a little professionally but I wasn't a chocolatier and even tempering it, getting it the right consistency for what you want to do with it, is hard enough, I have no idea what they do to keep it from melting, by it's nature, it should melt, I don't want to know what's in it if it doesn't

[@Kimberly-xi5fc]

I was taught the art of working with chocolate from my mom growing up. She was a chocolatier for a local candy company here in Maryland, and I went on to be a chocolatier for Godiva. Chocolate is beyond finicky.... That's actually why Milton S. Hersey had such a hard time getting into chocolate production. It wasn't until he did some corporate espionage of his own while Cadbury had a display going at the World's Fair, that he began to understand what he was dealing with and how to make it work, so he wasn't just confined to selling caramel, which was what he was known for at first.

[@forrestdupre87]

Roald Dahl and Milton Hershey both have the same birthday.

[@lens_hunter]

I'm 38 years old and Gobstoppers are still one of my favorite candies

[@CaterNaturals]

Great channel, great content. 🥂from NYC!

[@teresamckeown5594]

I used to love SHOCK TARTS

[@Ooobydoobydoo]

I loved Bottle Caps when I was a kid.

[@RoosterMontgomery]

I miss Chewy Tart 'n Tinys, the originals in a box.

[@herbaldragon7646]

wonka and his hell minions are nightmare fuel

[@imaginefun13]

That whole list of random Wonka candies and the only one I recognized was the Wonka donuts...guess they made an impression on young me lol an impression that said "do not buy me"

[@sadus5415]

they did the golden tickets for wonka chocolate bars from 2002-2003 before the movie promotion, just wasnt publicized

[@arnellamahoney317]

I enjoyed eating chewy runts, bottle caps and chewy nerds. My daughters enjoyed eating gobstoppers, rope, nerds and a few others.🎉

[@MoonwolfeConsulting]

Now, I'm jonesin' for Peanut Butter Oompas! Growl.....absolutely nothing available today comes close. (Insert fist-pounding screaming fit here.)

[@kvl1647]

It was half peanut butter & half Chocolate ,I remember loving them and the Oompas ,and the Skrunch bar was a better butterfinger.

[@loriloristuff]

How about Ferrara Pan for another company, who make Lemonheads, Nerds, Red Hots, Boston Baked Beans, and Atomic Fireballs? Another great candy company is Just Born, but no doubt you've covered Peeps and the other great products made there.

[@Nemo2342]

I completely forgot about Tart and Tinys! Now I miss them :(

[@mindykanitz6255]

I always loved those SweetTart candies and the occasional Nerds candies.

[@rumblebars]

I remember buying rolls of Bottlecaps back in the 80s. And getting bags of huge Sour Hearts at the local Walgreens, leading up to Valentine's Day. Only got to try Hot and Cold Nerds once. Hot was great, cold was less so.

[@sonofbattra1081]

The 2003 wonka movie?

[@JackieRoxs]

As soon as I heard her say 2003 instead of 2023 xD

[@alexhutcherson3191]

The original movie

[@infinidominion]

​@@alexhutcherson3191no 🤦

[@Prettyboyred336]

The white grape squared gummies in the early 2000's were my favorite wonka candy.

[@tonydantonio2607]

i forgot about the wonka donuts, i loved those!

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks for this! 🍬

[@SnappyWasHere]

Tart n Tinys were my favorite candy as a kid! I could buy them in bulk from the local Ben Franklin store. Boy I’m getting old!

[@rjkorwek]

This was a great video!

[@spoonsz]

I would always buy all the wonka candies at blockbuster the chocolate was actually really good idk why people didn't eat them

[@Makoto03]

Love the candy and both Johnny Depp and Gene Wilder movies. Also just recently learned of that scam willy wonka event someone tried to do years ago. I saw a documentary on the disater and it was wild.

[@SkyHawk2137]

Always loved, and still love, the various Nerds products.

[@NASCARFAN93100]

Wonka will forever be legendary

[@RicoX829]

Anybody else think of Super Troopers at the end? 😂😂😂

[@ronvlaarsvar6867]

Where its the clip at 9:37 from? the awkward forward role. Cheers

[@PopularCat27]

Willy Wonka will always be the most famous candyman of all time. Either in the movies with Gene, Johnny and Tim. In our real life with all of his delicious candies. Or with the classic tale that Roald Dahl wrote in 1964 😋 🍫.

[@TheHiredGun187]

Nerdz were my favorite candy. I still grab a box every now and then.

[@nickimontie]

Am I misremebering, or was there a peanut butter/chocolate candy coated item that predated Reeses Pieces?

