Food - Drink
The True Inspiration Behind Milky Way Candy Bars
By ERIN SHAW
Anyone who's been to the movies or the candy aisle at any store, has probably come into contact with the Milky Way bar. The Milky Way is the oldest candy bar, manufactured by the candy company, Mars, in the early 1920s in Minnesota, Minneapolis — so it wouldn’t be odd to wonder about the origins of such a long-lived candy bar.
A common misconception about the Milky Way is that it’s named after the galaxy, but in reality, it’s named after a popular malted milkshake, as milkshakes were the one thing founder Frank C. Mars and his son bonded over. At the time, Mars advertised their candy bar as having more malted milk than a double malted milkshake.
Frank’s son claims to be the one who came up with the name for the candy bar, and in 1929, the Milky Way had become the most popular candy bar in the United States. The company eventually moved to Chicago, and later went on to release other classic treats like Snickers and M&Ms.