Mars: Minnesota's Contribution to Trick or Treating
As ghosts and goblins get ready to amass their Trick or Treat hauls on Halloween, make sure to keep an eye out for Milky Ways, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers. Why? Because they all got their start right here in Minneapolis.
Franklin Mars was born in Hancock, Minnesota and his mother taught him the art of candy making. She spent hours with her young son, distracting him from a mild case of polio, teaching him how to get the perfect candy coating on a butter cream filling. As a young man, his first attempt at commercial candy making (and his first marriage) floundered in Tacoma, Washington. After his return to Minnesota, he opened operations in a small section of a building on Washington Avenue North and he found some success with his Mar-O-Bar.
Meanwhile, one of his local competitors, the Pendergast Candy Company, invented a new fluffy ingredient known as “Minneapolis Nougat” that was revolutionized the industry.
While Mars contemplated how to capitalize on the new ingredient, he had to bail his teenage son out of jail in Chicago. When the two were talking it out over diner milkshakes, his son suggested using the chocolate milkshake flavors in his next creation.
This may have been a wonderful moment of reconciliation for the two, but in reality it was Mars’ Italian master candy maker, Tom Dattalo, who brought the idea to life. He used the Minneapolis nougat, topped with a thin layer of caramel and dipped in chocolate.
The new Milky Way candy bar, named after the milk shake, not the galaxy, was introduced in 1923. The lighter Minneapolis Nougat was cheaper to ship and store. It also made the candybar look much bigger - more value for your money. It was an instant hit.
The Snickers bar - named after one of Mars’ racehorses came soon after - and then 3 Musketeers, named because it was originally 3 candybars: vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.
As the company grew, Mars built a new center of production just outside of Chicago and Mars Incorporated left Minnesota in 1929.
For years, the Mars’ house on West Minnehaha Parkway in South Minneapolis was known as the Milky Way House and was the first stop for trick or treaters because the Mars family gave out full-size candy bars.
I don’t know if anyone is giving out full-size candybars this year - but at least with this Minnesota connection there’s no tricks, just treats.