[@bigbossman2810]

I would love for you to do the history of Cheeze-It. One flavor I wish they would bring back is BBQ Cheddar.

[@jonathanbohm6489]

Wonka candy was great

[@rebeldjm1]

Wasn't snozzberry determined to be a hidden reference to one of the writer's earlier books. If I remember correctly it was supposed to be a guys "part" lol.

[@susansparke3462]

I'm 39 years old and I've never actually watched any of these movies. I've always liked the "Nerds" and the "Gobstoppers" candies. My older sister really loved the Gobstoppers when we were children I never put two and two together with regards to those two candies being products from that candy company. I'm sure I'd have noticed the branding on the Nerds boxes, but I don't think that I ever gave it a second thought. I definitely learned something new today. Thanks Weird History Food!

[@pamelamays4186]

The Candy Man was Sammy Davis Jr.'s only number one hit song.

[@AilileFelina]

It's nearly impossible to get gobstoppers. They're basically amazon order only

[@adultmoshifan87]

Here in Britain, we’ve had a good few Wonka candies including Dweebs, Nerds, Xploder (a chocolate bar with exploding candy bits) and Oompas! Our Oompas had different flavors to the ones in the US, our Oompa flavors included Jam Donut, Popcorn, Mashed Potato and Cucumber! The latter 2, as disgusting as you think they might’ve been, were actually rather nice! When the Tom & Jerry Wonka movie came out on DVD here in the UK, they had a Golden Ticket contest for that: they hid a Golden Ticket each in 5 of the DVDs, each one granted the holder to a trip to KidZania! The 70s Wonka movie will always be a favorite of mine, I also get a joy out of how the story was parodied in an episode each of Futurama, Family Guy, Craig of The Creek and more recently Aldi’s Christmas commercial this past Christmas!

[@Oonagh72]

I always heard the reason the changed the name to Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory was of the civil rights movement and The Vietnam War. They didn’t want to be associated with them. Now hearing this, why not just say this in the first place.

[@ctwomey84]

Chewy Runts and Ompas! Miss these!!

[@jerranspearman3369]

good video

[@tremorsfan]

There was a long standing rumor that the reason they changed the name was because the film made at the height of the Vietnam War and Charlie was the code name for the Viet Cong Army.

[@tayasigerson]

Ooh I forgot about Punkys! I used to love those.

[@davidjones535]

Readed both the books as a kid in the 70s yes there were two .

[@infinidominion]

You...readed them?

[@lilitharam44]

Wow, I hadn't thought of Tart -n Tinys in years! They were good, so were the bottlecaps and everlasting gobstoppers.

[@zz449944]

I used to go Toy R Us stores regularly to buy more Lego and to buy more Wonka Bars. I loved them and miss them.

[@simonhillancocacola]

the purple bar with the pop rocks in was the best

[@crlaf1978]

We don't want this Snozzberries to taste like snozzberries, because when you find out what a Snozzberry really is, you find out that it is X-rated and most adult women and a select men already know what it tastes like, and it does not belong in a candy

[@YourCommonSinner]

I did the research for us guys it means shlong

[@crlaf1978]

@@YourCommonSinner sorry if I only implied it. I had literally just come from an article where there was a heated debate, but the article clearly states from the author himself what Snozzberries was supposed to be. I personally always thought it meant boogers, but apparently that would make the word have to be schnozzberry

[@YourCommonSinner]

@@crlaf1978 I don’t think you even implied it 😂 i thought it meant something else til I looked it up.

[@crlaf1978]

@@YourCommonSinner I'm sure I implied it by the "find out that it is X-rated and most adult women at a selectmen already know what it tastes like"

[@YourCommonSinner]

@@crlaf1978 yeah I was thinking the fun button on a woman’s hot pocket but nonetheless we’re on the same page now

[@YourCommonSinner]

2003? You mean 2023? 😂 9:44

[@DreamyyArt]

8:27 WHY IS IT MINECRAFT (cool build)

[@aaronlaluzerne392]

I have always been a big fan of nerds candy.

[@sfernando04]

The original movie was the best! Gene Wilder a great actor and Gemini just like Johnny Depp

[@nrrork]

Bottle Caps are one of my very favorite candies... and goddamn IMPOSSIBLE to find around here. Hundreds of places in town sell candy, but I can only reliably find them at one, single Walgreens. None of the other half dozen Walgreens in town, no no, just that ONE.

[@Rydonattelo]

2.8 billion for Wonka company?

[@thaisgregorio2734]

I remember loving eating Nerds candy as a kid

[@DJL78]

Were most of those Wonka candies distributed in the UK? I don’t remember 3/4 of what was mentioned in the video being available in the USA.

[@Del_S]

2:50 "What do you like, Roald?" Well, his Wikipedia page may have some answers depending on how much of an argument one wishes to start....

[@holaitserin]

I miss the OG 2005 Wonka bars. Oohhhh my god they were good. So good.

[@BrennenRaimer]

I didn't realize the Wonka candy company doesn't exist anymore

[@alexgeorge501]

"A little nonsense now and then...passed around by the wisest of men"

[@JadedJasantha]

I'm the weirdo who liked all of the chocolate bars xD

[@noahsrandomclips4781]

i remember the donutz, they were bad

[@VerbalCoffee]

Chewy Gobbstoppers. I miss thee.

[@MulToyVerse]

Ronald Dahl was a dork.

[@btetschner]

A+ video! LOVE IT! What a candy adventure!

[@user-hi9sq9rh9v]

Close your eyes and imagine if WW's factory was actually real

[@goofy3517]

Sounds illegal

[@DreamyyArt]

Good thing Wonka gave the factory to Charlie Bucket then Every darn confectionary company I know + Quaker owned it ☠️

[@lisamann8521]

Does anyone know anything about the actual WW factories that made the candies? I don't mean the factories from like the movies, I mean the real factories that made the real candies. I may be wrong, but it seems like when I was very young, my parents took me to the "Grand Opening" of one in Kentucky, maybe in the 60's?

[@chrismayer3919]

I thought it was always a subsidiary of Nestle…

[@GazpachoMacho]

People not buying wonks bars. Company: ok we’re changing the name and halting the wonka bar production. Also people: Booo!

[@barbarahallowell2613]

Still love Nerdz and chewy Nerdz.

[@btetschner]

0:01 The Kelly Affair sing the song "'Sweet Talkin' Candy Man" on the film Beyond The Valley of the Dolls! That is the only time I have ever been to where there was a host introducing (and explaining) the film in front of the screen before it started! LOVE that film, think about it all the time!

[@commandZee]

They need gummies full of spice melange.

[@charleswong5626]

At 9:43 you said the 2003 Timothee Chalamet movie, but it came out in 2023.

[@TheJinxCast]

6:48 What the hell is carmel?

[@markfigueroa1681]

2003 rabble rabble rabble

[@vandavis000]

But ferrero sold many like sweet tarts and laffy taffy to american candy maker fererra almost same name. I buy many

[@TrevorColeman]

Oops 2003 film -ERROR

[@thellamapool2328]

I hope the snozzberries don’t taste like snozzberries 😂 the only other time the writer Dahl ever used the word snozzberry was in another book when referring to a penis.

[@So-CA_NV_AZ82]

Hey W.H.F., my first time commenting. Love the Channel, great videos. Keep up the great content

[@ronvlaarsvar6867]

I believe there was briefly a factory in Glasgow quite recently...

[@corpskigaming2558]

That moment where the movies creator's daughter is actually Veruca Salt

[@btetschner]

Eating ANOTHER Weird History candy! Eating Nerds Rainbow Rope*†...while watching this Weird History video! Reminds me of The Garfield Movie! * Inspired by the Weird History videos spotlighting Garfield. † Nerds are an 80s candy.

[@loriloristuff]

Nerds are made by Ferrara.

[@btetschner]

@@loriloristuff You didn't watch the video. I am giving you an F-...and am sending you to homeschool.

[@GraceCreatesLivingSpace]

I wish the other narrator would have done this one, I’m missing all the potential wonka puns and jokes.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

Agree 1000%!

[@eetadakimasu]

I just don't get Rhol, i didn't have a great childhood and i don't understand why his dark materials are entertaining, it's like, "yeah, lies, manipulation and abuse!"

[@MrDDiRusso]

In my opinion, the Wonka chocolate bars were inferior. I tried them but Cadbury's is much better.

[@JoeJTSJoe]

Mmhhhhmm... Spree

[@btetschner]

It's crazy that it took so long for the movie to become popular! Reminds me of the film Phenomena, such a great film that is not well-known!

[@tylerpemberton3134]

1:53 that kid already got her percentage...she demanding her family make this movie...she was written into the script😂

[@edwardleemiller-eo8jp]

10:11 - this outro music is clearly Michael McDonald’s 1982 classic “I Keep Forgettin’”

[@sirekumasutra7022]

I bet Dahl liked Grandpa Joe in the film. Grandpa Joe was the true villain. Iykyk